Rice is a critical part of much of Chinese cuisine. However, in many parts of China, particularly northern China, wheat-based products including noodles and steamed buns (mantou饅頭) predominate, in contrast to southern China where rice is dominant. Despite the importance of rice in Chinese cuisine, at extremely formal occasions, it is sometimes the case that no rice at all will be served; in such a case, rice would only be provided when no other dishes remained, or as a token dish at the end of the meal. Soup is usually served at the start of a meal and at the end of a meal in Southern China.

Chopsticks are the primary eating utensil in Chinese culture for solid foods, while soups and other liquids are enjoyed[1] with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (traditionally made of ceramic). It is reported that wooden chopsticks are losing their dominance due to recent logging shortfalls in China and East Asia; many Chinese eating establishments are considering a switch to a more environmentally sustainable eating utensil, such as plastic or bamboo chopsticks. More expensive materials used in the past included ivory and silver. On the other hand, disposable chopsticks made of wood/bamboo have all but replaced reusable ones in small restaurants.

In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces (e.g. vegetable, meat, doufu), ready for direct picking up and eating. Traditionally, Chinese culture considered using knives and forks at the table barbaric due to fact that these implements are regarded as weapons. It was also considered ungracious to have guests work at cutting their own food. Fish are usually cooked and served whole, with diners directly pulling pieces from the fish with chopsticks to eat, unlike in some other cuisines where they are first filleted. This is because it is desired for fish to be served as fresh as possible. It is common in many restaurant settings for the server to use a pair of spoons to divide the fish into servings at the table.

In a Chinese meal, each individual diner is given his or her own bowl of rice while the accompanying dishes are served in communal plates (or bowls) that are shared by everyone sitting at the table. In the Chinese meal, each diner picks food out of the communal plates on a bite-by-bite basis with their chopsticks. This is in contrast to western meals where it is customary to dole out individual servings of the dishes at the beginning of the meal. Many non-Chinese are uncomfortable with allowing a person's individual utensils (which might have traces of saliva) to touch the communal plates; for this hygienic reason, additional serving spoons or chopsticks （竹筷, lit. common/public/shared chopsticks) may be made available. In areas with increased Western influence, such as Hong Kong, diners are provided individually with a heavy metal spoon for this purpose. The food selected is often eaten together with some rice either in one bite or in alternation.

Vegetarianism is not uncommon or unusual in China, though, as is the case in the West, it is only practiced by a relatively small proportion of the population. The Chinese vegetarian does not eat a lot of tofu, unlike the stereotypical impression in the West. Most Chinese vegetarians are Buddhists. Non-Chinese people eating Chinese cuisine will note that a large number of popular vegetable dishes may actually contain meat (usually pork), as meat chunks or bits have been traditionally used to flavor dishes. Chinese Buddhist cuisine has many true vegetarian dishes that contain no meat at all.

A sweet dish is usually served at the end of a formal dinner, such as sliced fruits or a sweet soup (糖水, lit. sugar water) which is served warm.

In traditional Chinese culture, cold beverages are believed to be harmful to digestion of hot food, so items like ice-cold water or soft drinks are traditionally not served at meal-time. Besides soup, if any other beverages are served, they would most likely be hot tea or hot water. Tea is believed to help in the digestion of greasy foods. Despite this tradition, nowadays beer and soft drinks are popular accompaniment with meals. A popular combo in many small restaurants in parts of China is hot pot served with cold beer, a combination known as 冷淡杯(Pinyin: leng3 dan4 bei1, literally: cold and bland cup, despite being strongly flavoured), which is the very opposite of what traditional wisdom would admonish.

Often, Chinese food found outside China can range from the authentic, or food that has been adapted for local tastes, to something that is newly created. For example, chop suey does not exist in Chinese restaurants in China.

The Art of Eating

To understand the art of eating you must know the philosophy of food. food must be fresh, have flavor and possess proper texture. If the food itself is bad, even the greatest chef will not be able to cook a flavor into it. As in other things in life, we must avoid excesses in food. We should not aim at eating too much if we want to eat for good health. We should also be sparing in our tastes and eat only when hungry, and not just eat for the sake of eating. The same applies to drinking. If we eat too much at a time, it hurts our lungs, and if we eat too little we become hungry and that hurts our vital energy. A Chinese cookery book in full of these rules.

Anyone who claims to have written a Chinese cookery book without these rules has not written a cookery book. Also, anyone who aims at extraordinary or peculiar dishes just to astonish himself or his guests may end up with extraordinary diseases. Simple food properly cooked will ensure good eating and good health. Everything in cooking must match and there is an order in eating food of different flavors. Clear mush go with clear, thick with thick and soft with soft. Usually, we should eat food of a salty flavor first and then food of a more negative flavor. Heavy should precede the light and dry precedes gravy. We must have noticed that in a Chinese dinner, soup is never served first as it is in the west. Salty flavor is relieved by bitter or hot tasty food. Too much wine dulls the stomach, which can only be aroused to vigor again by sweet or sour food. Mustard is for a warm day and pepper for a cool day. For a formal dinner, the four heroes of the dining table are the chicken, duck, fish and pig. Without these four a formal dinner loses its elegance and formality.

The absorption of good points from other cultures has enriched a Chinese dinner today. Tenderloin steak, cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes have kept good company in dinners which the Chinese quite unashamedly call Chinese. Sometimes a Chinese dinner is topped off with Sunkist oranges, ice-cream and coffee instead of the traditional Chinese tea!