Five food and dining events

Haggis with chopsticks
This Sunday (January 25) marks not only the eve of Chinese New Year but also Robbie Burns Day. To celebrate, Todd Wong’s annual Gung Haggis Fat Choy banquet combines Chinese and Scottish food and entertainment. The 10-course dinner takes place at Floata Seafood Restaurant (400–180 Keefer Street). Tickets are available for $65 by phone through the Firehall Arts Centre (604-689-0926); more info can be found at www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com.

Festival scramble
On Tuesday (January 27), tickets go on sale for 2009’s Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (March 23 to 29). This year’s fest focuses on B.C. wines, and pinot varietals (blanc, noir, gris, et cetera) from everywhere. Top events to target include Christ Church Cathedral’s roof-raising Blasted Church Midnight Service, complete with gospel, barbecue, and wine; Blind-Blind, where everyone tastes blindfolded; and wine-soaked lunches and dinners. Get tickets and event details at www.playhousewinefest.com and 604-873-3311.

Ready, steady, cook!
It’s crunch time for David Wong, Art Institute of Vancouver instructor and Canada’s candidate in the Bocuse d’Or culinary competition. Wong is in Lyon, France, for the January 27 and 28 cook-off, where he’ll be up against chefs from over 20 countries. In addition to two years of practice-makes-perfect, he’ll be drawing on the advice of a sports psychologist to put him on the podium. For photos of his creations and a link to his blog, click here.

Jean-Georges in the house
Jean-Georges Vongerichten opens the new MARKET by Jean-Georges restaurant on Saturday evening (January 24) and will be in and out of the kitchen for the next week. Located in the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver (1128 West Georgia Street), which opens the same day, the restaurant has a bar, casual-bistro and fine-dining sections with different menus, and an outdoor terrace to come. The restaurant, which is closed Sundays, is now taking reservations for lunch and dinner at 604-695-1115.

Diner redux
Bright spot Deacon’s Corner (101 Main Street) is Cobre’s Tyson Reimer’s tribute to the original, his grandfather’s ’50s truck-stop diner outside Winnipeg. Dig into hearty breakfasts—eggs, corned-beef hash, and chicken-fried steak—plus meat loaf, fried chicken, burgers, and more, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m and weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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