The Chinese in my experience are generally not very good at or keen on small talk.
When it comes to a meal out to mark some occasion, or even a banquet celebrating a wedding or a significant birthday (60th is the standard, as the person has completed a full cycle in the Chinese tradition), people tend to arrive, sit down, eat and leave.
They don't tend to go for the pre-meal chatting that is fairly standard practice with Westerners attending such an occasion. Any drinking is done at the table, with the food, not before the meal.
If they have visitors, I've seen a lot of Chinese people actually switch on the telly as soon as the guests arrive, for distraction should the conversation run dry, I think.
In my experience, most small talk is conducted as a preamble to talking about something delicate.
Reminds me of trout tickling.
(from googling)
Trout tickling is a traditional hand-fishing method where a person slowly and gently rubs a trout's belly while it's resting under a bank, eventually causing it to enter a trance-like state. Once the fish is "hypnotized," the tickler can grasp it firmly, typically by the gills, and throw it onto the bank. This technique requires immense patience and a very gentle, delicate touch.
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