Jade by Nikolai's aMAZE-ing spring eve

Nadine Kam photos
At right, jewelry designer Nikolai Tsang with Julie Aragaki.

Nikolai Tsang always stages the best parties, so a spring showcase of her latest jade and jewelry collections welcoming the Year of the Fire Monkey was not to be missed.

To entice, invitations were sent out weeks before the March 5 event. The invitations came with wooden destination markers, the picture postcard sort that indicate distance to desirable locations. We were told the arrows would point their way to a maze within which surprises await. Who doesn't love a surprise?

The space next door to Kakaako Agora was indeed decked out with a fabric maze with nooks that were home to a braid bar, henna station, several jewelry displays, a flower wall for selfies, and personal readings with Alice Inoue.

Coiffe Couture provided braids for men and women at a braid bar in one section of the maze.

Others signed up for mehndi, or temporary henna tattoos.

With flowers everywhere, the garden theme extended to the table where a "live garden" salad bar included crudité planted in soil of rye bread crumbs. And Elite Catering desserts of chocolate pudding studded with bits of fruit were planted in mini glazed flower pots. Other desserts came in stemware in the shape of tulips, and this was the first time I tried rose-flavored gau, a non-traditional version of the Chinese new year's sticky steamed rice cake.

All this was backdrop for the real stars of the show, Nikolai's beautiful jade carvings, and jade and precious stone jewelry. I made note of a particular yellow diamond ring.

An overview of the setting.

Guests could browse through collections of pearls, jade and precious stone jewelry all night long.

 

 

 

 

Beyond a display of hanging flowers was a wall of corded jade bracelets.

An edible garden of crudité.

Potted pudding and other desserts.

Traditional-, green tea- and rose-flavored gau.

Elite Catering also provided more serious bites, including beef, shrimp and duck.

Keith Aragaki had the henna applied to his face.

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.