[AlbertC]

Toronto Chinese vegetarian spots made fake meat long before the plant-based burger craze

By Karon Liu Food Writer
Tues., Oct. 1, 2019

The world of fake meat long predates Beyond Meat or any company offering Chick’n bites and barbecue pulled pork made from jackfruit. For centuries, chefs in East Asian nations have been using beans, vegetables, flour and spices to create their own version of chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, fish and shrimp with eerie accuracy. While this type of cooking has its roots in Buddhism, in a diverse city like Toronto, Chinese vegetarian restaurants are catering to a wide range of diners whether they’re going veggie out of religious, health, environmental or ethical reasons, or simply like the taste of crispy seitan smothered in a peppery black bean sauce.

Many Buddhists tend to stay away from meat and seafood as they don’t believe in inflicting pain upon what they consume. In Cameron Stauch’s Vegetarian Viet Nam cookbook, he writes that centuries ago Chinese Buddhist monks didn’t want to force their diet on non-vegetarian guests so they compromised by making meat out of tofu, seitan, gluten flour and seasoning. This approach to hospitality spread to other Buddhist monasteries throughout Asia, and restaurants eventually adopted the practice as well. Today Toronto is home to a few decades-old Chinese vegetarian restaurants where the chefs have mastered the art of mock meat.

Toronto Chinese vegetarian spots made fake meat long before the plant-based burger craze

Centuries ago Chinese Buddhist monks didn’t want to force their diet on nonvegetarian guests so they compromised by making meat out of tofu, seitan, gluten flour and seasoning.

www.thestar.com

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Though Chinese fake meat doesn't make a convincing burger - it is good tasting vegetarian food; not good tasting vegetarian food that actually tastes like meat.

AoD

 

[AlbertC]

Though Chinese fake meat doesn't make a convincing burger - it is good tasting vegetarian food; not good tasting vegetarian food that actually tastes like meat.

AoD

While growing up, the classic assortment of a soy-based, mock meat takeout platter from Chinese restaurants/shops has always been a familiar favourite. Sometimes even more preferable to actual BBQ meat takeout.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

While growing up, the classic assortment of a mock meat takeout platter from Chinese restaurants/shops has always been a familiar favourite. Sometimes even more preferable to actual BBQ meat takeout.

Yup, I still have those occasionally (from the T&T product counters) - they are still gluten variously flavoured (and nothing like meat) though. I was truly surprised how meatlike the new generation of veg burgers (Impossible/Beyond Meat) are - strict vegetarians might get grossed out by it.

AoD

 

[Towered]

As someone who grew up occasionally enjoying Canadian-Chinese food, I still get cravings for that style, but it seems harder and harder to find a good place that still offers it. Is there anything remaining downtown along those lines? Think Lichee Garden in the 70's/80's for reference.

I'm always kind of disappointed when I wind up eating authentic Chinese.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I was truly surprised how meatlike the new generation of veg burgers (Impossible/Beyond Meat) are

My favourite Lick's burger in the late 1980s was their veggie burger. I think they should have expanded that market back then.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

As someone who grew up occasionally enjoying Canadian-Chinese food, I still get cravings for that style, but it seems harder and harder to find a good place that still offers it. Is there anything remaining downtown along those lines? Think Lichee Garden in the 70's/80's for reference.

I'm always kind of disappointed when I wind up eating authentic Chinese.

Not a clue - what's Lichee Garden's like?

AoD

 

[AlbertC]

As someone who grew up occasionally enjoying Canadian-Chinese food, I still get cravings for that style, but it seems harder and harder to find a good place that still offers it. Is there anything remaining downtown along those lines? Think Lichee Garden in the 70's/80's for reference.

I'm always kind of disappointed when I wind up eating authentic Chinese.

I was never around for Lichee Garden. Although, I'd reckon Lee Garden on Spadina would've have been the closest match in Chinatown. But they've closed down for a few years now. Their clientele was pretty much all non-Chinese.

Nowadays, I'd probably suggest Rol San on Spadina or Yueh Tung at Dundas W & Elizabeth to be a closer fit for the Canadian-Chinese food palate.

Article about Lee Garden:

Lee Garden was more than just greasy comfort food, it was my culinary home away from home

The closing of a Cantonese eatery represents the end of a childhood of which it was so firmly a fixture, Sarah Farb writes

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I was never around for Lichee Garden. Although, I'd reckon Lee Garden on Spadina would've have been the closest match in Chinatown. But they've closed down for a few years now. Their clientele was pretty much all non-Chinese.

Nowadays, I'd probably suggest Rol San on Spadina or Yueh Tung at Dundas W & Elizabeth to be a closer fit for the Canadian-Chinese food palate.

Article about Lee Garden:

Lee Garden was more than just greasy comfort food, it was my culinary home away from home

The closing of a Cantonese eatery represents the end of a childhood of which it was so firmly a fixture, Sarah Farb writes

www.theglobeandmail.com

I've had Lee Garden and I don't find it particularly Canadian-Chinese at all. It's pretty acceptable HK Cantonese of yore.

AoD

 

[AlbertC]

I've had Lee Garden and I don't find it particularly Canadian-Chinese at all. It's pretty acceptable HK Cantonese of yore.

AoD

I have extended family in the Ottawa-Gatineau area that used to operate Canadian-Chinese restaurants in the past. They've retired and/or sold the businesses now. I think it's difficult to find current day Canadian/American-Chinese food in its classical sense in urban areas. Most of these would likely still exist in smaller towns or older suburban areas.

There used to be a couple in the Forest Hill area of Eglinton West, but I think they've closed down for condos or the property was consumed for infrastructure of the Crosstown.

Looks like there's still Sea-Hi on Bathurst (south of the 401), and C'est Bon on Yonge (between Eglinton and Lawrence) though.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I have extended family in the Ottawa-Gatineau area that used to operate Canadian-Chinese restaurants in the past. They've retired and/or sold the businesses now. I think it's difficult to find current day Canadian/American-Chinese food in its classical sense in urban areas. Most of these would likely still exist in smaller towns or older suburban areas.

There used to be a couple in the Forest Hill area of Eglinton West, but I think they've closed down for condos or the property was consumed for infrastructure of the Crosstown.

Looks like there's still Sea-Hi on Bathurst (south of the 401), and C'est Bon on Yonge (between Eglinton and Lawrence) though.

Yeah I've heard of House of Chan on Eglinton never ate there though (I giggle every time I read the menu - the items always sounded like swear words - and then trying to figure out what it actually meant - with the inevitable WTF). Really need to check out Ann Hui's book on Canadian-Chinese food.

AoD

 

[narduch]

There is probably something good in the Leslie and Hwy 7 area. But I haven't been in that area for ages.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

There is probably something good in the Leslie and Hwy 7 area. But I haven't been in that area for ages.

It'd be contemporary Chinese food in the area - not Canadian-Chinese food (think Chop Suey, Moo Goo Gai Pan, etc)

AoD

 

[Towered]

Not a clue - what's Lichee Garden's like?

AoD

Lichee Garden was legendary. Old-school red and black interior, dim lighting, dragon statues, massive gong, large paintings of ancient Chinese emperors adorning the walls, waiters in bow ties, and to top it off, they always had an old white guy in a tuxedo playing light jazz-pop tunes on a grand piano on a stage in the corner with golden curtains as the backdrop. Going there as a kid with my parents felt like an event. Nobody makes that kind of an effort anymore. Restaurants are no longer theatrical in this way, and we're the poorer for it. For many years it was located where the shitty food court is now in the basement of the Atrium on Bay on the north side of the escalators. So sad when you compare present with past.

To top it off, they had by far the best fried, battered shrimp I've ever had anywhere, full stop. I can still taste them 35+ years later. I've tried so hard over the years to find similar ones, but nobody comes even close. I'm hoping that perhaps Yueh Tung, which is one of the last holdouts of the original Chinatown, might have shrimp along those lines, but they're Hakka-Chinese and not classic Canadian-Chinese, so I'm skeptical.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Eating there sounds like work. I have a distant acquaintance who worked there ages ago but he isn’t useful as a source of info.

AoD