Monthly Archives: January 2009

CBC TV's Gloria Macarenko to co-host Gung Haggis Fat Choy! Where is Clan Macarenko from?

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What Scottish clan is CBC TV News anchor Gloria Macarenko from?

Celebrity Media co-hosts are confirmed!
Gloria Macarenko, CBC TV News anchor “Vancouver at Six”
Catherine Barr, Metro News / Radio 650 AM



Gloria Macarenko from CBC TV's “Vancouver at Six”
Gloria first got to learn about deep-fried haggis won ton when I
brought some down to her newscast, when CBC was promoting the 2004 Gung
Haggis Fat Choy television performance special.


View Clip

I'm really happy that CBC TV news anchor Gloria Macarenko is coming to co-host the 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner with myself and Catherine Barr.  It turns out that Gloria and Catherine also know each other and are really looking forward to having some fun at the Gung Haggis dinner.

I looked in a tartan clan wesbite and found MacA'chailles, MacAchounich, MacAdam, MacAdie, MacAindra,  MacAldonich, MacAlduie,  MacAlex,  MacAlister, MacAllen, MacAndeoir, MacAndrew, MacAngus,  MacAra, MacAree, MacAskill, MacAslan, MacAuselan, and MacAy… but no MacArenko!

Gung Haggis 2008 Dinner 152

What clan is Catherine Barr from?  I found there are clans named Barrie and Barron, and of course there is MacNeil of Barra, or the Barra MacNeils.  I know that Catherine's family has a family tartan… In fact, it was
her father Robert Barr that introduced me to the Burns Club of
Vancouver about 5 years ago.  Last year Cat managed to get 10 kilted men on stage all singing a “Toast to the Lassies” – what will she lead us into this year?

Special musical performers:

Silk Road Music Ensemble:
Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault have become good friends since I first met them on the set of the 2004 CBC television performance special “Gung Haggis Fat Choy.”  I really appreciated what they were doing musically, and they really appreciated what I was doing.  They have performed at the Gung Haggis dinner in 2004, 2007.  Qiu Xia plays virtuoso pipa (Chinese lute) and Andre can play fiery flamenco music – but they also play scottish and french-canadian reels and jigs too!  For their 2009 Gung Haggis performance they are adding a Scottish-Canadian percussionist, Liam MacDonald.

2008_Oct 009

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipe & Drums
Last year, Bob Wilkins approached me with the idea of creating a Gung Haggis Fat Choy pipe band… with lion dancers and chinese drums.  Okay… I was hooked.  Our paths have crossed in our mutual appreciation of BC Scottish and Chinese pioneer histories, and Bob has a vision of a multicultural pipe band that could also incorporate BC's Chinese cultural history and traditions. Okay… we have the pipers but are still searching for Chinese lion dancers.


Heather Pawsey opera soprano
Heather sings in Mandarin, Cree, Italian, French, German, Spanish and probably Russian and Scottish too!  Heather has graced stages with Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Symphony and many other ensemble and chamber groups throughout BC. She always lights up the stage when she comes to Gung Haggis dinners, such as 2004 and 2007.  Heather grew up wearing kilts on the Saskatchewan prairies, and she really loves the Gung Haggis concept.  In 2008 she was paired with DJ Timothy Wisdom to create something new and exciting.  She called me up and said “Todd – I've got something for you and Gung Haggis!”

Timothy Wisdom Promo 2007

Timothy Wisdom DJ
I only met Timothy last week, when he came to the Gung Haggis Fat Choy rehearsal dinner on January 11th.  He brought with him a dvd of his performance with Heather Pawsey.  What was on it?  Opera with hip hop beats… Scottish and Chinese musical notes and references…  And hopefully Timothy will spin some tunes after the Gung Haggis dinner, so we can party until midnight for a countdown to Chinese New Year! “Best Party Rockin DJ in Vancouver…a sonic genius” – Vancouver Folk Festival  “so much exhilaration in his sets…slaying audiences” – E13 Records

Joe McDonald, our “rapping bagpiper”
I first met Joe McDonald when he performed with a South Asian tabla drummer in 2001.  I saw the kind of world music sounds they were creating and three weeks later, his music ensemble Brave Waves was performing at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.  Joe has performed at every Gung Haggis dinner since, including the Gung Haggis Fat Choy CBC television performance special too!  A few years ago, we starting “rapping” the Robbie Burns immortal poem “Address to a Haggis.”  We created an MP3 file with Trevor Chan of the No Luck Club… and it is going to be played on BBC Radio Scotland's Robbie Burns radio special on January 25th for Burns' 250th birthday – Woo-hoo!

Adrienne Wong – Neworld Theatre actor/writer for “Mixie and the Half-Breeds“
Adreinne is a long time friend of Gung Haggis Fat Choy.  She co-hosted the 2004 dinner, and in 2003 she paddled on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  Growing up with Chinese and French ancestry, heritage and culture, Adrienne knows what it's like to walk in both worlds, as well as in-between.  She's written a new theatrical play called “Mixie and the Half-Breeds.”  We think it's perfect for a Gung Haggis Fat Choy world… and she's going to give us a sneak preview before the show opens later this year. I saw Adrienne give a stage reading of “My Name is Rachel Corrie” last fall – fantastic!

Special guests include:The Famous Grouse whisky 37 year old blend
Larry Grant, Musqueam Elder
Rita Wong, 2008 BC Book Poetry Prize winner “Forage”
Dr. Leith Davis, SFU Centre for
Scottish Studies
Jan Walls, former SFU Director of International Communications
Tommy
Tao, poet translator
Chuck Lew QC, keeper for the flame for 49 years of Burns Dinners for the Vancouver Chinatown Lions Club.
+ 1 bottle of 37 year old Famous Grouse scotch – one of only 250 made to be featured at Burns Suppers around the world.

2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy menu revealed… to welcome the Year of the Ox

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What is being served at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner to welcome the Year of the Ox?

Last week we did a menu tasting rehearsal dinner.  This is essential to the planning of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner, because we want to make sure the food selection is right.  And it is a perfect way to introduce the performers to each other, and we can work out possible ideas.


Deep-fried haggis dumplings + Spring rolls – from our 2005 menu – photo Todd Wong

Each year we re-adjust the menu for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.  We try to find new ways to eat haggis, and new dishes to introduce to people not familar with Chinese food.

For 2009, I think we have come up with some real winners.   After having deep-fried haggis won ton for the past few years, I have asked for won ton dumplings that were made in 2005.  My friend Judy Maxwell and I had dim sum today at Floata, and tried these fancy shrimp dumplings stuffed with green vegetables.  Delicious!  I think people will be very happy! 

The other new dish will be Pan-fried sliced squid and sliced chicken in a Tarot Basket.  It was a big hit at our rehearsal dinner.  The squid will be our seafood representative, as we will not be having ginger crab this year.  I heard more comments that it was messy and hard to eat, instead of that they LOVED eating the crab.

Below are the dishes currently planned for the 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner – subject to change!

10-course traditional Chinese Dinner featuring:

1)   Cold platter (Fusion of Chinese and Scottish Appetizers – Won Ton; Haggis Siu Mai; and Jelly fish – Vegetarian spring rolls or BBQ pork).
For the past two years, we had a buffet set up with haggis dim sum.  This was to encourage people to get up and move around the restaurant instead of just sitting down.  The inspiration was to have  a cocktail hour with appetizers – just like at a Western style dinner reception.  But the result was also long lines.  2009 also marks the return of jelly fish to the menu… a strange Chinese delicacy… the perfect compliment to haggis.  Photographers can try stuffing their haggis with jelly fish, for a memorable portrait.

This year, the appetizer platter will be served promptly at 6pm.  So we encourage every body to arrive between 5 and 5:45pm, so they can order their drinks from the bar, and browse the silent auction items.  

2)   Dried scallop, chicken and squash soup or vegetarian Hot & Sour soup or maybe Winter Melon soup.
We have served Hot & Sour soup every year at the Floata, so we thought we would try something different.   We tried a fish maw corn soup at the rehearsal dinner – but it lacked pizazz.  Shark Fin soup has been one of my favorite soups since I was a child.  But due to its expensive cost and the environmental impact of Shark fin fishing – it is not an option.  At the very first legendary private Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner for 16 friends, I cooked up a Winter Melon soup with lemon grass.  It was wonderful!  Hmmm…. that might be another option.  I like the way the soup can be served in the melon!!!  Very appropriate for Chinese New Year.



3)   Haggis ( piped in with Scottish bagpipes)
We are moving up the Haggis offering this year.  In past years, it was menu item #6 or #7.  The piping in of the haggis is always an important ceremony at any Burns Dinner.  But too much bagpiping can be turn a lot of heads in a Chinese restaurant.  It is also very important to read the Burns poem “Address to a Haggis” prior to the serving of haggis.  So please…. do NOT cut into your haggis, until after we have finished reading the poem.  Oh – by the way… We don't usually do a traditional reading of the poem.  In years past, we selected members of the audience to each read a verse in their best gaelic english.

4)   Lettuce wrap with diced vegetables
How many ways can you serve haggis?  Take a spoonful of haggis, spread some Chinese plum sauce on it, add some crunchy noodles and diced vegetables with water chestnuts, and wrap it up in a delicate piece of lettuce. Magnificient!  Imagine if Marco Polo should have brought back lettuce wrap to Italy instead of noodles?  Or if you are vegetarian – leave out the haggis.

5)   Pan-fried sliced squid and prawns in a Tarot “Bird's Nest” Basket
We tried roasted fish with a spicy sweet and sour sauce at the rehearsal dinner – but it was voted down.  A long time ago, we used to have a scallop and mixed vegetables dish served in a potato nest… back in the early days when our guest total was 60 or 100.  This dish was a big hit at the rehearsal dinner.  After seeing the Bird's Nest stadium during the Beijing Summer Olympics – I think people will be inspired to quickly empty the squid and vegetables and turn the taro basket upside down, to see if it really does look like the Beijing Bird's Nest stadium.  Fish is a Chinese New Year's Dinner staple, because the prounciation of the word “Fish” in Chinese sounds similar to the words for “Good luck.”  But that probably depends on how good your pronounciation is, and if you speak Chinglish or not.

6)   Beef tenderloin with black pepper
It's the Year of the Ox… and we thought of having Ox-Tail soup…. and then said “Nah…”  We wanted a very tasty and special Beef dish to welcome in the Year of the Ox, and we found it.  Last year we had Mongolian Beef, recognizing that the Mongols traveled as far West as Hungary… or was that the Huns?  I have trouble telling the difference sometimes.  But you won't have any trouble deciding that this beef dish will be tender and peppery!

7)   Buddha feast
This is an important traditional New Year dish – with long rice vermicelli noodles and lots of
vegetables and lotus root.  All the good things that every vegetarian
loves.   Long noodles are important metaphor in Chinese cooking… The longer the noodles, the longer the life you hope or expect to have.

The Chinese calendar is based on the 12 animals that came when
Buddha called.  Feb 7th starts a new 12 year cycle that begins with the
Year of the Rat – the first animal to see Buddha.  I was born in the
Year of the Rat. 

8)   Crispy skinned chicken with shrimp chips
Healthier than KFC.  And the shrimp chips were always my favorites as a child. 

9)   Young Chow Fried Rice or E-Fu noodles
This is the dish you eat to fill yourself up, if you are still hungry.  We had E-Fu long life noodles last year, but a lot of the Scottish people thought that these traditional delicate noodles were too plain.  There wasn't a strong sauce on them, and they weren't like chow mein noodles… because they were E-Fu noodles!  Maybe it's an aquired taste.  For 2009, we are going to go back to Young Chow Fried Rice.  It's still a very special and tasty dish, that everybody likes!

10)  Mango pudding
This has been our most popular dessert of the years.  Chinese pastries are okay… but mango pudding is better. It's always a tradition to have something sweet after the meal.  We thought about having Scottish blood pudding… but there is a reason why we have the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in a Chinese restaurant instead of a Scottish restaurant.  I like Chinese food better, and that includes the puddings!  Julie wants tapioca pudding, but I think the mango pudding is better. 

Special 37 year old blended malt whisky created for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns coming to Gung Haggis Fat Choy in Vancouver

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Vancouver's Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner is chosen as 1 of 250 Burns Suppers throughout the world to receive the special edition commemorative blended whisky for the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns.

Wednesday morning that I received a phone call from Scotland.  It was Fiona Stewart from the VisitScotland Tourism organization calling.  I immediately apologized for not planning a trip to Scotland for Homecoming Scotland.  But I told her that I was planning at trip to Scotland for my BIG birthday for 2010.

Fiona asked if I was the organizer of Gung Haggis Fat Choy.  She said that they really liked my website.  And then she told me my Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner had been selected to recieve one of the very special 37 year old bottles of blended malt whisky created to celebrate the 250th birthday of Robert Burns.  Only 250 bottles were made to celebrate each year since Burns' birth, and are being given to Burns Suppers around the world to help raise money for charity, by auctioning them off.  In keeping with the
humanitarian spirit of Burns, these bottles, which are valued upwards
of £400, will be auctioned off at Burns Suppers all over the world
helping to raise a minimum of £10,000 for their chosen charities.

So… on Tuesday, January 20th, I will meet Chief Executive Phillip Riddle of VisitScotland, when he comes to Vancouver.  Maybe I will treat him to some deep-fried haggis won ton, and haggis lettuce wrap?


NEWS RELEASE

January 6th, 2009

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and
Homecoming Scotland 2009, The Famous Grouse has specially created 250
bottles of The Famous Grouse 37 year old blended malt whisky,
signifying every year of Burns’ extraordinary life.

The Famous Grouse whisky 37 year old blendRenowned
Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne was commissioned by The
Famous Grouse, to create an original drawing of Robert Burns to adorn
this limited edition whisky, making it a unique collector’s item as
part of The World Famous Burns Supper celebration.

This bottle of The Famous Grouse 37 year old blended malt whisky has
been specially selected by our master blender, John Ramsay, from a
range of casks first laid down in 1971. In keeping with the
humanitarian spirit of Burns, these bottles, which are valued upwards
of £400, will be auctioned off at Burns Suppers all over the world
helping to raise a minimum of £10,000 for their chosen charities.

read more click here

And there was even a poem writing contest to create a special toast for the event, to be printed on the bottle label.

Here's The Famous Toast, by Mary MacIntyre

Tae Rabbie Burns Scotland's Son
Wha's words a million hearts hae won
We fill oor glass o' golden grain
The Famous Grouse we proudly drain
So here's a toast in celebration
Tae Rabbie, tae whisky, tae Scotland Our Nation

Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year – How often do they collide?

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How real is the occurrence of Gung Haggis Fat Choy?


It's like the mystical town of Brigadoon, that very cheesy American musical, starring the immortal Gene Kelly, and written by Alan Jay Lerner (book and
lyrics) and Frederick Loewe. According to both the theatre musical or the movie –  Brigadoon, is a small Scottish village that remained
unchanging and invisible to the outside world except for one, special day every
hundred years, when it could be seen and visited by outsiders.

According to the Chinese Fortune calendar for 1900 to 2020, Chinese New Year has fallen on January 26th only 3 times during this 120 year span.

Chinese New  Year has fallen on Robbie Burns Eve on only 3 times.

But… Chinese New Year has occurred on January 25th, Robbie Burns birthday only 5 times during this 120 year span.

In 2004, CBC Vancouver made a television performance special based on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner, after CBC regional director Rae Hull attended the 2002 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner of 200 guests, during one of those rare Vancouver snow storms.


View Clip
Gung Haggis Fat Choy
Chinese New
Year. Robbie Burns Supper. Gung Haggis Fat Choy fuses the two unique
cultural events in a celebration of music, dance and tradition.
Featuring performances by The Paperboys and Silk Road Music.

A CBC Television production.

January, 24 1925   1925 Green Wood Cow Year
January, 24 1955   1955 Green Wood Sheep Year
January, 24 2001   2001 White Metal Snake Year

January, 26 1914       1914 Green Wood Tiger Year
January, 26 1933       1933 Black Water Chicken Year
January, 26 2009       2009 Brown Earth Cow Year

January, 25 1906       1906 Red Fire Horse Year
January, 25 1944       1944 Green Wood Monkey Year   
January, 25 1963       1963 Black Water Rabbit Year
January, 25 1982       1982 Black Water Dog Year
January, 25 2020       2020 White Metal Rat Year

So on January 25th, 2009, we are celebrating both the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, and the incoming Chinese New Year of the Ox.

We will have a DJ Timothy Wisdom to spin some tunes until midnight, when we will hold a countdown to Chinese New Year.

Then we go home.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy update press release January 16th

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January 16th, 2009
For immediate release

What happens when Chinese New Year's Eve falls on Robbie Burns Day?

It last happened  in 1933 – the rare occurrence of Robbie Burns Birthday and Chinese New Year’s Eve.
The rare convergence of Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year Day won’t happen again until 2020.

January
25th, 2009 marks the 250th birthday of the famous Scottish bard, on the
Eve of Chinese New Year welcoming the Year of the Ox.

Did somebody say party?
say… 
Gung Haggis Fat Choy!

January 25th, 2009
5pm Reception
6pm Dinner
9:30pm after party with countdown to midnight
Floata Seafood Restaurant
#400 – 180 Keefer St.
Vancouver Chinatown.

Dress:        kilts, chinese cheong sam, mix & match and have
fun!
Ticket:        $60 + service Charge, prices for students and children
Call Firehall Arts Centre 604-689-0926
www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com

Gung
Haggis Fat Choy is the growing contemporary tradition of mixing
Scottish and Chinese cultural, musical and literary traditions to
create something uniquely Canadian.

The Vancouver Chinatown
Lions Club has been serving Chinese sauces with haggis since 1950
beginning at the legendary Bamboo Terrace restaurant.  In 1993, Todd
Wong aka “Toddish McWong” first wore a kilt to participate in the Burns
ceremony at Simon Fraser University.  In 1998, he held a small private
dinner with Chinese food and haggis – and thus was born – Gung Haggis
Fat Choy!

In 2004 the upstart Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner started
serving deep-fried haggis won ton, and created haggis lettuce wrap in
2005.  The Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner has also inspired a CBC
television special in 2004 and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival at
Simon Fraser University.

In 2008, Gung Haggis creator Todd Wong
was recognized for his strong community work by BC Premier Gordon
Campbell with the BC Community Achievement Award.  The Royal BC Museum
included Wong in “The Party” display celebrating 150 of BC's most
interesting people throughout BC's 150 year history.

For 2009,
Vancouver Chinatown Lions Club and Gung Haggis Fat Choy join forces to
celebrate the 250th Birthday of Robert Burns and Chinese New Year.

This
will be the only dinner in British Columbia that is recognized by
Homecoming Scotland’s The Famous Grouse 37 year old scotch, created
especially for Homecoming Scotland.  Only 250 bottles were made to mark
each year since the birth of Burns.,

Proceeds
of dinner go to Historic Joy Kogawa House Society, Asian Canadian
Writers' Workshop/Ricepaper Magazine and Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon
boat team.

What happens at a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner?
Lots of intercultural food, fun, poems and music.
Check out the line-up:

Celebrity Media co-hosts are confirmed!
Gloria Macarenko, CBC TV News anchor “Vancouver at Six”
Catherine Barr, Metro News / Radio 650
Special musical performers:
Silk Road Music Ensemble
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipe & Drums
Heather Pawsey opera soprano
Timothy Wisdom DJ
Rita Wong, 2008 BC Book Poetry Prize winner “Forage”
Joe McDonald, our “rapping bagpiper”
Adrienne Wong – Neworld Theatre actor for “Mixie and the Half-Breeds”
Special guests include:
Dr. Leith Davis, SFU Centre for
Scottish Studies
Jan Walls, former SFU Director of International Communications
Tommy
Tao, poet translator
+ 1 bottle of 37 year old Famous Grouse scotch – one of only 250 made to be featured at Burns Suppers around the world.

For media inquires contact:
Todd Wong
778-846-7090

For sponsorship inquires contact
Trevor Battye
778-773-9397

Gung Haggis Fat Choy – SFU style

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival

What happens when a Chinese-Canadian former SFU student tries to re-arrange the traditional SFU Robbie Burns traditions?]

Dragon carts “paddle” down Simon Fraser University's Convocation Mall, Chinese lion dancers dance with Scottish bagpipers… and human curling rocks scamper into each other on the Mall.

Check out this article from Simon Fraser University Recreation Department.
http://students.sfu.ca/gunghaggis/

January 29 from 12:30pm – 2:30pm: come to Convocation Mall and enjoy the annual celebration.

Gung Haggis What?????

Gung Haggis Fat Choy was created in 1998 when Todd Wong hosted a small
dinner party celebrating both Chinese New Year and Robbie Burns
Day. The SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games began in 2005 on the
Burnaby Campus and included dragon cart (instead of boat) races.

This year's SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival is a two hour celebration
in Convo Mall on Thursday, January 29. The Mall will be transformed
into a cultural collage of the senses with performances, the always
popular human curling challenge and traditional dragon cart races, lots
of prizes, cultural food including haggis and spring rolls, plus some
tea to keep us all warm.

Take Part in Gung Haggis Fat Choy Festival 2009

Join in the fun by pulling together a team for the Human Curling
Challenge, the Dragon Cart Races, or volunteer your time to help run
the event!  If you are interested in volunteering, please email with
your name and availability to sarmitage@sfu.ca. Volunteers are needed for set-up, as activity assistants, and for take down.

Teams need to register
either online before January 29 or at the festival, but registration is
on a first-come-first-served basis and space is not guaranteed. To register online
each team member must register individually.  If you register at the
festival it must be done at least 45 minutes prior to the start of the
event.

Dragon Cart Races

Object of the game: to get your team and your cart down Convo mall faster than the team you are racing against.

  • Large wooden carts are propelled with “sticks” from West to East in Convo Mall by teams of five.
  • The
    races are single-elimination. No times will be recorded; the winner of
    each heat will get to move on to the next round of competition until a
    winner is determined.
  • The judge at the finish line is the final decision maker in determining the winner.

Rules:

  • Physical contact with the opposing team will result in disqualification of BOTH teams.
  • All five (5) members must be in the dragon cart at all times.
  • Participants must use the sticks provided for propulsion.
  • Combined team weight can not exceed 1400lbs.
  • Cart must stay on course.

Human Curling Challenge

Object of the game:
similar to regular curling or shuffleboard, teams will “throw” their
“stones” down the course attempting to score points by landing the
stone on scoring locations. Teams will alternate throws and may bump
the opposing team’s stones out of a scoring location.

Rules:

  • Teams will consist of 6 players – four “stones” who sit in the rolling tires and two pushers
  • Two
    teams will compete head to head in each round. The team with the
    highest point total at the end of all the rounds will be the winner.
  • Each round will consist of two ends – teams will have two opportunities to throw their four stones.

Free Event: Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry Night at Vancouver Public Library

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Jan 26/09–Gung Haggis Fat Choy at the VPL!

Vancouver Public Library
Central Branch
350 West Georgia St.
Alma Van Dusen and Peter McKay rooms
7:30 PM on Monday, January 26th
(the day after the BIG Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner at the Floata Restaurant January 25th)

Every year we do a FREE poetry evening at the Vanocuver Public Library in partnership with World Poetry collective.  Ariadne Sawyer and Alejandro Mujica-Olea are the wonderful organizers of World Poetry, which presents poetry readings at the Vancouver Public Library each month.

We bring together contemporary Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian poets, as well as reading Robbie Burns and presenting something very traditionally Chinese for Chinese New Year.  Many years ago, I noticed that there wasn't a Robbie Burns poetry night at the Vancouver Public Library, so I called up Ariadne, and we created something special.

Here's the message from Ariadne:

The World Poetry Reading Series and co-sponsors explorASIAN and the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop
invite you to celebrate the poetic traditions of Robbie Burns Day and
Chinese New Year with a distinctly Canadian twist — multilingually,
from Scotland, China, and countries around the world.
Hosts: Todd Wong (AKA Toddish McWong, right) and Diego Bastianutti.
Featured Poets:
•   Steve Duncan
•   Tommy W.K. Tao
•   James Mullin
•   Rita Wong

Featured Performances:
•   Ji-Rong Huang — Chinese Erhu
•   Ariadne Sawyer — Dragon Dream Dance
•   Bob Wilkins — Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipe Band

Admission: FREE!
(But come early — seating is limited.)
Contact: 604-331-3603

Try the “Think you know Scotland” Quiz

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I have never been to Scotland – but I know “THIS MUCH” about Scotland…

This is a quiz about Scotland for the Homecoming Scotland website.
It's the 250th Anniversary of Robbie Burns' birth – and Tourism Scotland is in overdrive.
I checked out the website and tried the quiz getting 2/5, then 2/5… then finally a 4/5.
It's a good quiz with questions taken from The Scottish Quiz Book.  Hit the Try Again button and five new questions pop up.


1: ‘And me and my true love will never meet again….’ Where?


Correct
a) Paisley

b) Loch Lomond

c) Ben Nevis


2: What position did Donald Dewar hold in the first Scottish Parliament?


Wrong
a) First Minister

b) Transport Minister

c) Education Minister


3: Which breed of cattle has given Scottish beef an international reputation for quality?


Correct
a) Kobe

b) Aberdeen Angus

c) Charolais


4: Which mountain is sometimes called ‘the Sugar Loaf’?


Correct
a) Suilven

b) Ben Nevis

c) Ben Macdui


5: In which Scottish village was the TV series Hamish MacBeth filmed?


Correct
a) Plockton

b) Ullapool

c) Luss

100 pounds of haggis at a Chinese New Year dinner? That's Gung Haggis Fat Choy!

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What do you do with 100 pounds of haggis at a Chinese New Year Dinner?

Gung Haggis 2008 Dinner 177 by you.

Kilted guest at 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner tries the haggis dim sum – photo VFK

Have you tried our haggis dim sum yet?  Each year since 2004, we have been presenting variations of deep-fried haggis won ton.  We have also mixed haggis into spring rolls and pork dumplings – but the deep-fried haggis won ton is my favorite.  Afterall, I hear the Scots like deep-fried Mars bars – and that must taste like a little bit of deep-fried choclate heaven.

Dim Sum can be translated as “pieces of the heart” or “touch the heart” or “pieces of heaven.”  These are small portions of food that are succulent and delicious.  But what happens when you add haggis to this little heavenly morsels?  Will haggis, one of the world's most celebrated and reviled foods ascend to the celestial kingdom?

But you cannot give a proper “Address to A Haggis” if it's already cut up into little wee piece.

Traditional Scots still like to see a traditional haggis at a Burns Dinner.  We serve a one pounder of haggis to each table.  It might be not enough for 10 Scots guests – but it is more than enough for 10 non-Scottish diners.  To solve the problem we encourage people to share.

We also serve a 7 pound banquet haggis that is “as lang's my arm” to our head table.  This ensures that it is pretty in pictures… as well as extra leftovers for any of our guests.

GHFC2008 VF2_1709.JPG
Bagpiper Joe McDonald does the honours at the 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner – photo VFK.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!

– 3rd verse from Robert Burns poem “Address to A Haggis”

Now imagine layering a little bit of haggis with Chinese plum sauce, adding crispy noodles, finely diced vegetables and Chinese water chestnuts, and serving on a delicate leaf of lettuce.  This is our Gung Haggis lettuce wrap, a cultural and culinalry fusion twist. But people say they have never seen people eat so much haggis, or eat haggis so quickly!

And what does our traditional haggis maker think of all this?

In 2006, we were paid a high compliment when haggis rancher Peter Black attended the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner with his family!  Peter loved what we had done with his haggis.

Peter Black & Sons, at Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver, is BC's largest producer of haggis.  Peter's haggis is a family secret with extra spices.  It is different from a traditional lard recipe – which I have occasionally gagged on.  I describe a Peter Black haggis to be like a nice liver pate, suitable for serving with crackers at your next Super Bowl party.

Be sure to visit Peter Black & Sons at Park Royal South – because there is an annual display of “live wild haggis.”  Often the haggis is sleeping, and you have to be very careful not to disturb it – but if you're quiet, you can sneak up on it.

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Peter Black & Sons with family at the 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner, linking hands to sing Auld Lang Syne to bring a finale to the dinner event – photo Ray Shum

Here are some of the menus from our past dinners:

2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy menu announced: now with Mongolian Beef to celebrate Year of the Rat

2007 Menu for Gung Haggis Fat Choy™:Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner

2006 Menu for Gung Haggis Fat Choy™: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner – Celebrating the Year of the Dog

2005 Menu for Gung Haggis Fat Choy� at Floata Restaurant

Todd Wong accordionist featured on Co-Op Radio's Accordion-Noir 9:30-10-10pm January 9th 2009

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Accordion Noir is the Co-Op Radio show featuring… what else?  Accordion music!
Todd Wong is the featured guest on January 9th, 9:30-10:30pm.  CFRO: Co-Op Radio 102.7 FM. 

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I will play some solo accordion pieces + select some of my favorite tunes featuring accordion by other artists.  Maybe the Bruce Springsteen acoustic version of Fire, or the new Emmylou Harris album “All I Intended to Be” featuring a song co-written with Canadians Kate & Anna McGarrigle titled “Sailing Roudn the Room.”

Quartetto Gelato cd's are favorites of mine that often accompany road trips.  Maybe some tangos or classical music?  I have a Joe Marcerollo cd featuring the contemporary Alexina Louie composition Earth Cycles. Alexina is the most accomplished Chinese-Canadian composer, appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.

I performed last year on Accordion Noir – just before the 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.  My bagpiper friend Joe McDonald also brought along his accordion, and we jammed along to our recorded rap version of “Address to a Haggis”

Maybe I will also play some of the singalong songs that we regularly perform for the Gung Haggis dinner (January 25) and the World Poetry Gung Haggis Poetry night at the Vancouver Public Library (January 26).  Maybe a version of Scotland the Brave, Loch Lomand, and When Asian Eyes Are Smiling.

How long have I been playing?  Since I was in grade 5 Elementary School, when I was 11 years old. 

I started out on the Palmer-Hughes accordion course, and was soon placed on the Music Festival competition circuit including the Coquitlam and Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals.  Later on as a late teen, I went down to Seattle to compete in the North West Accordion Teachers' Association Festival, where I once placed 2nd in the King Division by performing the 17 page Manhattan Concerto by memory.

So…. my repertoire is basically classical music – everything from Bach's Toccata in D minor, Strauss Waltzes, to Gerswin's Rhapsody in Blue.  The past few years has found me buying music books with Celtic and Latin songs, as well as Beatles music.

Hey, I just found my cd copy of Jou Tou which features my friends from Silk Road Music Ensemble Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault.  Amy Stephens is playing accordion on this album.