Raya and the Last Dragon has quickly become a favorite in our home! It’s a wonderful tale of courage, trust, and restoration. We have all the recipes, inspiration, and ideas you need to host a fun and memorable Raya dinner or movie night! Read on to learn more!
About the Movie
Raya and the Last Dragon is Disney’s 59th animated feature. Raya is Disney’s thirteenth princess and, most notably, the first southeast Asian princess. The film is set in the fictional world of Kumandra where five clans inhabit the kingdom. The clans are named after parts of a dragon: Fang, Spine, Heart, Talon, and Tail with their lands physically forming a dragon.
In the film, Raya is a warrior princess who sets out on a quest to save her divided home, Kumandra, from a ravenous plague. Raya must find the last existing dragon in order to stop the Druun from destroying the inhabitants of Kumandra.
The Tablescape & Decor
We were inspired by the beautiful color scheme of the film – lush greens and warm earth tones contrasted by the cool blues and purples of Sisu. We created a tropical feel with abundant foliage and purple lilies to give a nod to the paradise-like landscape of Kumandra.
We dressed the table in a flax colored linen tablecloth and chose blue stoneware place settings. We used coordinating blue linen napkins and our favorite cherry blossom chopsticks tied with a piece of grass.
We carried a circular theme throughout the tablescape to give a nod to the Dragon Gems from the film. For our centerpiece we created an arrangement of tropical foliage and purple lilies flanked by two round lanterns and a small glass bowl with a floating lily. A silver bowl displayed a collection of glowing iridescent blue “Dragon Gems” on our serving buffet.
The Menu
The food from Raya and the Last Dragon is the star of the show. Food plays an important role in the film as a symbol of unity and trust. Perhaps most significantly, Raya’s father makes his own version of Peace Soup {Tom Yum soup} while discussing plans to unite the five kingdoms. We enjoyed creating a menu of delicious Southeast Asian favorites for this dinner with Tom Yum soup as the centerpiece. Link to the recipes we used below.
Kumandran Sunrise
We created a beautiful layered smoothie using tropical fruits. The bottom layer was comprised of dragon fruit, mango, and pineapple while the top layer was made up of blueberries, banana and blueberry yogurt. This smoothie was refreshing, tasty, and healthy. Get our recipe here.
Dragon Fruit Salad
We couldn’t resist adding dragon fruit to our menu. Not only does it have a perfect name for this dinner, but dragon fruit is native to Southeast Asia. It is absolutely beautiful, has a mild flavor similar to a pear, and comes in multiple varieties. For our salad we chose a variety with white flesh and paired it with other native fruits including watermelon, mango, pineapple, and kiwi. We served the salads in hallowed dragon fruit bowls and dotted them with a few blueberries for color. Get our recipe here.
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Spring rolls are the perfect food! They are extremely versatile – you can add just about anything you like. They are delicious, fresh, and easy to make. Our family likes to set up a bar of fillings and allow each family member to make their own. Some of our favorite fillings are lettuce, bean sprouts, red cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, green onions, egg, tofu, and peanuts. We love serving our spring rolls with a tasty peanut sauce for dipping. We like Cookie & Kate’s recipe.
Tom Yum Soup
This soup is called “Peace Soup” in the film but is a traditional and very delicious Southeast Asian recipe. The base is made up of a complex combination of flavors that gives it a rich and distinctive flavor. A variety of ingredients can be added. Our family used tofu, mushrooms, bok choy, corn, and bamboo shoots but this recipe can easily be customized for your own tastes. Link to the recipe we used from The Spruce Eats.
Tuk Tuk Dome Cakes
Tuk Tuk was our family’s favorite character in the movie and we had such fun creating these dome cakes. We used our dome cake molds to create a chocolate shell. We filled the shell with peanut butter mousse and added a chocolate fudge base. The outside of the shell was covered with chocolate candies and a face was created using peanut butter butter cream with a fondant nose and big eyes. They were adorable and so fun to eat! Get our recipe and step-by-step tutorial here.
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