So many signs that the Yao Ming Foundation Gala was not going to be your run-of-the-mill soirée typically held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — chop sticks on the dinner tables, a raw duck in a pan on stage and all those towering Houston Rockets.

It was a night of firsts for the MFAH and for the 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, who found himself on stage inflating that duck with dreamy celebrity chef Ming Tsai of Boston's Blue Ginger restaurant. "With Peking duck," Ming told the gathering, "you actually blow it up." The culinary presentation was part of the fast-paced entertainment adding to the night's energy, palpable from the moment guests entered the museum.

The professional-sports-meets-high-art scenario played out to a cocktail-attired audience that reached close to 350 and included such notables as Dikembe Mutombo, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Port Commissioner Elyse Lanier, former mayor Bob Lanier and the glamorous Diane Yoo, Miss Asia USA 2008.

A small army of professional photographers and camera-toting guests captured every aspect of the evening that included the duck moment and a dramatic slide presentation of the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China. That disaster inspired Yao to create his foundation. To date, the non-profit has built three schools in the devastated area and has three more scheduled to open this summer.

In a nod to his "second home," Yao has directed foundation funds to the building of playgrounds in the Houston and Galveston areas. "I've become a Houstonian," Yao said, after first confirming that he is assuredly Chinese.

Yao's foundation is operated by the Giving Back Fund, which assists more than 60 celebrities, sports figures and business moguls in running their personal foundations. Giving Back Fund founder and president Marc Pollick was in from Los Angeles for the gala and presented Jack Jie Zhao, CEO of iTalk Global Communications, with the Outstanding Corporate Partner Award. iTalk was presenting sponsor of the benefit evening that also raised funds for the MFAH's Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Arts of China Gallery, scheduled to open in the fall.

A performance by the J&H Dance School, entertainment by Michael Cavanaugh and comments from Yao rounded out the evening that featured an inspired Chinese-themed menu created by City Kitchen in conjunction with Yao Restaurant. The feast began with Peking duck over Peking duck fried rice, was followed by Szechuan braised beef short ribs and concluded with a coconut and mango parfait.

It was a mixed crowd that turned out, including the consuls general from China and Japan as well as MFAH director Peter Marzio and wife Frances, former Rockets GM Carroll Dawson, home building mogul Vincent Kickerillo and family, Memorial Hermann Foundation's Ileana Treviño and husband Michael, interior architect Lauren Rottet,The Dump's Benjamin Brand, Nancy Allen, Franci and Jim Crane, Sheridan and John Eddie Williams, Sandy and Dr. Barney Barrett and Lily and Charles Foster, immigration attorney who represents three of the Houston Rockets — Argentinian Luis Scola, Australian David Andersen and Ming. Bill Worrell, voice of the Rockets, served as emcee.