Blending Design With Tradition_ Dining Spaces That Reflect Cantonese Culture

In Singapore, a first-world society that’s filled with high-end dining establishments, dining is often more than about just the food.

It’s also about the story behind the brand, the culture of the food, and the ambience and atmosphere.

At Canton Paradise, one of Singapore’s more prominent Cantonese restaurant chains, we pride ourselves on thoughtful restaurant design that reflects the elegance and warmth of Cantonese culture.

This applies to not just the interior, but the exterior as well.

The outdoor space is the first touch that customers get with your business. Being the first impression, it establishes the expectation in customers’ minds for what to expect from your restaurant.

That’s why you need to take both your indoor outdoor space design seriously, and incorporate thoughtful features like awnings, wooden accents, and oriental motifs, to set the right tone from the moment customers first lay eyes on your exterior.

Here’s how.

1. Thoughtful Awning Design

Many businesses engage Singapore awning installation services with the practical benefits of awnings in mind.

They block out the sun, keep the space cooler, enhance energy efficiency, and can help capture people’s attention, which draws more customers to your establishment.

However, one benefit of awnings that’s often overlooked is their aesthetic value.

In fact, some people even believe that awnings can negatively affect the beauty or charm of their space.

But when done right, awnings can actually be powerful design elements that help enhance the identity and character of your space.

The reason why most people think awnings will not only be of no help to their visual appeal, but could even damage it, is because they’re thinking of the standard factory-made awnings that usually come in either a single colour or striped designs.

That’s not what we’re referring to though.

We’re talking about custom-made, tailored awnings that bring out your brand identity and strengthen your visual presence in a competitive space.

These aren’t for everyone. If you’re going for a more minimalist look, whether you’re a cafe or a Western cuisine restaurant, then it might be best to skip the awning to reduce clutter.

However, if your restaurant is Chinese, Cantonese, Mexican, and so on, a lot of times, having a thoughtfully designed awning can boost overall visual appeal.

You can customise not just the awning patterns, colors, and images, but also the shape itself.

For example, curved or gently sloping lines bring out the architectural style of old Cantonese teahouses, while tiered or slightly upturned edges echo the silhouette of pagoda rooftops for an unmistakably Chinese feel.

2. Wooden Features

In Cantonese culture, wood is a common recurring theme, present in most of their buildings, including restaurants, teahouses, shophouses, temples, shrines, and even their accommodations.

We’re not asking you to build your dining establishment out of wood, but just adding a few wooden elements can do wonders to create that Cantonese atmosphere.

This could be pergolas and screens that separate VIP rooms, wooden benches for customers waiting outside to sit on, wooden tables and cutlery, and even wooden signboards.

Wood itself is a natural element that’s always been timeless and warm, so even putting the Cantonese aspect aside, the warmth and enduring charm that wood brings is enough for it to warrant a place in your Cantonese restaurant.

3. Oriental Elements

Oriental touches, while less essential than wooden features, are still great to have in your Cantonese restaurant.

As always, make sure that they fit into your overall decor. Don’t just start using them everywhere.

Here are some oriental elements to consider:

• Lantern lights: Lanterns have always been strongly associated with Chinese and Cantonese culture. Adding just a few could take your space to the next level, unless your current lights are already well-designed to enhance your space, and adding on lantern lights would disrupt your existing aesthetics.
• Symbolic flora: Symbolic plants like bamboo and bonsai further elevate your space while adding warmth and life.
• Decorative screens: Oriental lattice dividers (ideally made out of wood) can be used to add privacy while reinforcing your Cantonese identity.

When adding these features, it’s important to remember that they’re complementary features. They’re meant to complement your main decor, not be the main decor.

So use them sparingly to maximise their effects. Don’t start carelessly placing them everywhere in your restaurant, or they’ll become pointless, making your space look cluttered rather than tasteful.

4. Don’t Lose Your Brand Identity

As you’re bringing these elements into your space, it’s also important to retain your own branding.

Even if a feature may enhance your space’s visual appeal, if it detracts from your brand identity, you shouldn’t go ahead with it.

It can be tempting to bring a feature in to boost aesthetics, and it could even help you attract more customers.

But at the end of the day, when customers ask what your restaurant is about, do you want to be telling them that it just looks great, but doesn’t really have its own identity?

What’s more, in the long run, oftentimes, without a brand identity, customers find it hard to remember your place, because it’s just not memorable.

It might look nice, but without a proper brand identity, you’re just another Cantonese dining establishment.

And if customers can’t remember you, not only will you not get much repeat business, but you likely won’t be getting many referrals too.

The Importance of Your Outdoor Space

To some business owners, their outdoor area is just a space for customers to wait for a table — and they’re not wrong.

After all, it’s hard to quantify the returns that your investment on your outdoor space will yield.

However, if you want to set yourself apart, precisely because some business owners think that way, it’s even more crucial that you do up your outdoor area properly and beautifully.

Both your indoor and outdoor areas are important, but given that business owners often overlook their exterior, one of the easiest ways for you to stand out and both get and retain more business is to have a proper outdoor area.

The outdoor space can also be a great outlet to include your oriental elements and wooden features that you can’t have indoor. Sometimes, the indoor decor might be very elaborate to the point where additional add-ons only ruin the aesthetics.

At times like these, make use of your outdoor space to include these elements.