RMTC Banquets 2026

We’re privileged to have our very own culinary maestro at Rising Moon Tai Chi! Throughout the year, we mark several Chinese festivals with a private, indulgent 8-course banquet.

Meet Youngsaye Tsin Ming, our Culinarian

Gay has hosted many corporate dinners and banquets over the past 20 years and she is now offering her culinary  expertise through specialised catering of private dinner parties.  Gay hosts Rising Moon Tai Chi School banquets which include a range of vegetarian, gluten free and seafood, chicken and beef dishes. Banquets include Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Peking Duck, as a special Christmas treat.

Our 8-course banquets are held in Mornington, from 1:00pm - 3:30pm. Special dietary requirements can be catered for.

Dragon Boat Festival

During the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256BC), China was divided into seven warring kingdoms. This was a time of great violence and unrest, with many battles for supremacy resulting in many lives lost.  The strongest of these Kingdoms was Qin, which was ruled by an ambitious king called Qin Shi Huang. This king wanted to create an empire, ruling over all seven kingdoms.  

In this time there also lived an officer and a poet called Qu Yuan. He lived in the kingdom of Chu in the south of China. He was considered to be a peaceful and wise man who had a great love for his own Kingdom and wanted it to remain independent. He was a trusted councillor to the king of Chu and tried to persuade his king of the importance of remaining independent.  But although Qu Yuan was an honest man, there were others in the kingdom who wished the young officer ill. It was these men who convinced the king that Qu Yuan was not to be trusted. They poisoned the king’s ears to Qu Yuan’s wisdom and called him a ‘sting in flesh.’The king of Chu believed these lies and banished Qu Yuan into exile. It was at this time that Qu Yuan became a true poet, writing many beautiful poems about his beloved Chu, including one called ‘Li Sao’ – also known as The Lament.

When Qu Yuan discovered that Qin Shi Huang had invaded his beloved kingdom of Chu, he became so saddened by the news that he walked into the Miluo River where he drowned.

The common people had a great respect for Qu Yuan, and when they heard that he had drowned in the Miluo River, they rushed to the riverbank and took to their boats. They banged drums and hit the water to scare evil spirits away.  Some people in the boats threw parcels of rice into the water so that the fish would eat the rice and leave the body of the poet in peace.

Qu Yuan’s death is still remembered today. Every year, Chinese people hold The Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Many boats take to the river, racing each other in contests to see who is the fastest. People throw parcels of sticky rice into the river and bang drums in commemoration of the hero poet.  

Other customs during the Dragon Boat Festival  relate to the diseases and plagues that were said to originate during the fifth lunar month.  Chinese people, especially children, made incense bags and hung them on their necks to avoid catching contagious diseases and to keep evil spirits away. In some regions of China, parents braid silk threads of 5 colours and put them on the their children's wrists on the day of Duanwu (the double five). People believe that this will help keep bad spirits and disease away.