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JOI · THE VEGETARIAN JOY FACTORY
Joi calls itself the maker of “the yummiest Vietnamese plant-based food on the planet” — beloved Vietnamese dishes cooked entirely from plants, in a big dining room between two alleys in central District 1.
The shop sits on the ground floor of Christina's, right at the crossing of Alley 189 Cống Quỳnh and Alley 212B Nguyễn Trãi. From outside it looks small, but inside the room opens out — two floors, plenty of sofas, seats for groups and for one person with a book alike.
The menu runs from Vietnamese to international without ever leaving the plant-based kitchen: phở, bánh mì, cơm tấm and hủ tiếu beside the Big Bite, pesto pasta, red pasta and kale salad — plus a full coffee and tea counter, from plant-milk coffees to xiêm xanh jasmine tea and bottled nut milks.
In the evening the live-music corner with its piano and Love Music neon turns the dining room into a place to hang out. Upstairs a small retail corner sells condiments, accessories, clothing and books. So Joi is not just a lunch stop: people come, linger, and take a little something home.
Joi sits at the crossing of Alley 189 Cống Quỳnh and Alley 212B Nguyễn Trãi — enter through one of those two alleys, not 212 or 212A. Maps sometimes pin it wrong; the Cống Quỳnh traffic circle and Thái Bình Market are the nearest landmarks.
Phở, bánh mì, cơm tấm, hủ tiếu — the most familiar Vietnamese dishes, cooked entirely from plants, with a full coffee and tea counter beside them.
Evenings bring live music by the piano; upstairs a small retail corner sells condiments, accessories, clothing and books — a shop to linger in, not just eat in.