Asian Fusion Events

Asian-inpired Graphic Dinnerware by Ty Pennington

For dinner parties or any party that involves sit-down dining – the simplest way to inject some Asian flair is your tableware.  I personally love the different shapes and simplistic design of Asian-inspired dinnerware, servingware and tableware.  And one of my favorite designers that has a whole line of these is Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

I love the minimalist style of this set of dinnerware from his Ty Pennington Style collection.   I have been in love with square plates since commercial dinnerware manufacturers adopted them a few years back.  Why couldn’t you have a square plate?  It’s great for taking pictures of food, it almost frames the food and present it like artwork.  All the better to wow your guests with, right?  I love it when hosts take the time to actually make their banquet look good.

The stark whiteness of the dinnerware also makes it easier to plate your courses individually.  The black graphic is dramatic against the white.  The nature print is actually what makes this set look Asian.  The simple lines depicting plants or birds can always be traced to some Asian artistic style.

Distinctly Asian Wooden Bowls

Wooden bowls are great for serving steamed rice or fresh salads. They bring in earth tones and accents that are also distinctly Asian in character. We are a very green culture, we’ve been using bamboo to make bowls and furniture long before the term environment-friendly was coined because bamboo can be found in abundance in Asian countries. We even have bamboo utensils – and I don’t mean just chopsticks! We have wooden spoons and forks – even serving utensils. And don’t forget the bamboo placemats! I always associate wooden tableware with the Asian culture.

Although in Asian-food-lover cities like Los Angeles, using a pair chopsticks has become a common skill – you cannot be sure that all your guest would know how to use this. That doesn’t mean you should forgo the chopsticks all together – chopsticks are after all the most identifiable Asian utensil there is. I have seen tablescapes where they put the chopsticks as part of their napkin ring – bind the napkin with a ribbon using the chopsticks and a delicate flower as the centerpiece of the napkin decor. Because most of your dinnerware will tend to be minimalistic in design, you will need to add the wow factor of your tablescape somewhere else – napkin rings are the perfect accent pieces to make your table setting pop.

Be creative – there’s no right or wrong in art! And a tablescape should definitely be a work of art.