Category Archives: Food & Restaurants

Happy Birthday Dinner at Hapa Izakaya

Hapa Izakaya in Kitslano is one of my favorite restaurants.

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It was a 3 restaurant Kitsilano weekend, last week for my birthday.  On Friday we went to Sunset Grill, 2204 York Ave.  On Saturday we watched the hockey game and had Slum Dog Pizza at Hell's Kitchen 2041 4th Ave. West.  But for the “Big Day” we suggested some names… and eagrely decided to go to Hapa Izakaya 1416 Yew St.

Everytime we go there, the first bite of each dish is either “Wow” or “yummmmmm.”  A few months ago, we took a friend from Ottawa to Hapa Izakaya in Kitsilano for his birthday.  Good choice!  It's a cozy atmosphere with lots of wood, as opposed to the more high-tech “clubby” feel of the Robson St. location.  Modeled after Japanese bistros in Tokyo, owner Jason Ault returned from Japan to open up Hapa Izakaya with a fusion twist.  As sushi was supposedly invented as finger food to eat while playing games, Izakaya bistros appeared as cheap places to eat and drink after work – but Hapa Izakaya takes it to another level.  It creates a tapas style menu, with a cultural fusion twist, and sets in a glossy upscale setting.  The Robson Street location is always buzzing, while the Kitsilano location is more laid back – but the food is great in both locations.

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We started with King Crab roll. “Yum” – Deb's favorite!

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Smoked Tuna Macaroni with Ume/Seiso sauce. “Wow!”

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Dynamite roll with spicy mango sauce “Yow!”

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Creme Brule topped off the evening!

FOOD: Hapa Izakaya in Kitsilano…

Hapa Izakaya is a place to take friends and make them say:

“Ahhh…. Yummmm….

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Duck with vegetables and green sprouts… very tasty! – photo T. Wong

We went to Hapa Izakaya Kitsilano on Thursday night.  My girlfriend Deb was entertaining her friend Peter and his girlfriend Emily from Seattle.  It was Peter's birthday.  We went to Deb's favorite new restaurant. 

Hapa Izakaya Kitsilano has only been open for about a year.  Owner Justin was there to greet us.  The original Hapa Izakaya is on Robson St. near Jervis.  And just like the original, almost every dish begs you to take a picture!  And it is ohhhhh…. so tasty.  Peter and Emily were very impressed.  They said, “Ahhhh….” and “Mmmmm” and “That is SO good!”  a lot.

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Spicy Sockeye Salmon Sashimi,

Owner Justin and his wife are “Hapa.”  Half Japanese-Cnaadian and Hafl Caucasian-Canadian.  They met while both were working in Tokyo.  Hapa Izakaya brings the “Izakaya”/ Japanese Pub food to Vancouver, but pushes it up a level with its fusion cuisine.  The Robson St. restaurant is very cool with its dark interior and club music.  The Kitsilano restaurant is more laid back.

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Unagi (eel) cone.

Happy Chinese New Year! Gee…. it's a lot like Scottish Hogmanay!

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A very multicultural group of poetry loving revelers shared food and drink at Library Square Pub on Chinese New Year's Day. Two international students from Brasil joined us along with Karen, a man from Iran, 5th generation Vancouverite Todd Wong, born in Scotland June Ventners-Clark, Peter Clark, Phoenix and Sherry Shigasu.

After the World Poetry Gung Haggis Fat Choy Gala at the Vancouver Public Library, some of us went to the Library Square Pub.  Monday night appetizers were 2 for 1.  We had nachos, spring rolls, popcorn shrimp and chicken wings.  Our multicultural crowd counted ancestry from around the world: Brazil, China, Japan, Scotland, Iran, Germany, India and more!

There are many similarities between Chinese New Year's Eve and Scottish Hogmanay:

1) Make lots of noise.  Chinese light firecrackers to create loud noises to scare away bad spirits.  Scottish also create loud noise by clanking kitchen pots and setting off cannons and church bells.  Doors are opened to let out bad spirits.

2) Pay off your debts. 
Chinese like to ensure that you start off the New Year with no debts
hanging onto your personal feng shui.  I think the Scots do the
same but especially to ensure that they aren't paying anymore interest.

3) Have lots of good food and visit friends.  Eat lots and be merry.  Both Scots and Chinese enjoy eating, hosting their friends and visiting their friends.  If you spend all your time visiting friends, then you don't have to cook for anybody.  But good guests always bring good gifts too!


4) Party on dude!  In
Asia, Chinese New Year celebrations will go on for days, lasting up to
a week!  Sort of like Boxing week sales in Canada.  In
Scotland, the Scots are proud partyers and are well known for making
parties last for days on end.

Maclean's Magazine: “Hold the sheep's stomach lining” – mentions Todd Wong and Gung Haggis Fat Choy

Macleans Magazine cites Gung Haggis Fat Choy's Todd Wong in article about the intricacies of Haggis for Robbie Burns' 250th Anniversary.

RL102 by you.

Deep-fried haggis & shrimp won ton dumplings were served up with some “Famous Grouse” scotch, when Visit Scotland's Chief Executive, Phillip Riddell, came to Vancouver to meet Todd Wong, creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy. The special limited edition 37 year blend of Famous Grouse was one of 250 bottles made, and sent to Burns Dinners around the world, to be auctioned off for Charity.  – photo Rich Lam

It was last week when Pamela Cuthbert phoned me up for her story in Macleans Magazine.  She had heard bout the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner and that we served up deep-fried haggis won ton.

“Won Ton is the Chinese equivalent of the Mars Bar,” I joked, making reference to the Scottish predeliction of deep-fried Mars chocolate bars.

I explained how we came up with the idea to create haggis won ton, and told her about the first time we tried haggis won-ton soup.

“We spit it back,” I exclaimed, “It was way too haggis-sy.  But the deep-fried haggis, and the haggis spring rolls were great. 

Today at the Floata Restaurant we will also be serving up haggis & pork su-mei dim sum dumplings.  Everybody remarks that they've never seen people eat so much haggis, especially when they roll the haggis up with the lettuce wrap, with Chinese Hoi-Sin bbq sauce.  It's delicious!

Check out the article below – I am mentioned in the 3rd paragraph.  Click on the link to read the full article.

Arts & Culture – Written by Pamela Cuthbert on Wednesday,

January 28, 2009

Hold the sheep’s stomach lining

It’s the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns’s birth: deep-fried haggis won ton, anyone?

Hold the sheep’s stomach lining

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Now’s the time to toss prejudice aside and try haggis. Never mind
that this humble pie is a steaming mound of ground organs, suet,
assorted spices and oats, all boiled in the lining of a sheep’s
stomach. Ever since Scotland’s bard, Robert Burns, immortalized haggis,
it has become the dish that launched a million parties—and possibly
about as many interpretations. This is the 250th anniversary of the
poet’s birth, so the annual celebration of Burns Night, on Jan. 25, is
promising more invention and revelry than ever.

“The meat in a haggis is brilliant,” says chef Craig Flinn of Chives
Canadian Bistro in Halifax. “It’s like the meat in a tourtière pie.” He
prepared the sausage-like food once, when he cooked in a hotel kitchen,
but then forgot about it. This year, Flinn will serve a Burns Night
appetizer: traditional haggis sausage with tattie ’n neep purée,
caramelized onion balsamic jam and grainy Dijon veal jus that he calls
“a bit cross-cultural.” He’ll use a mixture of lamb and pork trimmings
with back fat and “more palatable” entrails such as lamb kidneys and
pork tongue and cheek.

Todd Wong started the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in Vancouver, a
Scottish-Chinese Burns Night banquet, in the late ’90s. He sees it as
“an integration, a reflection of Canada’s inter-cultural nature.” This
year (which is also Chinese New Year’s Eve), the menu features
deep-fried haggis won ton, lettuce-wrap haggis, and a traditional
variety.

read rest of story: http://blog.macleans.ca/2009/01/28/hold-the-sheep%E2%80%99s-stomach-lining/#comment-86659

Photos from 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner

Gung Haggis Fat Choy is always a wonderful event for photographs.  Special thanks to our incredible photographers Patrick Tam, Lydia Nagai and VFK.

If you like their photos, please contact them and purchase them.  We have asked them to put “water marks” on their photos, so that we will advertise and promote them.

They help us with our event, because they believe in the community work and social consiousness raising that we do.

DSC_3928_103489 - Mayor Gregor Robertson doing the honours by FlungingPictures.
A wonderful job by everybody last night –
Veteran Gung Haggis performers Joe McDonald and Heather pronounced last
night as “The Best Gung Haggis Dinner yet”

And Dr. Leith Davis
(Director of Centre for Scottish Studies, Simon Fraser University) said it was the best Burns Supper she had ever attended – and she just
spent 2 weeks in Scotland for Homecoming Scotland!

Congratulations
to everybody.  The energy was brilliantly contagious and fun.  There
were lots of nice surprises in the program, with the Mayor reading a
Burns poem, a treatise on the details of scotch drinking, Parks
Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon singing A Man's A Man For A' That, and
hip hop artist Ndidi Cascade coming up from the audience to rap a verse
of Burns' Address to A Haggis.

But it was the performances by
Silk Road, Joe McDonald, Adrienne Wong, Jan Walls, Tommy Tao, Rita
Wong, Catherine Barr, Heather Pawsey & DJ Timothy Wisdom, Bob
Wilkins & the Gung Haggis Fat Choy pipe band,  supplemented by
Alland & Trish McMordie with Don Scobie from Seattle… and an
immortal address by Dr. Leith Davis – that knocked the audience over!

With wonderfully warm co-hosting from Gloria Macarenko and Catherine Barr….

And strong support from stage manager Charlie Cho, and sound technician Carl Schmidt.

Many
Many thanks…. to helping rise funds for Historic Joy Kogawa House,
Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop/Ricepaper Magazine and Gung Haggis Fat
Choy dragon boat team.

We will have some pictures available for you soon.

Thank yous and Blessings to
everybody!
Toddish

Patrick Tam – Flunging Pictures 
www.flunging pictures.com

DSC_3928_103489 - Mayor Gregor Robertson doing the honours by FlungingPictures.

661 – 20090125 – Robbie Burns’… – Patrick Tam photo set.

Lydia Nagai – Lydia Nagai Photography
www.lydianagai.com

IMG_0525 by Lydia Nagai.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2009 – Linda Nagai photo set.

VFK Photography

GHFC 2009 VF3_4418.JPG by vfk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24064901@N00/sets/72157613036584552/

GHFC 2009 VF3_4664.JPG by vfk Silk Road Music performing in front of life-size photos of Nellie McClung, Mungo Martin, Emily Carr and Todd Wong – courtesy of Royal BC Museum.- photo VFK


 Tips To Help You Start Living Healthy In 2022

We’re all encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle, but what does that involve and how do we get there? Health doesn’t just entail eating right or exercising. True health incorporates other areas we might not give much thought to, like positivity and self-care. Here, we share with you seven fantastic ways you can get healthy – and stay healthy – in 2022.

1. Follow a Balanced Diet

The saying “everything in moderation” really goes a long way. A healthy diet full of a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, nuts and healthy fats helps to keep our bodies and minds in proper working order. There are foods you’ll want to limit, though. Processed foods might taste great, but they often carry a hefty amount of salt which can trigger high blood pressure and heart disease.

2. Embrace Positivity

Negative people or situations can trigger disordered eating and low moods. Look at the people in your life and the things that take up your time, and if something or someone brings you a lot of negative feelings, it might be a sign you need to cut ties. At the same time, work to let go of negative self-talk. A positive self-regard leads to a more positive lifestyle. Visit https://www.wtkr.com/brand-spotlight/best-weight-loss-pills.

3. Keep Moving

Exercise has been proven to lower the risk of disease, increase bone density, and even help us live longer. But how much is enough? The general recommendation is to engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every day.

4. Know Your Stats

Having an idea of your overall health can help you identify areas you might need to improve. A blood test is a simple way of pinpointing any concerns. Your doctor can recommend particular things you might need to monitor or check, like your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol.

5. Stay Hydrated

Without enough water, our bodies are unable to function normally, remove waste, and transport nutrients and oxygen. Adults need, on average, three litres of water a day. If you lose more water due to exercise, heavy perspiration or frequent urination, you will need to drink more regularly.

6. Talk About It

With mental illnesses like depression on the rise, more people find themselves feeling isolated and alone. Talking to a trusted friend or health professional about how you’re feeling can offer you the help you need to restore positive mental health.

7. Stop Smoking

Smoking is an addictive behaviour that carries no health benefits. Smokers are at greater risk of serious health issues, including lung disease, heart attack and stroke. Your family and friends can also be affected by inhaling second-hand smoke. It’s never too late to quit, and there are many support options available to help you give up smoking.

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

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.
 

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

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.

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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

Cardero's Restaurant in Coal Harbour

Where to best show “Vancouver” scenery and cuisine to a Torontonian… and make them wish they lived in Vancouver?2008_Nov15 107 by you.Cardero's is my new favorite restaurant for lunch. I went with my friend Halya Kuchmij, the film producer of the documentary Generations: The Chan Legacywhich is about the story of my great-great grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan, and the community contributions of his descendants – including me!

Halya and I met for lunch on Monday, November 17… Initially I had thought to take her to Granville Island – but on an inspiration I decided to check out Cardero's in Coal Harbour.  I hadn't been there for years… 

We took a short walk beside the Westin Bayshore Hotel while we waited for them to set up for lunch. The fog had lifted off the water.  We saw sea planes taking off, and a large catamaran yacht moving towards us.  I pointed out some of the local land marks such as HMCS Discovery. 

2008_Nov15 106

This was our shared plate: Ahi tuna, Yellow Fin tuna, Tiger prawns, oysters – with dipping sauces.  The green stuff is crunchy vegetable stuff.  It was perfect with the yam fries.  Wonderful think crunch yam fries.  Tuna sashimi that melts in your mouth.  And a view of the harbour to rival anywhere in Vancouver.

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The view from North Vancouver in the morning… Fog draped Coal Harbour and Burrard Inlet – photo Todd Wong

Vote for “Broken Family” in CBC Radio contest

Donna Lee entered a film in the CBC Radio contest called Migrations.  She is in the semi-final, and needs a push from all you good folks.

I first met Donna during the Head Tax redress campaign.  She did some filming when we protested against then Prime Minister Paul Martin.  Maybe our protesting led to his downfall?  It caught media attention.

Check out Donna's film – which gives the often untold story about how families were separated not only because it was TOO EXPENSIVE to bring a wife or family to Canada (Remember $500 in 1923 would buy a small house), but because the “Chinese Exclusion Act” made it impossible to enter Canada 1923 to 1947, if you were Chinese.  No other ethnic group was specifically targeted.  I guess they knew that Adrienne Clarkson was coming.

Here's the note from Donnna”

As you probably know, Broken Family,
my short documentary on the head tax redress movement and my family, is
in a CBC Radio Canada contest called Migrations.  It's made it to the
semi-final rounds of a people's choice online voting competition. 
Thanks for your support! 

Featuring Harvey Lee, Naiya Lee Tsang, and Sahali Lee Tsang and my
family's Rio Cafe in Souris MB, which I'm sad to say doesn't exist by
that name anymore.

If you are venturing forth on the world wide
web and feel like dropping by the website for another round of voting,
then here's the url:

http://www.rciviva.ca/rci/migrations/flash.asp?lg=en&id_concours=8

it's available for viewing for this round from Thurs Nov 20th to the 26th.


There are many other fine shorts on the subject of migration – enjoy!


Many thanks for allowing me space for artist-self-promotion-type-of email.

Hope this finds you well,


Donna