[General] I was searching for a restaurant for dinner

I was in a shopping mall with my mom and we met a German person. I then chatted with him. He was sitting in a German restaurant eating food with his friends.

After greeting him, I walked into the restaurant with my mom saying "I was searching for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food."

I wonder if the italic sentence is natural.

Silverobama said:

"I was [STRIKE]searching[/STRIKE] looking for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food."

I wonder if the italic sentence is natural.

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"Searching" suggests a degree of urgency that usually doesn't apply to finding a place to eat, but it's not impossible.

You made a tense-agreement error. Can you fix it?

GoesStation said:

"Searching" suggests a degree of urgency that usually doesn't apply to finding a place to eat, but it's not impossible.

You made a tense-agreement error. Can you fix it?

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I am looking for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food.

Is this okay now?

Who were you saying this to?

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I said this to the German man I met in that German restaurant.

Silverobama said:

I was in a shopping mall with my mom and we met a German person. I then chatted with him. He was sitting in a German restaurant eating food with his friends.

After greeting him, I walked into the restaurant with my mom saying "I was looking for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food."

I wonder if the italic sentence is natural.

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The phrase "was looking" seems right to me. You're not looking for a restaurant anymore. You've found it!

The whole thing seems odd to me. Do you know that German person, or is he a total stranger to you?!
I would use "I was looking for somewhere to have dinner".

Silverobama said:

I was in a shopping mall with my mom and we met a German person. I then chatted with him. He was sitting in a German restaurant eating food with his friends.

After greeting him, I walked into the restaurant with my mom saying "I was searching for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food."

I wonder if the italic sentence is natural.

Click to expand...

The timeline here is baffling. You start by saying you were in a shopping mall when you met this German man and started chatting with him. Immediately after, you say that he was actually in a German restaurant with his friends. Which one was it?

You then say you greeted him before walking into the restaurant. That's not possible if he was already in the restaurant (and if you'd already started chatting with him!) If he's already sitting at a table, and you start talking as you walk in, you can only really be talking to your mother or perhaps a waiter. It wouldn't make sense to say the italic sentence to either of them.

You really need to work out the timeline and explain it more clearly.

Do you know that German person, or is he a total stranger to you?!

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He is a total stranger to me.

The timeline here is baffling. You start by saying you were in a shopping mall when you met this German man and started chatting with him. Immediately after, you say that he was actually in a German restaurant with his friends. Which one was it?

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I'm sorry; I didn't explain myself clearly. Both. I was in a shopping mall and the shopping mall has five levels. On the fourth and fifth level, there are many restaurants. I don't know if you've ever been to a big shopping mall in the UK, since I have never been abroad, I'm only talking about the case in China.

You then say you greeted him before walking into the restaurant. That's not possible if he was already in the restaurant (and if you'd already started chatting with him!) If he's already sitting at a table, and you start talking as you walk in, you can only really be talking to your mother or perhaps a waiter. It wouldn't make sense to say the italic sentence to either of them.

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I remember the German restaurant I walked in a shopping mall has no door. They have seats next to the entrance. Say you're walking on the fourth floor and you can walk by that restaurant.

Here's the timeline:

I was with my mom on the fourth floor when I got off the escalator. Then we walked by the German restaurant which has no doors but a lane leading to the inner part of it. I saw a man (German man) was sitting there with his friends. I'm a naughty man, yes, immature, and I like chatting with foreigners. How could I possibly give up the chance of chatting with him? So I walked up to him and said "Hola Amigo" then we talked with each other. He told me he's from Germany. At that time, my mom asked me to leave because we were still looking for a restaurant to eat but my mom didn't want to eat in that German restaurant. So we left and just walked around at that level. After walking around and finishing seeing all the restaurants, we finally decided to eat in that German restaurant. My mom also decided to try some German food because I insisted. Then when walking into that restaurant, I talked to the German man again, saying:

I am looking for a restaurant for dinner and my mom wants to try some German food.

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I wonder if the sentence is now natural and understandable.

Sorry for the incomplete context.

Shuo

Two things. One, say pass by. (Not give up.) Two, why in the world would you speak Spanish to a German man in China? :-o

I think what I suggested in post #6 should work for you, and you can append to it "and my mother wouldn't mind trying some German food".