Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner

by Jim Wong-Chu

Sunday January 27, 2013

Celebrating BC Scottish and Chinese pioneer culture, history – in music, poetry and culinary fusion

Photo by Deb Martin

Reception: 5:00 pm
Dinner: 6:00 pm – 9:15 pm
Floata Seafood Restaurant (#400 – 180 Keefer St, Chinatown Vancouver)

Ticket:  $65/each.
Table of 10: $625
Student: $55/each.
Children (under 13  years old) $35/each.
You can purchase ticket online or over the phone with a credit card, please call Kristin Cheung at Ricepaper magazine at 604-872-3464.

 

 

2012 PERFORMERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

 

History of Gung Haggis:
In 1998, “Toddish McWong” held a small private dinner for 16 friends with food, haggis, poetry and songs – from both Scottish and Chinese cultures and thus was born – Gung Haggis Fat Choy –  Now it is a dinner for 400 people!More than  a traditional dinner with music and poetry.  Gung Haggis Fat Choy re-imagines a traditional Robert Burns Dinner format, within a BC or Canadian historical context that puts Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian pioneers on an inclusive and equal platform, while acknowledging historical racism and how we move beyond it. This event has grown to also  celebrate contemporary Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian artists and poets and their innovations to create something uniquely Canadian.

16 Years of Highlights for Gung Haggis Fat Choy (GHFC) & Toddish McWong:
1998 – 1st Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner for 16 people in a living room.
2003 – 1st Creation of deep-fried haggis wonton
2004 – CBC television performance special “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”– nominated for 2 Leo Awards
2005 – SFU GHFC Festival with dragon cart racing + human curling
2006 – GHFC photo included in Paul Yee book Saltwater City
2007 – “Address to the Haggis” rap version performed by Todd Wong & Joe McDonald
2007 – GHFC featured in CBC documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy
2008 –  Toddish McWong photo in BC Canada Pavillion during  Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.
2008 – Photo of Toddish McWong in the Royal BC Museum exhibit “The Party”
2009 – GHFC written about in Charles Demers’ book Vancouver Special
2009 – Toddish McWong featured speaker at Centre for Scottish Studies SFU conference “Burns in Trans-Atlantic context”
2009 – Toddish McWong photo featured at Scottish Parliament in the exhibit “This is Who We Are: Scots in Canada.”
2011 – GHFC dinner inspired Hapa-Palooza Festival for Vancouver 125 Celebrations

Photo by Deb Martin

Previous artist and writers included:
Writers: Joy Kogawa, Fred Wah, Brad Cran, Larissa Lai, Rita Wong, George McWhirter, Jim Wong-Chu, Lensey Namioka, Fiona Tinwei Lam.
Musicians: Silk Road Music, Heather Pawsey soprano, Lan Tung, and Blackthorn
Film makers:  Jeff Chiba Stearns, Ann-Marie Fleming and Moyra Rodger.

Menu Highlights include:
Deep-fried haggis wonton + haggis pork dumpling (su-mei) and appetizer courses.
“Neeps” served Chinese style in the form of pan-fried turnip cake, dim sum style.
Traditional haggis is served with Chinese lettuce wrap.

And we always feature fun sing-alongs such as Loch Lomand, My Chow Mein (Bonny) Lies Over the Ocean, and When Asian Eyes Are Smiling.
Lots of surprises… such as new for 2012 – a revamped version of Robbie Burns lyrics set to Johnny Cash or Elvis Presley music.

For Media Inquires Contact:
Todd Wong