''NOW, what will I order?'' This is the most frequently asked question when visiting any restaurant for the first time. Let me tell you what I do that often produces positive results.

I believe that any restaurant is put up because it has something good to sell. All these places have one or two specialty dishes that the owners are sure will make them winners.

Many successful establishments started by preparing small dinners for friends or relatives that got raves and frequent requests for an ''encore'' thus the decision to start selling to the public. With that in mind, I always order the specialty of the house.

Or you can also try ordering what many of the customers ask for. I often ask for the most popular dishes or the most frequently ordered. To the question, ''Ano ba ang masarap sa menu nyo?'' there is nothing worse than a ''Lahat ho, masarap'' answer. If you're given an answer like this, politely ask for the head waiter or manager to do the suggesting.

What I sometimes do is pass on the burden of choosing on the service staff by asking them what they would choose if they were in my shoes. With their taste on the line, quite often, I get very positive results.

If I'm in a place that has the standard items, I prefer to stick to old reliables like adobo, fried rice, burgers, Caesar salad and lumpiang Shanghai.

I rely on the adjectives used in describing the dishes. Attractive descriptions like ''crunchy, creamed, herbed, crusted, cheesy'' make me imagine the dish. I also like to ask how the dish is cooked and what its ingredients are. If the description tickles my imagination, then they've won me over.

Then I ask about the person manning the kitchen--his experience, his educational background, nationality and region. If he's from France or Italy, for example, then I ask for a specialty from his region. I tend to stay away from festivals or restaurants featuring foreign cuisines but have no guest chef. And of course, you always have good, old word of mouth. A tip from friends always works for me.

Lastly, an important piece of advice: be nice to the service staff.