Restaurants
Joy Yee
Joy 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.
Joy 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 Joy Yee are surprisingly reasonable. Next time I can't wait to try the curry dishes and sushi pizzas.
Writing and photos by Connie Ng
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I scoffed at the idea of going to King's Cafe a while back. I now tout it as one of the best spots in the market, I would like to eat sustainable sushi, I'll have to give this one a try now.
How did the food taste?
Your map is way off -- restaurant is N of 407, not S of the 401.
Looks delicious but will have to plan to go that far afield!
I have never particularly understood the type of vegetarian who chooses to eat vegetarian things that are designed to taste like meat alternatives.
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.
I agree with you in that there are so many tasty vegetarian things that aren't trying to emulate meat.
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.
Darcy, I totally understand what you are saying because I often have wondered the same thing: why vegetarians seek out imitation meat products made of soy, when they are so anti-animal consumption? I soon realized that not all vegetarians dislike/hate meat...they don't eat it for a variety of reasons. I no longer eat pork but I still love the smell and smokey, salty taste of bacon. If I can find a similar smelling/tasting product to bacon that satisfies my bacon craving without the health risk (or other) factor, why not indulge?
Google Maps doesn't recognize "9688 Leslie Street." Where is this place, exactly?
It's even further up than that, it's above 16th Avenue, almost near Major Mack
Major Mack? That ain't south of bloor, west of the Don! What is this review doing on this site??
Darcy, Here's your answer: Nostalgia and curiosity. Be more whimsical. Stop thinking so much. And stop caring.
why would you order the samosas at a vegan sushi restaurant?
So... was it good? Sort of a pointless review, huh?
Ha! I couldn't agree more! Every time i eat something vegetarian billed as "burger" or "turkey" or "chicken nuggets" I get terribly disappointed because it is so much worse than the real thing...If you served it to me WITHOUT the direct reference to meat, I'd be perfectly fine.... I wish the food companies and restaurants stopped doing the fake meat thing and just gave us good vegetarian food.... and call it what it is.
I love it when people complain that fake meat is processed and how despicable it is for non-meaters to put this junk into their bodies. do you only eat free-range eggs? do you seek out the highest grade beef and pork? are you living completely probiotic? yeah, i didn't think so, so why do non-meat eaters get judged as such?
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...
Joe Yee Vegetarian is on the west side of Leslie, north of 16th, right across the street from Rubicon Exotic Juice head office.
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.
I would love to find a sushi place that uses fish but not shellfish. I know there's a kosher sushi restaurant but it's expensive and out of the way.
Just a clarification. This place is called JOE Yee, not Joy Yee.
There is no vegan sashimi. All the mock fish contains dairy. If you're vegan and going for sushi you might as well eat at your local sushi spot.
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.