what dessert to serve after a chinese main dish

i thought about all the wonderful answers given and was inspired to come up with a fruit mix - watermelon, pineapple, kiwi, banana- dressed with a ginger simple syrup and a scoop of frozen yogurt. it was light, flavorful and the right ending for dinner of shrimp in lobster sauce and sauteed baby bok choy. thanks, it was all the answers that inspired me and really got me thinking. now i must try some of the suggestions.....

What about sorbet it's nice and light after a rich dinner, coconut sorbet, or pineapple ginger

I would advise something super-simple, as Chinese food usually has a lot of strong, salty umami flavors going on. The above advice to serve oranges is spot-on. Maybe even throw in a few dates for good measure. Also, green tea ice cream is a palate pleaser and won't overwhelm.

Lychees and ice cream would be tasty...

When I was a kid, Sunday pm's usually meant Chinese food - and shrimp in lobster sauce puts me precisely in that retro frame of mind. (That, mu shu pork, lemon chicken...showing my age.) Dessert at the local Chinese joint meant pineapple or vanilla, chocolate or pistachio ice cream (bright green, pistachio mostly in concept back then.) So, I'd do some really good pistachio ice cream - my favorite - and maybe some simple crispy cookies or sliced fresh pineapple.

How about some delicious mandarin oranges too? They are a symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture I believe.

Sliced oranges macerated with some sugar and lemon peel. There is a precise recipe in Marcella Hazan's Classic Italian Cookbook, but if you peel and slice thinly some navels, squeeze more orange juice and some lemon juice over, add sugar to taste, along with some lemon zest, you've got it. After the intense flavors of Chinese food, this always tastes perfect. Simple, too.

The mango cream crisp I just posted is a go-to for me when serving any Asian main dish (though I drop the coconut from the crisp topping and add small bits of crystallized ginger and a few teaspoons of butter, cut into small bits, if there's coconut in a curry or soup . . . . ). For parties, I serve with a somewhat plain, crunchy cookie (latest favorite, fennel and cardamom Florentines that have been rolled, and without the chocolate. I posted the recipe for them, too.) The somewhat exotic and unexpected tropical fruit in the crisp make it a real crowd-pleaser. Not to mention it's easy as can be; I usually pop it in the oven while we're eating, it's so trouble free. ;o)

Ginger ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce. Or little ginger cookies, of the slice-and-bake variety, with mango sorbet.

How about a sweet red bean soup? Not hard to make, can be made ahead of time and it's a traditional dessert after a full Chinese meal.

http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/1214/Recipe.cfm

How about vanilla ice cream with candied pecans on top. I used to live in Madrid and our favorite Chinese. Place always served this... One of my favorites!