Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 20 and Version 19 of Leong's Legend, W1D 6AX

Version 20 Version 19
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Small Taiwanese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]], offering some rather good dim sum.
 Small Taiwanese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]], offering some rather good dim sum. May actually be called "Leong's Legends"; the name on the frontage is singular but the name on the menu (and the story behind the name) is plural.
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The decor is all wood and basketweave and long scary weapons on poles, and the larger tables by the front window are separated off from each other with screens. It's kind of a teahouse ambience, and smarter than your usual scruffy dim sum joint, but more traditional and less overpriced and chainlike than the new dim-sum-and-cocktails places that have been springing up around London. Another difference from the normal dim sum places is that the largest group we've ever taken here consisted of seven people, and we suspect they might have trouble seating more.
 The decor is all wood and basketweave and long scary weapons on poles, and the larger tables by the front window are separated off from each other with screens. It's kind of a teahouse ambience, and smarter than your usual scruffy dim sum joint, but more traditional and less overpriced and chainlike than the new dim-sum-and-cocktails places that have been springing up around London. Dim sum is served between 11:30am and 5:30pm, according to a menu seen outside in June 2008.
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[[Kake]], [[Leon]], and other Perlmongers have visited for dim sum lunches a few times now, most recently in April 2009. Dim sum is served between 11:30am and 5:30pm, according to a menu seen outside in June 2008. We usually come on weekdays and arrive at 1pm, and have never had to wait for a table; it's probably busier on the weekends.
 [[Kake]], [[Leon]], and other Perlmongers visited for a dim sum lunch on a Thursday in July 2008. There was no problem seating the six of us, but from a glance around the restaurant it seemed they might have trouble seating a larger group.
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The soup dumplings (transliterated here as "siu loung bao" rather than the more usual "xiao long bao") have always had a pleasing quantity of soup; perhaps the best we've found in London so far. Both pork and crab versions (£6 for eight as of August 2008) are good. Seabass cheung fun (£2.80, sampled in July 2008) is also worth a special mention, as we've not seen it anywhere else and it worked very well; the fish was cooked just right and there was just the right amount of ginger included. We've ordered braised pork belly rice (£4 as of July 2008) several times and always found it good. Har gao (steamed prawn dumplings) are also just fine.
 We were very pleased with the food. Nothing was below par. Notably, the soup dumplings (transliterated here as "siu loung bao" rather than the more usual "xiao long bao") had a pleasing quantity of soup; the best we've found so far. Nothing we tried was bland or overly greasy, and the flavours were all distinct. Seabass cheung fun (&pound;2.80) is worth a special mention, as we've not seen it anywhere else, and it worked very well; the fish was cooked just right and there was just the right amount of ginger included. Braised pork belly rice (&pound;4) was also to everyone's liking. Pan-fried turnip paste (&pound;1.90) was saltier than we've had elsewhere, but also more generous with the meat (perhaps even a little <i>too</i> generous). The only thing we didn't like was the Legend's Bun (&pound;2.80). Pleasingly, the tea (&pound;1/person) was fine - one might think that this is obvious, but we've had some pretty awful tea in dim sum places over the past year. We ended up paying just over &pound;10 apiece for ample food plus tea and a couple of soft drinks.
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Pan-fried turnip paste (&pound;1.90), when sampled in July 2008, was saltier than we've had elsewhere, but also more generous with the meat (perhaps even a little <i>too</i> generous); when tried again in April 2009 it had lost the excessive saltiness but was also notably less generous with the meat. The only thing we've consistently disliked here is the Legend's Bun (&pound;2.80).
 [[Kake]], [[Ewan]], and Alice visited again on a Friday lunchtime in August 2008; arriving at 1pm, we were again led straight to a table. Ewan's vegetarianness was no problem, as the steamed vegetarian dumplings (&pound;3.80 for six) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787116105/ photo]</small>, the vegetarian cheung fun (&pound;2.50) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2788021950/ photo]</small>, the crispy shredded turnip (&pound;2.50 for three) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787998068/ photo]</small>, and the deep-fried dough sticks (&pound;1.80 for six) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787186529/ photo]</small> were all suitable. We particularly enjoyed the steamed vegetable dumplings, and even the omnivores would happily order them again. Kake and Alice also shared a basket of crab soup dumplings (&pound;6 for eight), which were just as good as on our previous visit.
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They cope well with vegetarians, too. [[Kake]], [[Ewan]], and Alice visited on a Friday lunchtime in August 2008, and found that Ewan's vegetarianness was no problem; the steamed vegetarian dumplings (&pound;3.80 for six) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787116105/ photo]</small>, the yuba-filled vegetarian cheung fun (&pound;2.50) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2788021950/ photo]</small>, the crispy shredded turnip (&pound;2.50 for three) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787998068/ photo]</small>, and the deep-fried dough sticks (&pound;1.80 for six) <small>[http://flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2787186529/ photo]</small> were all suitable. We particularly enjoyed the steamed vegetable dumplings, and even the omnivores would happily order them again. (Note however that the vegetarian cheung fun were no longer on the menu on our April 2009 visit; instead there were fried dough stick cheung fun, which were less successful.) Kake and Alice also shared a basket of crab soup dumplings, which were just as good as always.
 [[Nick]] and 3 others visited on a Sunday afternoon in November 2008; arriving some time after 3pm we were led straight to a table, and food arrived promptly after we placed our order. 8 dim sum items, 2 mango puddings and tea for 4 came to just over &pound;33, including a 10% service charge.
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Our total dim sum lunch bills here have ranged from &pound;8-10 for food plus tea and sometimes a couple of soft drinks. Pleasingly, the tea (&pound;1/person) is fine &#8212; one might think that this is obvious, but we've had some pretty awful tea in dim sum places over the past couple of years.
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], [[Leon]], [[Billy]], and others, 30 April 2009.</div>
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Nick]], Andrea and 2 others, 23 November 2008.</div>

Small Taiwanese restaurant in Chinatown, offering some rather good dim sum. May actually be called "Leong's Legends"; the name on the frontage is singular but the name on the menu (and the story behind the name) is plural.

The decor is all wood and basketweave and long scary weapons on poles, and the larger tables by the front window are separated off from each other with screens. It's kind of a teahouse ambience, and smarter than your usual scruffy dim sum joint, but more traditional and less overpriced and chainlike than the new dim-sum-and-cocktails places that have been springing up around London. Dim sum is served between 11:30am and 5:30pm, according to a menu seen outside in June 2008.

Kake, Leon, and other Perlmongers visited for a dim sum lunch on a Thursday in July 2008. There was no problem seating the six of us, but from a glance around the restaurant it seemed they might have trouble seating a larger group.

We were very pleased with the food. Nothing was below par. Notably, the soup dumplings (transliterated here as "siu loung bao" rather than the more usual "xiao long bao") had a pleasing quantity of soup; the best we've found so far. Nothing we tried was bland or overly greasy, and the flavours were all distinct. Seabass cheung fun (£2.80) is worth a special mention, as we've not seen it anywhere else, and it worked very well; the fish was cooked just right and there was just the right amount of ginger included. Braised pork belly rice (£4) was also to everyone's liking. Pan-fried turnip paste (£1.90) was saltier than we've had elsewhere, but also more generous with the meat (perhaps even a little too generous). The only thing we didn't like was the Legend's Bun (£2.80). Pleasingly, the tea (£1/person) was fine - one might think that this is obvious, but we've had some pretty awful tea in dim sum places over the past year. We ended up paying just over £10 apiece for ample food plus tea and a couple of soft drinks.

Kake, Ewan, and Alice visited again on a Friday lunchtime in August 2008; arriving at 1pm, we were again led straight to a table. Ewan's vegetarianness was no problem, as the steamed vegetarian dumplings (£3.80 for six) photo, the vegetarian cheung fun (£2.50) photo, the crispy shredded turnip (£2.50 for three) photo, and the deep-fried dough sticks (£1.80 for six) photo were all suitable. We particularly enjoyed the steamed vegetable dumplings, and even the omnivores would happily order them again. Kake and Alice also shared a basket of crab soup dumplings (£6 for eight), which were just as good as on our previous visit.

Nick and 3 others visited on a Sunday afternoon in November 2008; arriving some time after 3pm we were led straight to a table, and food arrived promptly after we placed our order. 8 dim sum items, 2 mango puddings and tea for 4 came to just over £33, including a 10% service charge.

Our verdicts: Leon has expressed the opinion that this is currently the best dim sum place in London. Kake's verdict is similar; it really is a nice little place, with very fair prices and high quality. Although some reviews mention inconsistency, we've been enough times between us now to conclude that these were simply initial opening hiccups, and things have now settled down. Nick really liked it, and now has it as first choice for dim sum. itsbruce has eaten here in the evening and found the food to be very high quality (the spicy pig's tripe dish is recommended).

Accessibility: One step up to get in, quite cramped inside, toilets down a flight of stairs.

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Last visited by Nick, Andrea and 2 others, 23 November 2008.

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