Restaurant Resource
Chinese Restaurant Spice Scale Template
A useful spice scale tells diners what kind of heat they are ordering, not only whether a dish is hot.
Copyable scale
| Menu label | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| Mild | Seasoned but not chile-driven. |
| Spicy | Contains noticeable chile heat. |
| Very spicy | High chile heat. Not recommended for spice-sensitive diners. |
| Ma-la | Numbing-spicy Sichuan flavor from chile and Sichuan peppercorn. |
| Chile oil | Oil-based heat. Usually difficult to remove after cooking. |
| Can be made mild | The kitchen can reduce heat without changing the dish completely. |
| Not adjustable | The dish's sauce, broth, or preparation is already spicy. |
Copyable note
Spice note: Ma-la dishes are numbing-spicy and contain Sichuan peppercorn. Some dishes can be made less spicy, but dishes cooked in chile oil or spicy broth may not be adjustable. Please ask before ordering if you are spice-sensitive.
Downloadable spice scale template
# Chinese Restaurant Spice Scale Template ## Menu legend 0 — Not spicy 1 — Mild 2 — Medium spicy 3 — Hot 4 — Very hot M — Ma-la: spicy and numbing from chile and Sichuan peppercorn O — Chile oil: cooked or dressed in chile oil F — Fresh chile: fresh chopped chile or green chile D — Dried chile: dried chile, often aromatic and smoky ## Customer-facing note Ma-la means spicy and numbing. Some dishes can be made less spicy, but dishes cooked in chile oil or spicy broth may not be adjustable. Please ask before ordering if you are sensitive to chile. ## Item-level fields Dish: Default spice level: Type of heat: Can be made mild? Can be made not spicy? If modified, what changes? Will the dish still taste right if modified? ## Examples Mapo tofu — 3/M — Can sometimes be made less spicy, but not fully non-spicy. Dry pot — 4/M/O — Usually not a good candidate for non-spicy modification. Steamed fish with ginger and scallion — 0 — Not spicy.