The ritual of the round table

Cantonese food is round-table food — every dish makes the rounds, everyone shares. Lai built its room around that ritual.

moment · the signature

The tableside duck

A mahogany-skinned duck, carved in front of the diners — the wordless opening act of every Lai banquet.

moment · three colors

Tri-color soup dumplings

Gold, jade, charcoal dusted with gold — one thin skin, three shades. The smallest dish is the most photographed.

moment · the room

Round tables under lanterns

Brass lattice lanterns overhead, lazy-susan round tables, cream-and-blue chairs — and the city in blue dusk beyond the glass.

“The round table has no head — at Lai, every seat is the best seat.”— the round-table rule

Photos: provided by the restaurant via Google Maps