In Chinese custom, 9 is the biggest. Therefore, the first nine days of September every year is the old man's day, which is to illustrate this truth. So I suggest you this table banquet to do 18 dishes, nine big dishes (but hot dishes), nine small dishes (but cold dishes, is in the height of summer), so that is 99. People live 99 is also the largest, so the general old man to 100 years old after the 99.
As for the point of what dishes, I see the Chinese cuisine first of all to color and taste, this is the principle. North and South flavors are still different, it depends on the place and the person. But I give you suggestions are: fish: auspicious celebrations; honey fruit plate: sweet honey; lamb (can be cold 100 pages): good luck; turtle: ten thousand years of life; dry roasted greens: eternal youth; cashew nut shrimp: successor; pig heart chicken heart dipping sauce: heart to heart; lobster (or catfish, seasoning room seaweed and pepper): Longmenhu Zi; sea weed petals back to the pot: the whole family. Each dish let the restaurant to make a delicate label (the last thing titanium card), after the banquet to the relevant loved ones collection.
As for the nine small dishes, you can root out your local characteristics of the early arrangements
Birthday cake: the main pattern if the middle of a birthday peach, surrounded by a few children of the old man to do a few stars, and other places embellished with tiny patterns on behalf of the younger generation (one layer)
The second layer of the main pattern is the peony: graceful and wealthy
The third layer is the pattern is: the centenarian sitting on a crescent moon boat surrounded by stars. Two meanings. One is the old man with the sun and the moon, and the other is the stars surrounding the moon, foreshadowing the filial piety and respect of children to the old man
The pattern of the fourth layer (the bottom layer) is: the sea and the waves, a sailboat. Foretells the old man's nurturing grace deep is the sea, which seems to be the sea of grace carries the boat of the late generation, sailing smoothly. This boat is best a music box that can play happy birthday music. If not, nine at the bottom of the birthday cake feat music box, switch to the bottom visitor.
Opinions are immature and for reference only.