When you sign up for a language class, you usually learn how to introduce yourself, words like post office and city hall, and different greetings.

No one tells you how to order Chinese food over the phone.

Yes, you need to know how to get to the bank and how to pay your electric bill, but ordering food for your lazy self so you don’t have to leave you apartment is more important.

Restaurants put magnetic menus on your door, hoping you choose them for your delivery food needs.  You can order pizza, noodles, fried chicken, but I seem to get mostly Chinese food menus.

I really wanted to try to order food over the phone, how hard could it be?  Reading the menu was actually the most difficult part of the process.

…where are the pictures?

that’s better!

Once you call the number, the person just responds with “yes?”.  They don’t waste any time, they just want to know what you want.

After you tell them the food you want and how much of it, they will ask “where are you?”.  Hopefully you can say your address in Korean.  I said it slowly which I’m sure annoyed the person listening.  But they managed to deliver it to my apartment quickly, and that is all that matters.

I ordered tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and bokeumbap (fried rice).  It may be Chinese food, but you still need a healthy dose of kimchi and pickled radishes.

It tasted like greasy, msg goodness, just what I wanted on a cold and cloudy day.

I didn’t have to pay extra for delivery, but I don’t know if it’s different for larger orders.

Some delivery places provide actual dishes so they will give you a plastic bag to put your dirty dishes in and they will come back and get the bag.  You just leave the bag outside the door if you don’t feel like having any human interaction

Not only do you not have to cook or fetch the food, someone cleans up after your mess.

Now I need to try ordering pizza, without any corn.