A vegan bistro serving eclectic, wholesome Asian fusion cuisine in an elegantly casual dining atmosphere, Vegetarian Haven is in a historic downtown Toronto neighborhood.
Is this your first restaurant?
No.
When did it open?
2003.
Do you want to have more than one restaurant?
Not a primary consideration at this time.
What’s your favorite dish on the menu?
The chef’s special, which changes every day.
What’s your most popular appetizer?
Seared vegetable dumplings.
What’s the most popular entrée on the menu?
Chef’s special.
What’s your most popular dessert?
Tofu cheesecake.
What do you feel is special about your restaurant?
The restaurant has a cozy, genuine atmosphere, which creates a sense of connectedness between our patrons and the restaurant.
How often do you change your menu items? Do you have daily or weekly specials?
We generally make small ingredient changes for summer and winter. We have a daily special that incorporates seasonal produce.
Do you have gluten-free, soy-free, and sugar-free options on your menu?
Yes.
What do you do to reduce your environmental impact?
We choose local seasonal produce over imported. We use recycled products. And we are retrofitted with energy-efficient lighting and low-flow faucets.
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as owner or chef of this restaurant?
You can’t please everybody, but always be kind.
What led you to want to open a vegan restaurant, and/or what led you to the vegan diet yourself?
One evening, my husband and I got lost on our way to my mother-in-law’s birthday celebration. We drove into a shopping plaza and parked in front of a restaurant. I dashed in to ask for directions. To my surprise, it was a vegetarian restaurant. I didn’t know we had vegetarian restaurants in Toronto. (This was twenty-seven years ago.) From that point on, I returned there every chance I got to try various dishes. In later years, I explored vegetarian restaurants in other cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Vancouver, and Hong Kong. My catalog of vegetarian dishes slowly expanded. I am very thankful to these restaurants for showing me that vegetarian food can be varied and delicious. They inspired me to learn to cook vegetarian food—I realized that I wanted to provide the same inspiration to new vegetarians that they had provided me. (More of my story is available under “How It All Began” on www.vegetarianhaven.com.)
In the time since your restaurant first opened, how has the plant-based food movement changed? Do you find more demand now for vegan food?
There’s a greater understanding now about the benefits of a plant-based diet. It has become more accepted. Demand for vegan food is definitely growing.
Since your restaurant first opened, has your view of what constitutes healthy or delicious foods changed? Have you changed the types of foods you offer?
My view of what kinds of food to offer is fundamentally the same, but it’s also evolved as new information is discovered.
Where do you see the plant-based food movement going in coming years?
It will continue to grow exponentially. 
The legend: Eighteen arhats (spiritual practitioners, destroyers of enemies, enlightened beings) were gathering to attend the Buddha’s birthday celebration. They could not come to a consensus on what gift to bring. After a long discussion, they decided to each pick an ingredient and cook a dish for the Buddha. And the Buddha was delighted, hence this recipe's name.
There is an unspoken respect for this dish in that, if you order Buddha’s Delight in any Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world, the chef understands that this is to be cooked without meat and worthy of the Buddha.
Buddha’s Delight
Serves 4–6
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 dried red dates*
6 dried wood ear mushrooms*
6 dried cloud ear mushrooms*
10 dried lily flowers*
6 thumb-size pieces dried black moss
2 sticks dried bean curd
¼ cup uncooked glass noodles (mung bean noodles)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
6 canned straw mushrooms, halved
10 fresh or canned water chestnuts
10 fresh or canned ginkgo nuts
10 baby carrots
10 fresh or canned bamboo shoots, cut into 2" slices
3 whole small bok choy heads cut into quarters
1 cup puffy seitan chunks*
8 leaves napa cabbage, halved
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons soy paste*
2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
Pinch sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cups vegetable stock
10 snow peas
* These ingredients can be found in an Asian food market.
Soak shiitake mushrooms, red dates, wood ear mushrooms, cloud ear mushrooms, lily flowers, black moss, bean curd sticks, and glass noodles in water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them until soft. Cut the shiitake mushrooms and red dates into halves, and cut the glass noodles and bean curd sticks into 2" strips.
In a wok or saucepot, sauté the minced ginger and shiitake mushrooms over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add all the previously soaked ingredients except the glass noodles (they will dissolve if put in too early) plus straw mushrooms through sunflower oil and cook for another minute. Add all seasonings and vegetable stock to the wok or pot, cover, and cook in a slow simmer. Stir occasionally. Cook until sauce thickens, approximately 20 minutes. Toss in presoaked glass noodles and follow with the snow peas (adding them at the end to retain their bright green color and crunchy texture). Stir the noodles in the sauce, remove from heat, and serve.
This is a simple salad dressing that can be whipped up easily with a few ingredients and can be kept refrigerated for a week or two. It is refreshing and aromatic and is a great dressing for any salad.
Gluten-Free Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette
Makes 1 cup
¼ cup minced fresh ginger*
¼ cup red rice vinegar
¼ cup sesame seed oil
¼ cup Bragg Liquid Aminos**
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds
* Make sure you use fresh ginger root, not ginger powder.
** If you don’t need this dressing to be gluten-free, you can use soy sauce instead of Bragg Liquid Aminos.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well until sugar is dissolved in the liquid.