For those of us who have been wholly acclimated into North American culture, attending events like Fete Chinoise can often seem daunting and foreign. It can also be especially shameful if you are of an Asian ethnicity (like I am), and you are a stranger to customs and behaviours that are seemingly inherent to the people around you. But it’s also why an event like Fete Chinoise, which was recently held at the Shangri-La Hotel, is so important to the Toronto community.
Where other events like the Waterfront Asian Market can be overwhelming due to the glut of people, Fete Chinoise’s pace allowed guests to partake and learn about Chinese culture through the lens of the Chinese wedding, to once again get to know traditions that are slipping away from the memories of the younger Chinese-Canadian generation.
And on a personal note: it was a heck of a date night. All at once it fed the minds, spirit, and stomachs of my wife and I.
Wedding fashion was a big part of the displays.
To describe Fete Chinoise as simply an amalgamation of art, wedding traditions, and food is missing the true purpose of the event. Fete Chinoise is all of those things, yet it is also a bridge to the past, reinterpreted in a modern day setting. As soon as I arrived on the third floor of the Shangri-La Hotel, I was quickly struck by the beauty of it all. Flowing red lanterns, a live band, an Asian Night Market, cakes and treats, Hong Kong tea; the sights and smells were enough to make you believe you stepped into another world.
t is like a veil that has been lifted, to be able to explore luxurious Chinese culture with wonder, rather than be off-put by the misguided notions of how North America has redefined this culture into Chinatown culture.
The Hong Kong-style milk tea station at Fete Chinoise.
Fete Chinoise was hosted by Palettera, a luxury invitation company whose specialty is laser cut invitations. It’s art director, Deborah Lau-Yu, sought to give guests more than a few sensory excitements however. At the event I learned about the history of Chinese wedding pastries, the meaning of tea culture and the tea ceremony to elders, and why red is such an auspicious colour—all displayed neatly on cards at each station. These cards gave Fete Chinoise a museum and art exhibition like feel, while allowing me to partake in the experience itself. The event also tapped into something that hadn’t been revisited in a few years, to be able to re-live our own excitement through the rose coloured glasses of others who are also beginning their journey. A revisiting of the symbols that make marriage so meaningful, no matter which culture you come from.
Traditional wedding gifts
Included in the price of admission ($48) was also the drinks and food, which ranged from steamed bao with braised pork belly, to little bowls of fin soup (made with whitefish and mushroom, instead of shark), to tapioca puddings, to sesame balls and Hong Kong milk tea. Paired with the 25 photographs on canvasses throughout the venue, and buoyed by sponsorships from Porsche, Vera Wang, and Air Canada, and its easy to see why Fete Chinoise’s guests (including us), came dressed exquisitely to enjoy the evening. Here’s hoping that Fete Chinoise also becomes an annual event, to appease fiancés and wives around Toronto seeking an upscale and interactive date night. It was one that my wife and I glowingly gushed over a sparkling glass of white wine and beautiful scenery.
