How to Use China's Food Delivery Apps for (Hungry) Dummies

We're not proud to admit it but sometimes nothing is more satisfying than sitting on the sofa in your pajamas, pulling out your phone, and watching the cogs of China's rapid economic development spin into action. We are of course talking about ordering waimai, which for better or for worse is significantly quicker, more convenient, and more affordable in China than the countries from which we hail.

Nowadays, the two main competing apps for food delivery are Meituan (美团) and Eleme (饿了么). After downloading both you'll have access to the vast majority of food delivery options out there, putting you one step closer to couch potato world domination. Right now, the Meituan app is the most popular because the Eleme app can be harder to navigate, and tends to crash more often. However, in an effort to draw users, Eleme offers bigger discounts, sometimes rendering the exact same food item cheaper.

Before you get started, it's worth having a dictionary handy to ensure that you know what you’re going to eat. Do also keep in mind that the food delivery industry business is one of the most wasteful, plastic-obsessed industries out there, so when possible, we recommend adding the note 无需餐具，无需纸巾，并请尽量简单打包 wúxū cānjù, wúxū zhǐjīn, bìng qǐng jǐnliàng jiǎndān dǎbāo (please no chopsticks, cutlery, napkins, or excess packaging) to try and cut down on waste.

Below we'll explain how the process works via both Meituan and Eleme as well as provide screenshots on how to navigate the two delivery platforms. Now, let's get down to business.

How to place an order (on Meituan and Eleme)

Create an account by clicking "my profile" in the bottom right-hand corner, then enter your address, suite number, name, sex, and phone number. Note that upon placing your orders, the restaurant might call you if they don’t have the item you wanted, and the delivery person is likely to call if they can't find your apartment.

Meituan

Eleme

Now go to the home page, and type in the food item you’re looking for on the very top. While you can search for some terms in English, we don't recommend it, and you'll get much better results by translating the food item into Chinese first.

Search for what you want to eat

Restaurant options will usually be displayed according to proximity. Click on the restaurant/venue name to see more options.

For some items, you can just press the ‘+’ button to add an item to your cart, which will show up at the bottom of the screen. For other items, you need to choose specifications (选规格 xuǎn guīgé). For instance, when ordering a pizza, you would need to indicate the size of this pizza that you want (6, 9, or 12 inches). The price will also sometimes change accordingly depending on whether you add or remove ingredients.

Meituan

Eleme

Navigating to checkout

After you’ve selected all the food you want, press the red button at the very bottom to go to your cart (去结算 qù jiésuàn), which will calculate your total after discounts, utensil costs, delivery cost, etc.

Meituan

Eleme

Paying for your food

The last step is to pay, for which there is a variety of options. Alipay or WeChat pay are the two most common payment methods, and if you've gotten this far it's likely that you already have these services.

Meituan