Getting a Table at the Restaurant
- When the receptionist asks questions, they may add the title 先生 sin1 saang1 (‘sir’), 小姐 siu2 ze2 (‘Miss’) or 太太 taai3 taai2 (‘madam’) after 請問 (‘May I ask …’). For example, they may say:
請問先生有冇book位嘅？
cing2 man6 sin1 saang1 jau5 mou5 buk1 wai2 ge2?
Sir, may I ask if you have booked seats?
Route A: With reservation
If the receptionist doesn’t ask if we have booked a table, we can take the initiative to tell them.
We can also provide all the booking details at once.
Route B: Without reservation
If the restaurant is fully-booked for the night, the receptionist will say:
If tables are available for walk-ins, the receptionist will ask:
Some restaurants offer both indoor and outdoor seating. The receptionist may ask for our preference.
If no table is available at the moment, the receptionist will usually give us a paper slip with a number, which is called 飛 fei1 (‘ticket’), and ask us to wait.
To estimate the waiting time, we can ask about the number of tables ahead of us.
When our table will be ready soon, the receptionist will call our ticket number.
When our table is ready, the receptionist will bring us to the table.
- The sentence particle 吖 aa1 is used here because the receptionist is requesting us to follow them to walk.
- The preposition 跟 gan1 means ‘with (following someone)’. We use 跟 gan1 to indicate that we follow someone to do something. 跟 gan1 is different from the preposition 同 tung4 (‘with’), which is used to indicate that we do something together with someone.
When we arrive at the table, the receptionist will say:
In some restaurants, the receptionist will just point to a table and ask us to walk to the table on our own.
- The sentence particle 吖 aa1 is used here because the staff is requesting us to sit at a specific table.
In some restaurants, we can choose our table freely. The receptionist will say:
Sometimes the receptionist will ask if we mind sharing a table with strangers.
Okay with table sharing
Not okay with table sharing
Culture
Table sharing is common in Hong Kong, especially at 茶餐廳 caa4 caan1 teng1 (‘cha chaan teng’) or fast food restaurants during peak hours. It may be because the restaurant is too small or just because there are too many people who need to eat! In the past, tabling sharing was also common in 酒樓 zau2 lau4 / 茶樓 caa4 lau4 (‘Chinese restaurant’, those for dim sum). It wasn’t unusual to see several groups of strangers sitting around a large round table and eating dim sum together!