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Vegan fish and chips may seem to some as strange a concept as chewable toilet roll.

But as more and more people adopt a vegan lifestyle, ideas which would once have appeared as proof that you are performing witchcraft and seen you banished from the village are now catching on as hot foodie trends.

As a lifelong non-vegan who, in what I now see was a questionable parenting choice, has been eating fish and chips since before I had teeth, I was intrigued by what a non-fish fish could taste like.

Shakey Shakey on Ramsgate’s High Street boasts a range of vegetarian and vegan options, from “tofish” burgers to beefless onion pie and chips to tofish and chips.

Seeing a chance to feed myself and my curiosity at the same time, I went along on the day after National Fish and Chips Day to see how they measured up.

Arrival

When the friendly owner inquired if I was vegan, I sheepishly nodded and told him yes, but internally I was worried he would see through my lie.

Would he ask for ID? Do vegans carry ID? Did the fact I asked for “the closest vegan thing to cod” give me away?

I was beginning to think my decision to don a novelty disguise moustache, glasses and nose might have been a step too far, so I stealthily deposited them in my bag, maintaining eye contact with the proprietor as I did so.

“So the food won’t get stuck in the moustache,” was the message I hoped to convey by solemnly nodding as I did so.

Whether or not his suspicions were raised, he seemed to accept my answer and made his way to check on the other tables as his wife prepared the tofish and chips.

At £8 for the meal, we aren't talking bargain bucket prices but I was reserving judgement until I had tasted what was on offer.

This is a chippy run by people who clearly take pride in the food they are serving, as evidenced by the sign behind the counter which reads: “I DON’T SELL FAST FOOD. I SELL GOOD FOOD COOKED FRESHLY.”

This helped prepare me for the fact there was around a ten minute wait for the food, more than I would usually expect for fish and chips.

Taste test

I can’t say with any certainty but I suspect the capped up lettering of the sign may have been a verbatim response given by the owner to previous customers looking for a Wham! Bam! In’n’out fish and chip experience.

Served alongside fried onions and tomatoes, the presentation was definitely a touch above what you would expect from your local chip shop and was served with a friendly smile.

But while quality service is always nice, I would happily let a waiter elbow me in the head and click in my face to get my attention if the food was good enough.

I was really here for a taste test and to see how much vegans are sacrificing in the name of treating animals more ethically and making me feel guilty at barbecues.

First the chips.

I’ll be honest, while the number of chips I’ve eaten during my lifetime would be enough to feed a small, potato-dependent country for a year, I hadn’t ever really considered what they were being cooked in - and whether those innocent potatoes could be anything other than veggie/vegan friendly.

I have to say, in a blind taste test, there was nothing that would suggest these chips were any different from those I’ve eaten on more Friday nights than I would like to admit.

While the first few were slightly too crunchy for my liking, once I sprinkled on a few dashes and splashes of salt and vinegar and started feasting I couldn’t fault them. Just the right mix of cloud-like softness without tasting soggy.

Two thumbs up so far.

What you're all here for

On to the so-called tofish.

I closed my eyes, took my first bite and was a little taken aback.

If you have ever tasted orange juice when you were expecting to taste milk, you will know how I felt.

It wasn’t bad as such, but when my tongue was expecting cod and I bit down and tasted something that very much was not cod, I had a momentary sense of revulsion.

The texture was a little like marsh mellow (and a lot, funnily enough, like tofu).

While it had an aftertaste of fish, significantly more so than your average battered-to-death cod, comparing the two would be doing it an injustice.

This tofish is very much its own food and with each bite it grew on me more and more.

Although I wasn’t particularly hungry going in, a little over five minutes later I had cleaned the plate.

For vegans looking for an exact replica of fish and chips, I am afraid if such a thing does exist, it isn’t at Shakey Shakey.

However, if you are looking for something that is damn close, and delicious in its own right, you could do a lot worse than trying out the tofish and chips.