"Teishoku" is a meal style where the menu is pre-fixed and served as a set menu. "Tei" means "detemined" and "shoku" means "food" as in "washoku."
Usually the meal is served all together on a tray. This style is a great idea for a lunch with a friend because once the meal is served on a tray, you can stay seated and enjoy the meal and conversation with your guest. 

Contents

• Organized On A Tray
• The Japan Series for Autumn from Arita Porcelain Lab
• What To Serve
• Ornaments for Fall
• Featured Items

Key points of this table setting

1. Organized On a Tray　

For a "teishoku" style meal, all the plates are usually set on one tray.
To show variations for table setting purposes, we placed the pickled vegetables and stewed vegetables on the table separately, but you can also serve them in a kobachi bowl on the tray. 
This Square Yamanaka Lacquerware Tray is perfect for this kind of meal as it can carry about 4 to 5 items. 
Like a usual Japanese style meal, place the rice on the left and the soup on the right. The main dish and side dishes go in the back. 
Use a chopstick rest as a gesture of hospitality to your guests to neatly set the chopsticks. 

2. The Japan Series for Autumn from Arita Porcelain Lab　

The main dish and the kobachi bowl are from the Japan series for autumn of Arita Porcelain Lab. The old Imari floral designs are beautifully painted in fall colors of yellow, brown and gold. Grilled fish or grilled meat are a great match with this plate. 
The patterns are graceful and enhance the autumnal feel of the table. 

3. What to Serve

The possibilities of menus you can serve for a "teishoku" meal are infinite! 
The main dish can be fish or meat. It can be grilled, fried, or stewed. You can serve sashimi as the main dish and have a "sashimi teishoku." For a vegan style "teishoku" serve a tofu steak.
Some popular menu ideas are　"kara-age" (Japanese style fried chicken),  "tonkastu"(fried pork with panko coating), gingered pork, and grilled seasonal fish.
For side dishes, serve vegetables like spinach with a sesame mix as seen in this table setting. You could also cook stewed mixed vegetables or add a small salad with a soy sauce dressing. 

4. Ornaments for Fall

We added fall touches to the table with the some items with autumn feels. 
We used Bizen Ware from Hozan Kiln for the tea set. The coarse texture and exquisite colors of stoneware give a rustic taste to the setting. The Shigaraki ware flower vase is also a lovely item with natural brownish tones. 

We hope you try this style for your next lunch date with a friend or a family member. Have fun planning what to serve and what piece to serve it on. Try different menus and see which is your favorite.

Featured items

Arita Porcelain Lab Japan Series

Arita Porcelain Lab is a brand/company revived by Yazaemon VII as a successor to the long-established Arita Porcelain Kiln established in 1804.
To make Arita porcelain a global brand, the company has been working to create modern Arita porcelain that is in tune with modern lifestyles while incorporating the more than 200 years of traditions.