By Anya Levykh

Yesterday I attended the launch lunch (try saying that five times fast) for the 2011 HSBC Chinese Restaurant Awards. It was held at Red Star Restaurant (no website, 604.270.3003, 8181 Cambie Rd, Richmond). We got to meet the judges for this year, hear about the new categories and format in both the diners’ and judges’ choice contests, and sampled some of last year’s winning dishes—nine to be exact—including dim sum, barbecue duck, Dungeness crab with wild rice, and sautéed geoduck with abalone and asparagus.

The 11 judges for this year’s awards include, among others, Founding Chair chef, restaurateur and journalist Stephen Wong; culinary tour leader and food blogger Melody Fury; Joie Alvaro Kent of Vancouver Magazine; Brendon Matthews of UrbanDiner.ca; and local food writer and editor Lee Man.

The awards are divided into the same two categories as last year, the Diners’ Choice Awards and the Critics’ Choice Signature Dish Awards. This year, for the first time, members of the public can actually nominate restaurants between September 28 and October 5. The top 20 restaurants nominated by the public will form the list that will be voted on to receive the Diners’ Choice Awards. There are 15 categories for diners to vote in this year, including Best Modern Chinese (new this year), Best Chinese Bakery and best BBQ Shop. Voting will take place online, from October 6 through November 12, at www.votedinerschoice.com.

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