Light Gathering in the Yuàn

Light Gathering in the Yuàn
An Immersive Dining Experience Exploring Light, Culture, and Contemporary Chinese Hospitality

光聚院心
一場以光、文化與當代華人待客之道為主軸的沉浸式餐飲體驗

January 26, 28: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm (dinner event, ticketed)
January 29, 30, 31: 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm (public days, free entry)

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Limited tickets are available here.

See the listing on the DesignTO website

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Light Gathering in the Yuàn, an immersive dining experience shaped by light, culture, and contemporary Chinese hospitality, will make its debut this January as part of the DesignTO Festival. Presented inside The Light Room, a new experimental design space created by Mason Studio and VYVYD Lighting within Mason Studio’s Cultural Hub, the event marks the inaugural activation of an ongoing exploration into how illumination shapes emotion, ritual, and human connection.

The evening brings together Mason Studio, VYVYD Lighting, and Chef Eva Chin of Yan Dining Room for a sensory event shaped by light, space, and contemporary Chinese hospitality. Inspired by the traditional yuàn—a courtyard at the heart of a home—the experience welcomes guests into a world where gathering feels both familiar and new, offered over two intimate, ticketed evenings.

In Chinese tradition, the Yuàn is more than an architectural form; it is the emotional center of domestic life, a place where families meet, celebrate, honour ancestors, and move through seasonal rituals. It is a space shaped by light, open sky, and human connection, making it a natural foundation for an event devoted to illumination, hospitality, and shared experience.

The night opens with a gesture of hospitality that shifts guests into a different state of mind. The event unfolds like a living courtyard: Chef Eva Chin shaping a modern raw seafood bar inspired by Chinese flavours through memory and craft; Mason Studio creating the spatial rhythm and environmental experience; VYVYD Lighting scripting illumination that moves and drifts with the senses. These elements converge inside The Light Room, where light becomes both atmosphere and storyteller. With each course, the space subtly transforms, deepening the connection between flavour, memory, and place.

When dinner is not in session, The Light Room remains open as an installation, its lantern-like glow lingering, traces of celebration still present, the room warm with the nearness of those who’ve just gathered. Visitors are invited into this afterglow, where light and space continue their quiet conversation.

Presented as part of DesignTO, with DBD CoLab supporting the creative connection between collaborators.

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Menu

Welcome broth
Dried Sakura shrimp and winter melon

Drunken shellfish trio
Chaoshan-style marinated oyster shot
Sichuan green peppercorn pickled honey mussels
Ningbo yellow wine poached humpback shrimp

Farm egg
Nova Scotia green crab roe and sea urchin

Terrine
Seabuckthorn and hamachi

Cleansing broth

Winter radish
Hoi mei and ling cod

Red love apple
Hawthorn and cinnamon

Roasted rice milk
Sweet potato and ginger

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