I bought this book when it came out in 1984. With a little effort you can make a sizable dent into a menu solely in Chinese. I found it very rewarding when I translated something.
(The Eater’s Guide to Chinese Characters, McCawley)
I used to travel to various locales in China for work on a pretty regular basis. All I can say is that is extremely, extremely untrue in my experience. Last trip I thought I might die from baijiu poisoning.