Today, CBC National News reporter segment Eve Savory interviewed “moi”, Toddish McWong, about cultural fusion and Gung Haggis Fat Choy. This segment is set to air on December 8th, Wednesday, CBC television.
Very Cool… across this vast country called Canada, Canadians everywhere will marvel at the sight of Joe McDonald on bagpipes, Harish Kumar drumming on a Doh, and a kilted accordionist wearing a Lionhead mask (me).
Last week CBC National Vancouver producer Sarah Quadri called me about a Vancouver show on cultural fusion and she wanted to do a segment with me on cultural fusion with Toddish McWong and his musical friends as an example. It was to be a 4 minute segment and we would film a band rehearsal at Floata Restaurant, a taste test trial of haggis wun tun, a kilt fitting with Bear Kilts (kilt sponsor for Gung Haggis Fat Choy), and Simon Fraser University's Geoff Vogt regarding setting up the inaugural SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Highland Games for the SFU recreation department.
The piece got shortened from 4 minutes to 2 minutes. But it will be higher up in the National news so more people will see it – rather than be the last segment. But this is a great opportunity to be featured on CBC National News – across Canada.
We did a parade through the 11am dim sum crowd at Floata – much to the surprise of the very Chinese early dim sum crowd. The CBC National crew next took pictures of the creation of haggis wun tun, and also filmed us digging in with chopsticks for a taste test.
Jamie Griffiths also took some pictures with the Lion Head mask to use for the 2005 poster. Imagine a kilted bagpiper with a Chinese Lionhead Mask! I will post pictures of Joe, myself and Harish taking turns wearing the Lionhead mask. It is a paper Lionhead – but with eyelids that wink!
We had haggis wun tun – Floata style, and haggis spring rolls. Very tasty. This is the 3rd generation of haggis wun tun. The 1st was created by New Town Cafe on Pender St. when I walked in with a haggis and asked if they could turn it into wun tun for an evening “Welcome to Vancouver” reception at CBC for Shelagh Rogers. Shelagh loved it and took most of them home with her. She said that “the haggis wun tun and special plum sauce goes together like Bogart and Bacall.”
The 2nd generation haggis wun tun was created by Flamingo Restaurant, the site for Gung Haggis Fat Choy for 2003 and 2004. The chefs created a special recipe with water chestnuts and celery, and we featured owner/manager Joseph Lee on CityCooks tv show on City TV.
So the third generation is something real special. It is more like a dim sum dumpling. This of course makes perfect sense because “dim sum” translated means “pieces of the heart.” Haggis is made from the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep, mixed with oatmeal and spices. My haggis is from Peter Black & Sons in Park Royal, so it is a “West Vancouver haggis” – definitely with attitude.
The January 30th dinner will be very very good. The performers are excited. The cooks are ready and the Floata restaurant will be redecorated in January. Gung Haggis Fat Choy will be the first banquet at Floata following a $600,000 renovation.
Slainte, Todd