03 Mar How To Throw A Chinese-inspired Dinner Party

Dinner parties are popular all over the world, because they perfectly combine the pleasure of great friends and food with the comfort of your own home. If you’re looking for a new angle for your next dinner party, try making it a themed affair. A Chinese-inspired dinner party–complete with decorations, food, and entertainment–is a great way to stand out as the best and most creative host around!

Flair

To help your guests get into the theme, decorate the room with Chinese objects, such as a flag, decorative hand fans, and paper lanterns. Use a dragon statue as the centerpiece on your table and hang a Chinese-inspired tapestry on the wall. Ask your guests to wear embroidered robes, silk dresses, or loose pants. They can also carry fans and style their hair with chopsticks. Research how to write each guest’s name in Chinese characters and then write the names on thick card to use as place markers. You can use a calligraphy pen and add a few water color flowers, so your guests have a nice keepsake from the night.

Menu

Rather than dealing with preparation and clean-up time associated with cooking, try catering from Chili House SF in you’re hosting your party in San Francisco. Our award-winning chefs have decades of professional training in both Sichuan and Beijing-style cuisine.

For the appetizers, serve up egg rolls, pot stickers, beef pancakes and more. Popular choices for entrees include our House Special Fresh Filet Boiled in House Spicy Sauce, and Hand Pulled Noodle, Creamy Prawns with Honey Walnut, Mu-Shu Pork and Steam Chinese Cabbages.

For an authentic experience, encourage everyone to try eating with chopsticks–just be sure to also have forks on hand for those who are less dexterously advanced! Finish the meal with the perfect dessert: “Nian Gao” (traditional Chinese New Year cake) accompanied by steamed pears.

Entertainment

After dinner, keep your guests entertained with traditional Chinese games. You can set up a Mahjongg game with little Chinese trinkets as prizes or have everyone have their fortune told using Kau Cim sticks. The more adventurous members of the group can see how they fare with Chinese finger traps. You can also buy a Chinese puzzle box and place a small prize in it. Hide the instructions and have your friends take turns trying to figure out how to open it.

A Chinese-inspired dinner party is sure to impress your guests. The decorations, outfits, foods, and games will guarantee that everyone has a fantastic time. Your guests will get to enjoy great food and entertainment and will even get to learn about Chinese culture. Once you’ve experienced the taste of success, you’ll be eager to start planning your next themed dinner party.