The diet system in the Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty is strict, with not only special chefs and special dining rooms, but also strict quota regulations, that is, each person has a fixed amount of rice, noodles, meat, vegetables and seasonings every day, which is called "bite". For example, Emperor Huang's daily share is 22 kg of plate meat, 5 kg of soup meat, 1 kg of lard, 2 sheep, 5 chickens, 3 ducks, 1 kg of milk, 12 cans of Yuquan water, 1 kg of emulsifiable concentrate, 75 packs of tea and so on. After the Emperor's Empress, 16 kg of meat, 1 kg of soup meat, 1 kg of pork, 2 sheep, 5 chickens, 3 ducks, 19 kg of vegetables, 6 radishes (all kinds), 6 kg of onion, 4 liang of yuquan wine, 3 kg of green sauce, 2 kg of vinegar, rice, noodles, sesame oil, milk wine, ghee, honey, sugar and sesame seeds are served every day. After the emperor, the number of concubines, sons of emperors, and blessings decreased accordingly.

Emperors and Emperors in the Qing Dynasty usually ate meals, which were called "passing meals", "taking meals" or "entering meals". They each had their own dining rooms to prepare meals and ate alone. Two meals a day. The breakfast is in the morning (8: a.m.) and the dinner is not in the evening (2: p.m.). Besides the two main meals, there are also wine, meals and various snacks, usually in the afternoon or evening. Before eating, you need to make a bill for the record, and there is a note on the list that someone cooks a dish in case of carelessness.

at ordinary times, the emperor eats alone. The Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager and Concubine ate in their respective palaces. There is no fixed place for the emperor to eat, and he often lives in the bedroom and the place where he does business and activities. When Qianlong lived, the bedroom was hall of mental cultivation Houdian, and breakfast was often in Dongnuange, hall of mental cultivation. Dinner and wine are mostly served in Shu Fang Zhai and Zhong Hua Palace. Xianfeng's bedroom is also in hall of mental cultivation's Houdian, but he is used to eating in Xianfu Palace or his classmates.

In normal times, Emperor Huang eats more than 2 kinds of dishes and side dishes, four kinds of staple food and two kinds of porridge (or soup). Chicken, duck, fish, goose, pork and fresh vegetables are the main dishes, supplemented by rare seafood, exotic melons and fruits, dried vegetables and fungi. The staple foods are "Gong Mi" and new wheat, and even the water for cooking is brought into the palace from Yuquan Mountain in the western suburbs of Beijing.