Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chinese New Year - Hot Pots



January 23rd was Chinese New Year this year
and one of our favorite ways to dine at home
Chinese style


is to have a Chinese Hot Pot.




We love to serve this dinner on the coffee
table in front of the fireplace with everyone
sitting on cushions.


It makes a really fun party atmosphere.


My husband does business in China and brought
me home this beautiful replica of one of the clay soldiers.


He stands guard over our table today.


I was so impressed that my hubby was able to carry
this clay soldier half way around the world
without it breaking.


Look at the detail on his uniform.




I got the Chinese hot pots at least 20 years ago in 
San Francisco
when my sister Jean lived there.  We bought them
at Cost Plus World Market.  We went right home
and made dinner with them.  It is one of my fond
memories of San Francisco with Jean.


The hot pot is filled with hot seasoned broth and each
person places their vegetables and meats in the hot
broth and then scoops them out with little wire
scoops as they cook.


It is then eaten on top of sticky rice.
It is one of those fun interactive dinners that 
everyone loves.


The pot is heated with charcoal if you are eating
outside or Sterno if you are eating inside.


I love the geometric 
clean shapes of the chargers, plates and bowls
that come together to give this table a sleek
Oriental feel.


Everything was done in black and white
with the punch of color in the beautiful
yellow mums.





The yellow mums play well with the gold accents
on the black and gold chopsticks and the brass
wire baskets.






The plates/bowls have beautiful curved lines and 
with their triangular shapes and thick beveled edges, they
are quite the statement makers.


I hope you enjoyed your visit here at
Purple Chocolat Home today.
May 2012 bring you great fortune.

Pull up your coffee table in front of the fireplace
and set a fun Oriental table.  Kids and adults love
the great setting.


I had to laugh at my fortune.  I decided to open another
and it said the same thing!  I guess I need to keep practicing!


I will be posting this with

Sources:
Triangular plates/bowls - Tai Pan
Square small bowls - Tai Pan
Square chargers - Tuesday Morning
Chopsticks - 1st Oriental Market (local)
Napkins - Home Goods
Black goblets - Pier 1 years ago
Mums - Costco
Hot Pots - Cost Plus

26 comments:

  1. What a great tablescape and idea for a dinner party! Love the triangle dishes and the yellow mums in them. I have never heard of a hot pot before. I sounds like alot of fun though!

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  2. Wow..we eat Chinese fondue..but I have never seen these beautiful pots..
    Just lovely..I 've been making California rolls like crazy lately!This ties in so prettily..Love the bloom on the plate and your sweet offering from your dear husband.

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  3. Incredibly beautiful...I love the pop of yellow.

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  4. Jacqueline.. this is a fabulous table.. we love interactive dinners. This would be a fun one to try in our house. Your triangle plates are fabulous.. absolutely! Wow he brought a clay figure back in one piece.. that is a huge chore.. Congrats because they are really gorgeous! xo marlis

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  5. what a wonderful setting, love the statue so much! the flower is just the perfect touch. seeing that you bot those at cost plus takes me back to, the original store down by the water was huge and fun so many decades ago, was always special fun going there. they used to have a seperate building just for plants too, that drove me wild! such a wonderful celebration you shared~

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  6. I love the opening picture of the bowl and the flower -- so artistic! The simpleness of the table is so beautiful! Love the statue -- what a guy Kirk is! I remember eating with these at Jean's home in Crockett. They are so fun! I don't think you need to practice at tablescaping -- this is just perfect. Joni

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  7. Wonderful designs on the plates for your dinner. We used to go to Cost Plus years ago. It was always a great adventure. Thanks for inviting us to the table. Cherry Kay

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  8. Beautiful.
    Kind of like a healthy fondue party.

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  9. VERY well done, Jacqueline! Beautiful!!! Both my Mom and sister have been to China, but neither thought to bring me back a clay soldier replica. They played it safe with fabric...and I can't even sew! :-) The dishes you chose are perfect for the occasion, and I love the bright yellow! I didn't know those things were called hot pots. I have seen them when we eat at a "fondue" restaurant here that I really like, but I didn't know the name of them. Now I will sound better educated when I visit the restaurant next time! :-) The chopsticks are really pretty, too! They have more of a formal look to them in black!

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  10. A Chinese Hot Pot? I have never seen or heard of one like this before, but I LIKE IT!.. LOVE the clay soldier too! Dinner looks like it was fun!.. And Happy Chinese New Year to you! ~tina

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  11. I love hot pots too. What a fun way to share them here. I mostly use them for Thai cooking. Your coffee-table idea is beautiful Jackie. Happy Chinese New Year!

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  12. Me again. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. RE: Tablecloths...I wash them in the washing machine on gentle...it's actually better for them than the chemicals used in dry cleaning. If a cloth has become extremely fragile, I won't allow it to go through the spin cycle. After washing, I air dry them. When it's warm enough, I dry them outside, usually on towels and draped over one of our patio tables and chairs. I wait to iron them until right before I'm ready to use them. Otherwise, I'll end up ironing each one twice. (Took me years to figure that out...Duh.) I set up my ironing board at the end of the table, and as I iron each section, I move it out straight on to the table. Works really well. Another secret...if when I look at the photo I've taken, I detect a wrinkle that I missed...I use my photo editing retouch tool and "iron" it out with my software! I didn't need to do that with this last table, but I'd do it in the blink of an eye, if needed. Hope that helps. Thanks for dropping by for a visit. Cherry Kay

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  13. This hot pot dinner looks so casual and inviting. What fun to sit around the table and cook dinner. Using your coffee table as a dinner table is a wonderful idea.What a dramatic tablescape.

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  14. How cleaver! Love the table and plates! Thanks for sharing,Joann

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  15. What a fun way to entertain. I wonder if they still sell these hot pots. Maybe in a specialty store in China Town, Los Angeles. I will have to look for them. Great asymmetrical plates with mums that pop. Great design. ~CJ

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  16. You plan the most fun meals! I love your Chinese guard & how sweet of your hubby to cart him (unbroken!) all the way home. Good fortune to you, too!

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  17. I remember teaching that story about the Emperors clay army. It was in or reader. It always amazed me, 1000'a of hand carved soldiers to make the enemy think the army was there!
    I love this post, I never saw hot pots before, what fun! Like Chinese fondue!
    The table is beautiful,clean , crisp lines, beautiful!
    What types of things do you cook in the broth? Shrimp, or dumplings?

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  18. Jacqueline, your table is fabulous. Very Zen like! Love your guard and think it's wonderful that your husband would carry this all the way home to you. As for the fortune, YOU are perfection. Throw that silly fortune away. What do fortune cookies know anyway? ~
    Happy Year of the Dragon ~ Sarah

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  19. I love those dishes!! What a unique tablescape! I was just asking my hubby who travels all over Asia to give me ideas for a tablescape with an Asian flair...yours is perfect!!

    Love it.
    Karin ;)

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  20. When I saw your clay soldier I smiled! My girlfriend was in Japan for 2 years and brought back a clay soldier and the horse, all the way back without breaking them either!!! When I saw them I fell in LOVE!! I found mine at....HOME GOODS! I just love it, it stands in my foyer. The hot pots remind me of fondue. Does anyone still do fondue??? Sounds like a FUN evening! XO, Pinky

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  21. Hi lovely lady.
    Your Tablescape is beautiful for the Chinese New Years!! I love your Gorgeous dishes and the way you have put this all together.Thanks so much for your lovely comments on my 2011 Tablescape for Valentine's day. I hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend. I'am going to put a new Tablescape on this Sunday for Valentine's hope you come see me.
    XXOO Diane

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  22. Your table this time around is just terrific. I'm crazy about the just right dishes, the colors, well, everything.

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  23. What a gorgeous table setting! Love the simplicity of it! Perfect from a elegant chinese dinner.

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  24. What an awesome table. I've had shabu shabu, a Japanese entree made in hot pots, but never Chinese. I'll have to explore this option. How neat to have your own hot pots.

    - The Tablescaper

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