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