If I were a fan of bumper stickers (and if I had a car – and a valid driver’s license), I’d get one that reads: “I brake for xiao long bao.”
Two weeks ago, Tasty Treats in her alter ego form, TimeOut London restaurant reviewer, highlighted Leong’s Legend in Chinatown as a place that served not only Taiwanese food, but also xiao long bao (a Shanghai specialty). So, it was inevitable that I’d try it out asap. And I liked Leong’s so much the first time, I went back again a few days later with friends in order to maximize sampling of dishes.
First, let’s talk about the fragrant, soupy crab xiao long bao. The skin’s good – thin and almost translucent, but still firm enough to hold all that soup in while you tweezer the dumpling into your soup spoon. The filling is also good – as good as it gets in London, anyway (still a little bit too light and fluffy, like all xiao long bao I’ve tried in London). Lots of hot, delicious soup. Key. And you get eight for £6. A steal. Cheaper even than at Pearl Liang.
Now, even though I’ve been to Taiwan six or seven times, I couldn’t tell you what makes Taiwanese food distinct from other types of Chinese food. But one thing that’s hugely popular in Taiwan is beef noodle soup (nio ro mien). And the version at Leong’s Legend is pretty tasty. You get a massive bowl of fragrant, slightly-spicy beef broth and tons of fatty, tender beef for £4.50. Much better than the over-tendoned small portions sold at Cha Cha Moon. I’m almost looking forward to the dark, rainy days of winter, just so I can run over to Leong’s and warm myself up with their nio ro mien.
The impressive-looking whole chili crab for £11 deserves a shout out for being quite possibly the best deal in London. Salty, garlicky and spicy on the outside, moist and sweet on the inside, the crab is served in the shell, but it’s already cracked so you don’t need to fuss to get at the crab meat.
Many of the dishes at Leong’s are meat and seafood, with just a few veg options. So perhaps not so ideal for vegetarians unless they eat seafood. Dry-fried beans have proven the best of the veg. The garlic shoots on the menu were tough and fibrous, so I’d avoid those. And I’m going to go against the tide and say I didn’t enjoy the oyster omelet (owa jiang). Too wet and liquidy for me.
Service has been speedy both times I visited, so that kind of makes up for the no-reservations, queue-up-at-the-door policy.
The food and prices are great, whether you get dim sum at lunch or “regular” dishes at any time of day. I’m sure I’ll be visiting more often going forward.
Leong’s Legend, 4 Macclesfield St, W1D 6AX; 020 7287 0288; closest tube: Leicester Square.
I’m there! Haven’t had xiao long bao in aaaaaggees! Thanks for the review!
Hi Su-Lin, no problem. It’s always fun to have something nice to say about a resto. Let me know what you think once you’ve slurped up a few at Leong’s.
Hurray! I was a bit hesitant about this, having read about the service, but will be going now that both you and Charmaine have convinced me. You and I also share the same taste for xiao long bao too and dislike for Cha Cha Moon’s over-tendoned beef noodles!
Hi Helen, it’s true the service is nothing to write home about, but the food and pricing make me forgive any slight service bumps.
By the way, I see you’ve migrated off the wordpress servers, so I’ll have to talk to you about that experience. I’ve been thinking about doing that for a while, actually . . . .
I am Taiwanese and I’d love to see more GENUINE Taiwanese restaurants in London. Modern Taiwanese food is not only tasty but also healthier(less salt & oil used, for example).
I and my friends have just been to Leong’s Legends last month. Their “Siu Loung Bao(soup dumpling)” was indeed very good but the ginger in the soy sauce should be chopped much finer.
Their “Sticky Rice with Shredded Pork” was not bad. On the other hand, “Diced Beef with Garlic Slices” was too dry. The natural flavor of beef was covered up by the spices and eventually none existent.
We also tried Steamed Bamboo Rice which was made in Cantonese style rather than Taiwanese and tragically far too wet. “Yen Sue Jee (Deep Fried Chicken)” – arguably the most typical Taiwanese snack in night markets – was not at all Taiwanese! The size of the diced chicken, the seasoning, the color of the batter and its side dish were all misleading. Please do try it when you visit Taiwan!
“Leong’s Legends” actually refers to a CHINESE novel, “Water Margin”, which was written in 12th century. No wonder both its décor and much of the food are CHINESE, as the name of the restaurant already suggests.
Wu, I don’t think Leong’s is trying to serve exclusively Taiwanese food (so what, exactly, characterized Taiwanese food? In Taiwan, I remember eating Chinese food from all regions of China, and other than humble home-style foods like tomato-egg, I don’t remember learning about dishes that originated in Taiwan). I do miss all those goodies I’d find at Taiwanese nightmarkets, though.
For what it’s worth, re: your comment that Leong’s as a “Chinese” story (vs a Taiwanese one), I think Taiwanese people are Chinese, too. I mean, not in the sense of having to swear allegiance to the PRC and carry that passport, but more in the sense that there’s thousands of years of shared heritage and culture with people who live on the mainland. I always thought it was the aborigines of Taiwan (you know, those people living in Alishan that tourists go to ogle) who were the only ones who could claim they were exclusively Taiwanese and not Chinese at all.
Anyway, glad you liked Leong’s despite the roughness of the ginger in the xiao long bao dipping sauce.
I tried to go last night on the basis of the reviews here, mostly just to see what the bad service was all about.
We showed up 30 min before closing time, to a room full of diners, to be told by a gruff man “CLOSED!”. That was that.
Well, Ben, I’m definitely hearing enough stories about Leong’s bad service such that I’m eager to go back not just for the food (which, last time I checked, was still tasty and inexpensive), but also to see, as you say, what the bad service is all about.
[…] worse). While it’s true I haven’t been back to Leong’s in the last two months, I ate there at least six or seven times between the time it opened in mid-2008 and November 2008. The quality of the food and the low […]
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Hi there my name is May and I’m doing a school project on a Taiwanese restaurant. I was looking through the internet and came across your picture of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup and I wanted to ask for permission if I could use it on my website that I am creating for the restaurant. But it wont be published on the internet. Its just for school.
Thanks
-May
Hi there. Went to Leung’s Legend today for dimsum. Had 7 dishes, and, although a couple were particularly well prepared, I wouldn’t head back again. The best dish was sticky rice in lotus leaf – one of those dishes I always order as a benchmark to see how well it compares. Must say, 5 out of 5 stars- chockfull full of treasures (ie, chicken, duck, sausage (lap cheung), chestnuts, mushrooms etc.) and impregnated with the flavour of the leaf. On the otherhand, as you report, the duck/chestnut fried dumpling (gummy, sweet and not properly heated) and pork/chive shuijaio dumplings disappointing (soggy & tasteless). So for dimsum I am sticking to my fave – Royal China, Docklands branch. Mike
Hi Mike,
Glad you liked the wrapped sticky rice, though too bad you didn’t have a good experience overall at Leong’s. I eat dim sum at Leong’s about once a month (well, maybe more like once every six weeks), and I still think most of their dim sum classics are very good good. I love their turnip cake, the prawn cheung fun, shu mai, xiao long bao and har gau.
I’m curious to find out where you live, because for me to get to the Docklands would be a one-hour schlepp, whereas Soho is a 30-minute trip door-to-door by bus. That said, next time I’m in the Docklands, I’ll give the RC there a try.
Hiya, we had turnip cake (the puffy one) which was delicious, were adventurous with the cheung fun by ordering the sea bass (it didn’t work methinks) and didn’t order xiao long bao because recently had it at Keelung. To answer you question – I live in Bow (near Vicky Park), so docklands is a short bus ride or cycle. Thus my eating tends to be eastern-centric, though I work in Mayfair so lunches tend to be west…by the way, your mission is to find me an authentic Thai restaurant! Mike
Mike – my recommendation for authentic Thai food would be Suchard on Tooley St, London Bridge area. Compares favourably to the better places I’ve been in Thailand, based on the limited number of dishes I’ve tried (I never stray too far from pad gra prow, and the one at Suchard is ridiculously spicy and fragrant!). Som tum is good too. It’s a cheap place and more of a cafe/canteen than a restaurant, but definitely worth a visit.
Not sure if you’ve tried it RWApple but may be worth a review?
Hi Alex, thanks for the Tooley Road recommendation. There is a Thai provisions shop near Earls Court, I think on Hogarth Rd, that has takeaway food that is 100% authentic. Also, things like catfish chilly paste. The women working there suggested a Thai place on Cromwell Road nearby. No idea how it is, though.
Mike and Alex – thanks for such an engaging string of comments, and I will certainly give Suchard and Som Tom a try. I must confess that the only Thai place I regularly go to (for lunch) is Rosa’s, near Spitalfields Market. I like that they don’t hold back on the spice and 90% of the time order the green curry with pork.
I also shop regularly at Thai-An in Islington (just off Chapel Market). I haven’t tried their takeaway (which is mostly Thai food so perhaps worth a taste), but I love that for such a tiny shop, they stock a lot of pantry basics.
Just to clarify – som tum is the Thai dish green papaya salad with peanuts – don’t want you searching for a restaurant named that! (Although I suppose there may be one, serendipitously)
Thanks for the clarification, Alex. I must confess I did assume som tum was another restaurant you were recommending. Suchard sounds like a winner and so I will drop by soon, I’m sure.
Hi! I’m back in London and I tried Leong’s Legend this evening after reading your recommendation. I really liked it. I was different than the usual chinese I’m used to which made it interesting. Btw, service was good – this coming from a very high maintenance person 😉 My goal is to go through your recommendations (mostly near my hood though). Hope to catch up sometime. Pls say hi to Jon.
G
[…] Leong’s Legends. I eat dim sum at the original Chinatown location about once a month, and it’s part of the place’s charm that they still don’t recognize me as a regular diner. Although I agree with World Foodie Guide that Pearl Liang has the edge in service and decor, in terms of quality of dim sum, I think the two restos are neck-and-neck. What gives Leong’s the slim advantage over Pearl Liang is its location in Chinatown — Soho is just so much easier for me to reach than Paddington. […]
Wow, the XLB do look prettier in 2008!
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