Chinese restaurant menu makerThe regulars order by number. Keep the numbers.
A Chinese restaurant menu is long on purpose, often well past a hundred numbered dishes, with a lunch special list, family dinners priced for four, and names in Chinese and English side by side. A Gaslamp menu holds twelve sections of twenty dishes, 240 lines, so a numbered menu up to that size fits on one menu with one QR code; a longer one splits across two. Here is how that works, and how the duck comes off the menu when the last one is carved.
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What changes on a Chinese restaurant menu, and how often
A menu is designed once and edited forever. These are the edits this kind of place makes, and what each one takes in Gaslamp.
| The change | How often | In Gaslamp |
|---|---|---|
| The duck or a whole fish runs out | Most weekends | Mark it sold out and save. Within about thirty seconds the QR menu shows it struck through; put it back on when the next one is ready. |
| Lunch specials start and stop | Every weekday | Keep Lunch specials as their own section with the hours in the note under the heading. Gaslamp does not switch it by the clock; hide it after lunch if you would rather. |
| Family dinners get repriced | Once or twice a year | Each family dinner is one line at its price, “for four” in the name and the dishes in the description. |
| Seasonal greens change | With the market | Keep pea shoots, gai lan, and ong choy as their own items and hide what did not come in. |
| Takeout prices move | Once or twice a year | Edit the prices from your phone and the QR menu has them after you save. Reprint the takeout menu from a proof-checked PDF when you are ready. Delivery apps are changed separately. |
7:40 p.m.
The last duck went at 7:40. Off the menu at 7:41.
The oven holds as many ducks as it holds, and table six just ordered the last one. On your phone, mark the Peking duck sold out and save. Within about thirty seconds, the family at the round table scanning the code sees it struck through and picks something else before anyone has to come back and say so. Put it back on tomorrow when the ducks go in.
The editor runs in your phone’s browser; there is no app to install. The menu rebuilds in about two seconds, and phones that scan the code see the change about thirty seconds after you save.
Your phone
The menu
How Chinese restaurants set up their menus in Gaslamp
Menus
- Full menuEvery numbered dish by course, lunch specials included
- Overflow (optional)Noodles, rice, and family dinners on a second menu, if the list runs past 240 lines
Sections, for example
- Lunch specialsup to 12, hours in the section note
- Appetizers & dim sumup to 12
- Soupswonton, hot and sour, about 6
- Chef’s specialtiesthe duck, the whole fish, up to 12
- Chickenup to 12
- Beef & porkup to 12
- Seafoodup to 12
- Vegetables & tofuup to 12
Each menu holds twelve sections of twenty dishes, 240 in all. A longer menu splits by course across two menus, each with its own QR code.
Start with Classic American
Straightforward headings and prices in a steady column, with room on the hosted menu for a number, a Chinese name, and an English name on one line. A long list stays readable on the phone without the type getting small.
Start from the sample menu set in Classic American, then type your dishes and prices over it in the editor. After that, the job is keeping it right from your phone.
Where the QR code goes
Each menu gets one code, and it never changes. Print it once; every edit after that shows up behind it. Gaslamp makes the printable pieces for you.
From the floor: If the QR menu is the short one, say so. A line in the note under the first section, “Full menu on paper, ask for one”, keeps the regular who orders number 112 from thinking it is gone.
- Table tenton the round tables, for the family deciding what to add after the first dishes land
- Counter cardat the takeout counter, so the next order gets read while this one is bagged
- Window signwith the lunch specials, for the office crowd checking before noon
Good to know before you start
- Twelve sections of twenty dishes per menu, 240 in all. A longer menu splits across two menus, each with its own QR code and PDF, which needs a paid plan; the trial includes one menu.
- Up to three labeled prices per item, so Small and Large, or Pint and Quart, share one line.
- No language switch or translation. Write the Chinese and English names together on one line; both show on the hosted menu. We have not verified that the print PDF carries Chinese characters, so proof it before you print.
- No POS or delivery-app sync, and no ordering. When a price moves, change it in Gaslamp, in the POS, and on every delivery app, one at a time.
Chinese restaurant menu questions
- My menu has more than 150 dishes. Will it fit?
- Yes. A Gaslamp menu holds twelve sections of twenty dishes, 240 in all, and a dish with a pint and a quart takes one line with two labeled prices. Past 240, split it into two menus by course, each with its own QR code; extra menus need a paid plan.
- Can I keep our dish numbers?
- Yes. Put the number at the start of the dish name, for example “47. Kung pao chicken 宫保鸡丁”, so it matches the paper menu, your POS, and the number your regulars call in with.
- Can the menu show Chinese and English names?
- Yes, on one line. Gaslamp has no language switch or translation, so write both in the dish name and put the English description underneath. Both show on the hosted menu, which uses the phone’s own fonts. We have not verified that the print PDF carries Chinese characters, so do not count on the printed version; download a proof on a paid plan and check it before you send anything to a printer.
- How do I list lunch specials?
- Give them their own section, with the hours and what comes with them in the note under the heading, for example “11 to 3 weekdays, with soup and fried rice”. Gaslamp does not show or hide sections by the clock; hide it after lunch or leave it up with the hours.
- How much does it cost?
- Start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card needed. Then it is $19 a month, or $190 a year (2 months free). No setup fee. Cancel anytime. The trial includes one published live menu with QR codes. PDF downloads and additional menus start when you pick a plan.
The duck comes back tomorrow. So does its line on the menu.
No card needed · then $19/mo or $190/yr · cancel anytime