Mooncake is a minimalist design created by Toronto-based design firm +tongtong. The concept of the design is to have restaurant patrons eat directly off the table. The designers wanted to create a table in which the patrons would have a stronger connection to their meal and surrounding environment. The design was originally created for a pop-up diner for a fundraising event at Toronto’s Design Exchange.
The event accommodated 150 guests, and thirty at a time were brought into a room that was created in collaboration with design studio Castor and Parts, and Labour Chef Matthew Matheson to eat off of a communal table, and have a shared dining experience. The tables were sculpted with curvaceous, shapely trays, small dints, and vessels that worked in concordance with Matheson’s offerings. The food could be removed from the table base, which allowed for quick platings between each sitting.
The larger depressions were used as plates to serve the main dishes while the smaller pockets were used to hold sauces or smaller plate offerings such as fruit. Mooncake is created using injection molding, and there are currently three different variations with the possibility of various colors and materials.