I worked through college, nearly every weekend. I waited on tables in a number of Chinese restaurants. Mostly, I allowed the customers enough time to browse through the menu and jotted down their orders. Occasionally, I would answer their questions about particular menu items. Every once in a while, they’d ask me to recommend an item or help them narrow it down. After that it was about timing.
At a very basic level, waiting on tables simply involves getting people what they asked for. Naturally, subtle differences will enhance the experience. Timeliness matters, of course. Good presentation gets you brownie points. However, some exceptions exist; you can’t serve alcohol to underage drinkers. Though generally, that’s close to it; you get people what they want.