Restaurants
Joe Yee
Joe Yee, with its open sushi bar and a sashimi menu next to photos of giant sushi party trays, at first glance appears to be the typical Japanese restaurant - except their sign out front reads "vegetarian cuisine".
Entering the restaurant I spot a chef behind the sushi bar slicing into a slab of salmon. "This is a vegetarian restaurant that serves... fish?" the question felt silly but followed by a few long giggles the waitress explained that what looks like raw fish is really "meat analogue" and contains no traces of meat. She reassured me that everything on the menu was vegan friendly with the exception of a few dishes containing small amounts of dairy products.
Long accustomed to bad veggie patties that were often boycotted and untouched at summer barbecues, I found it difficult to believe faux meat was capable of replicating the look and texture of meat with such close resemblance. But for some reason "Vegan sashimi" - the oxymoron itself excited was too intriguing on this day for me to pass up.
Joe Yee markets itself as vegetarian Japanese though the menu selection feels more like Chinese fusion. With everything from bento boxes, sashimi, dragon rolls, curry chicken and very traditional tofu-veggie dishes and soy-based appetizers, the vast selection on the menu makes ordering quite overwhelming.
We end up ordering many of their "meat analogue" dishes to test out the waters so to
speak.
To start off we shared something safe and familiar - the samosas. Delicious! My big pet-peeve with fried food is the oozing grease that often comes as part of the package, but these samosas are ultra light and the shell thin and crispy with just the right touch of spice.
Next up: the soy-based appetizers including BBQ pork, ham, seaweed and roasted pork. Basically, the standard appetizers you'd find at many traditional Chinese restaurants
except this assortment was pure vegetarian.
I must make a special note of the roasted pork. Although it tastes nothing like the real thing, presented as it was it replicates almost the exact physical anatomy of traditional
roasted pork. What looks like a layer of fiber tissue, fat and soft bone beneath a dark crispy skin is made from gluten jelly. The bottom layers of pinkish white meat are made with soy.
For our mains we order the salmon avocado roll. The resemblance is so strikingly real, I suspect the taste and texture would fool the average sushi eater and possibly freak out most vegetarians. The orange color of the salmon not only looks identical to the real fish, the subtle white streaks resembling fat tissues you'd find in raw fish make it visually indistinguishable from real sushi. If I may say, it was a little sculptural work of art.
The prices at Joe Yee are surprisingly reasonable. Next time I can't wait to try the curry dishes and sushi pizzas.
Writing and photos by Connie Ng
Discussion
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How did the food taste?
Looks delicious but will have to plan to go that far afield!
Tofurkey? Vegetarian Bacon? Veggie burgers that are designed to emulate a beef burger? These all seem weird to me.
I'm not a vegetarian, though I'm sort of a meat minimalist these days. There are SO many ways to cook vegetarian food that tastes good why spend all your time trying to make it taste like something you've decided not to eat?
Reminds me of grapples: why would I want my apple to taste like a grape? It's not a grape. It's an apple. Grapes are great, but I like apples too.
It's an unholy alliance, I tell you. Unholy.
The simplest answer to your question though, is that people may still like the taste of meat, but don't eat it for ethical/health/ecological reasons, and that since most people are raised eating it, they still may want to/want to fit in sometimes.
My problem with it is more that all those fake meat things are processed soy crap... though sometimes delicious, I'll be honest.
eating fake meat is convenient, there really isn't anything all that great to put between two pieces of bread (besides say cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and some almonds), and it can make for an interesting and strangely comforting meal. now please, sashimi with fake fish? that's awesome. i would check this place out if it wasn't in the middle of nowhere...
The salmon sashimi freaked me out as it tasted very close to the real thing in terms of texture. Even my carnivore hubby thought so. It is definitely worth a trip to try their vegetarian sushi. Also their lunch specials are quite reasonable although they are mostly Chinese dishes.
For those who wonder why vegetarians would eat mock meat, I personally love the taste and flavour of meat but for ethical reasons, choose not to eat it. I'm happy there are alternatives available though I tend to stick to asian style mock meats.
They do have vegan dishes, but you have to ask your waiter as they are not marked. It was still a good meal but I was very disappointed because I thought I was going to eat vegan sashimi etc.
Too many items on the menu are not vegan. But if you eat eggs and dairy this place will probably blow your mind.
You said you would like to let you know that not all kosher sushi places are expensive. Please look at my menu online at www.umamisushi.ca We are located at bathurst and Lawrence.