About Joyce

Woman with long dark hair smiling outdoors, among blurred greenery and yellow flowers in the background.

Hi there,

I'm Joyce!

The voice, author, and creator of Aytpical Fare.

I started Aytpical Fare because I want to inspire more people to eat vegetarian food. And I want to do so by sharing Chinese vegetarian food, because that is what I love eating and what I know best.

I am currently based in San Francisco, California, but I grew up in Taiwan and China.

This may come as a surprise, but Chinese food is actually quite vegetarian-friendly. According to Word Atlas, about 12% of the population in Taiwan is vegetarian. While I will always recommend that people visiting Taiwan try the usual suspects—braised pork over rice, beef noodle soup, among many other foods—my personal favorites are the vegetarian pay-by-the-weight-style restaurants, where you can get a wide variety of home-style vegetarian dishes at an unbeatable price. I have been going to them since high school, and I still look forward to eating there whenever I am back!

Assorted Chinese cold dishes, including bean curds and various vegetables, arranged on plates on a stainless steel counter. — A vegetarian pay-by-the-weight-style restaurant near where I grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. This is the appetizer/cold dish section.

A self-service vegetarian buffet with various options served in metal trays. — This is the hot food section. You can always add white rice or brown rice at checkout, and most places have a simple and complimentary soup that you can refill at no charge.

Being vegetarian has become a part of my identity now, but it hasn’t always been this way.

In 2010, I decided to become a pescatarian after watching the documentary Food Inc. I decided to go vegetarian the following year, but I always had some doubts in the back of my mind because no one around me was vegetarian. It wasn’t until my trip to India that sealed the deal for me.

In 2012, I had an opportunity to join a student organization-led exchange in Chennai, India. During my month-long stay there, I ate so much yummy Indian food, fell in love with dosas, and met many thriving, lifelong vegetarians from birth, who often grew up in vegetarian households. That impressed me (from my experience, vegetarians in Taiwan and China are usually in the Boomer generation), impressed upon me, and really dissolved any doubts that I had about being a vegetarian.

A dosa on a banana leaf with sambar, green chutney, red chutney, and cutlery on a metal plate.

Four young girls in colorful traditional clothing and jewelry smile at the camera with a woman in a blue shirt.

Since then, I have been 99% vegetarian (and even vegan for five years) and currently only cook 100% vegetarian at home. I say 99% vegetarian because of two things:

I’ve eaten seafood on very special occasions (flexitarian), and
There is a concept in Taiwan called “convenient vegetarian” (方便素) or “wok-side vegetarian” (鍋邊素), which allows eating veggies that have been cooked with animal products, as long as you’re not eating the actual meat. This is what I practice when eating out with non-vegetarians.

When I first became a vegetarian and vegan, I was on a mission to preach and convert (yes, I was that person 🙈). Now, perhaps with age and a little more wisdom, I have come to realize that timing is different for everyone. If it is not now, or not ever, or just for a season, it is all okay.

And for those whose timing is now, thank you for reading this far. I am truly so happy you are here!