Wear your maple leaves, cowboy hats and hockey jerseys to the streets of Lan Kwai Fong on June 30, the eve of Canada National Day, for all things red, white and tipsy. Canada D’eh! 2008, hosted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, begins at 7pm and runs until early next morning. Freebies include tattoos, cowboy hats, T-shirts, beads, and a jazz performance beginning at 8pm. Head outside Stormies (G/F and 1/F, 46-50 D’Aguilar Street, Central 2845 5533) at midnight to sing the Canadian national anthem, O Canada.

While out in that neck of the woods that evening, there’s a two-for-one deal on bottles of Molson’s Lager at Bulldog’s Bar & Grill (G/F, 17 Lan Kwai Fong, Central 2523 3528). If you’re looking for something a bit more hard and fast, Al’s Diner (39 D’Aguilar Street, Central 2521 8714) has a Canadian six-shooter menu lined up for the evening – highlights include the Canuck Fuck (vanilla vodka, Bailey’s, and half-and-half), the Furry Beaver (Amaretto and chocolate liqueur) and the Flaming Maple (Tia Maria and Black Sambucha, served flambè). All shooters are $38; buy five and get the sixth free. Canadian Club whisky can be found at FINDS (2/F, Lan Kwai Fong Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central 2522 9318) that evening as well. Another bar participating in the Canada Day festivities is Insomnia (38-44 D’Aguilar, Street, Central 2525 0957), which will have all your favourite classic Canadian tunes live.

Beer enthusiasts with more sophisticated palates should look into Dieu du Ciel and Schoune Brewery limited-production microbrews, imported straight from Canada. Dieu du Ciel beers include Corne du Diable (a dry-hopped English Indian Pale Ale with bitter caramel undertones), Péché Mortel (a dense, black beer brewed with fair trade coffee), and Routes des Espices (a rye beer brewed with peppercorns, giving off a taste of chocolate, caramel, and fruit). Schoune’s line includes La Belge (an acidic beer brewed with four spices), La Blanche de Quebec (a Canadian beer brewed with maple syrup), and La Erabière (with an incredibly strong flavour of malt and caramel, without added spices). At the Canada Emporium (M107, M1/F Haleson Building, 1 Jubilee Street, Central 3153 4811) these beers run at $50 per bottle, $999 per 24-bottle case. You can also order on their website, www.naturalandfair.com, or win a mixed case in bc’s competition on page 44.

While we’re on the subject of elite ways to enjoy alcohol, the Sky Lounge (18/F, Sheraton HK Hotels & Towers, 20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon 2369 1111 ext 4) at the Sheraton Hotel’s recently-opened Wineroom features Hong Kong’s first Enomatic wine dispensing system. The Italian-designed wine serving and preserving system is supposed to keep the colour, taste, and aroma of entire bottles of wine at a ‘first time taste’ quality by preventing oxidation. Guests can serve themselves from 24 labels, using a wine card to activate the system, which serves 2.5cl, 7.5cl or 15cl. Prices range from $20-$90 for a 2.5cl tasting to $95-$420 for a 15cl glass. Payments can be made either by depositing $100 for a rechargeable VIP Card or borrowing the server’s card. A 10% gratuity is also added.

South Wanchai, bounded by Queens Road East and Johnston Road, is becoming an increasingly popular location to open a restaurant or bar. Its latest outlet is Vertigo Ultralounge (26/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queens Road East, 2575 8980) in the QRE Plaza – the building that’s had the Fatburger ‘opening soon’ sign at street level for the last who knows how many months. Engraved glass walls, plush sofas and a sophisticated sound and light system line the ultralounge: a 3000 sq ft area is sectioned into three private rooms, one with a massive communal sofa and karaoke, another with a full-size professional pool table (topped with Iwan Simonis cloth and Aramith balls, for those who will appreciate them). The bar is open from 6pm until late, and serves a range of boutique martinis ($88). If we have a complaint about Vertigo it’s that it is another outlet that adds a 10% service charge to the bill, to which we ask the question: If you don’t serve us, how will we buy your products, allowing you to make money? It’s a nasty and dishonest practice in all the outlets that have adopted it.

Zinc (35 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, 2868 3448) offers a return to the Zimple life with Zimple SundayZ when Bev and Ahdy invite you down for a bit of r & r to round off your weekend. Unwind with a buy one get one free deal on all standard drinks, bottled beers and house wine from 6pm till close. Wednesday is Babes Night Out with free cozmopolitans, house spirits and house wines from 9pm till close for all ladies.