Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 13 and Version 12 of Manchurian Legends, WC2H 7BE

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Chinese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]]. It's located on Lisle Street, where Sushi Gaga (and before that [[Okawari, WC2H 7BE|Okawari]]) used to be, and it's owned by the Restaurant Privilege group, who also owned Sushi Gaga and who still run [[Leong's Legend, W1D 6AX|Leong's Legend]] and many other East and South-East Asian restaurants around London.
 Chinese restaurant in [[Locale Chinatown|Chinatown]], specialising in Dongbei (northeast Chinese) food. It initially opened on Macclesfield Street <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6117964712/ photo]</small> on the old premises of C&#7849;m Ph&aacute;t (previously [[New Laughing Buddha, W1D 5BP|New Laughing Buddha]]), but [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellaphon/7663227126/ relocated] in mid-2012 to Lisle Street, where Sushi Gaga (and before that [[Okawari, WC2H 7BE|Okawari]]) used to be. It's owned by the Restaurant Privilege group, who also owned Sushi Gaga and who still run [[Leong's Legend, W1D 6AX|Leong's Legend]] and many other East and South-East Asian restaurants around London.
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It's small and cosy inside, with a yurt-style fabric ceiling punctuated with hanging lanterns. A water feature trickles near the door, though on our June 2015 visit this sounded more reminiscent of a dripping tap than a mountain stream. Tables are wood-effect melamine, and there's a booth or two further in.
 [[Kake]] and [[Sarah]] visited on a Tuesday evening in August 2011, when it was still located in the old premises (we haven't visited the new location yet, except to take the photo on this page).
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The menu primarily covers regional Chinese food from Dongbei (northeast China) and Xinjiang, though there are some set menus at the back offering a more Anglicised style of Chinese food. Vegetarian options are clearly marked, and there are enough of them to put together a reasonable meal.
 Everything we tried was good. A cold dish of shredded kelp (&#28092;&#25292;&#28023;&#24118;&#32114;; &pound;4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089154779/ photo]</small> was a very generous portion, and nicely seasoned. Cucumber with mandarin pork (&#32920;&#33457;&#25293;&#40643;&#29916;; &pound;4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089738442/ photo]</small>, another cold dish, had great flavour, and although the texture of the meat was as interesting as pork knuckle usually is, we actually ran out of the cucumber part before the pork part.
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[[Kake]] and [[bob]] visited on a Thursday evening in June 2015. It was fairly empty when we arrived around 5:45pm, but customers started arriving very quickly after that, and it was basically full by 6:30pm. Music was playing, not too loud, but rather slushy in style.
 Pork and pickled vegetable dumplings (&#35948;&#32905;&#37240;&#33756;&#27700;&#39171;; &pound;5 for eight) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089718382/ photo]</small> were just as they should be, and plain rice (&pound;2/person) was fine. The highlight of the meal, though, was the braised pork with glass noodles (&#32005;&#29138;&#32905;&#31881;&#26781;; &pound;8.50); cubes of red-cooked pork belly, braised long enough that the skin was almost as soft as the fat, mixed with a tangle of thin, slippery, chewy potato starch noodles.
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Chilled aubergine with mashed garlic (&#33948;&#33540;&#23376;; &pound;6) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18619734750/ photo]</small> was pungently garlicky with plenty of raw garlic; the aubergine was also handled well, neither undercooked nor overcooked. Grilled pointed green peppers with minced pork (&#34382;&#30382;&#23574;&#26898;; &pound;9) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18807449755/ photo]</small> were a good-sized portion, and the chilli skins were nicely blistered and not too tough. The sauce was quite unsubtle, but its saltiness worked well with rice. Pork belly and pickled cabbage stew with glass noodles (&#37240;&#33756;&#20116;&#33457;&#32905;&#29129;&#31881;&#26781;; &pound;10.50) <small>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18807450335/ photo]</small> was a little bland, and the glass noodles were sadly overcooked, though the sourness of the pickled cabbage came through nicely. Rice was fine.
 [[Kake]]'s verdict: I really quite liked the food here, though judging by other reviews (linked below) it sounds like there is some inconsistency in the kitchen and we may have been lucky in our ordering.
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Overall, the food was less impressive this time than on [[Kake]] and [[Sarah]]'s previous visit to its old location on Macclesfield Street <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6117964712/ photo]</small> (the old premises of C&#7849;m Ph&aacute;t and [[New Laughing Buddha, W1D 5BP|New Laughing Buddha]]), from which it [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellaphon/7663227126/ relocated] to Lisle Street in mid-2012).

That time, on a Tuesday evening in August 2011, everything we tried was good. A cold dish of shredded kelp (&#28092;&#25292;&#28023;&#24118;&#32114;; &pound;4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089154779/ photo]</small> was a very generous portion, and nicely seasoned. Cucumber with mandarin pork (&#32920;&#33457;&#25293;&#40643;&#29916;; &pound;4.50) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089738442/ photo]</small>, another cold dish, had great flavour, and although the texture of the meat was as interesting as pork knuckle usually is, we actually ran out of the cucumber part before the pork part. Pork and pickled vegetable dumplings (&#35948;&#32905;&#37240;&#33756;&#27700;&#39171;; &pound;5 for eight) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089718382/ photo]</small> were just as they should be, and plain rice (&pound;2/person) was fine. The highlight of the meal, though, was the braised pork with glass noodles (&#32005;&#29138;&#32905;&#31881;&#26781;; &pound;8.50); cubes of red-cooked pork belly, braised long enough that the skin was almost as soft as the fat, mixed with a tangle of thin, slippery, chewy potato starch noodles.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: I really quite liked the food on my first visit, but was a little disappointed on my second (and this time it also felt a bit expensive for what we got). Other reviews (linked below) also suggest some inconsistency in the kitchen.

Accessibility: Two steps to get in. Toilets are down a winding staircase with a non-continuous handrail on one side most of the way down.
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* Photos of the menu as of June 2015: [https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18621273249/ 1], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18621272649/ 2], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18619668888/ 3], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18802410492/ 4], [https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/18621269959/ 5]
* [http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/restaurants/manchurian-legends-w1--review-7426169.html Evening Standard review] (by Fay Maschler)
 * Photos of the menu as of August 2011: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089578560/ 1], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089581492/ 2], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089039377/ 3], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089042981/ 4], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089103449/ 5], [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/6089651100/ 6]
* [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/review-23977349-manchurian-legends-w1---review.do Evening Standard review] (by Fay Maschler)
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* [http://web.archive.org/web/20130815185351/http://theskinnybib.com/2011/10/19/manchurian-legends-chinatown-london/ Skinny Bib review]
 * [http://natashahughes.com/?p=593 Natasha Hughes' review]
* [http://theskinnybib.com/2011/10/19/manchurian-legends-chinatown-london/ Skinny Bib review]
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and [[bob]], June 2015.</div>
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]] and [[Sarah]], August 2011.</div>
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category='Chinese Food,Restaurants,Vegetarian Friendly'
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 category='Chinese Food,Restaurants'
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formatted_website_text=' class="external">manchurianlegends.com'
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Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, specialising in Dongbei (northeast Chinese) food. It initially opened on Macclesfield Street photo on the old premises of Cẩm Phát (previously New Laughing Buddha), but relocated in mid-2012 to Lisle Street, where Sushi Gaga (and before that Okawari) used to be. It's owned by the Restaurant Privilege group, who also owned Sushi Gaga and who still run Leong's Legend and many other East and South-East Asian restaurants around London.

Kake and Sarah visited on a Tuesday evening in August 2011, when it was still located in the old premises (we haven't visited the new location yet, except to take the photo on this page).

Everything we tried was good. A cold dish of shredded kelp (涼拌海帶絲; £4.50) photo was a very generous portion, and nicely seasoned. Cucumber with mandarin pork (肘花拍黃瓜; £4.50) photo, another cold dish, had great flavour, and although the texture of the meat was as interesting as pork knuckle usually is, we actually ran out of the cucumber part before the pork part.

Pork and pickled vegetable dumplings (豬肉酸菜水餃; £5 for eight) photo were just as they should be, and plain rice (£2/person) was fine. The highlight of the meal, though, was the braised pork with glass noodles (紅燒肉粉條; £8.50); cubes of red-cooked pork belly, braised long enough that the skin was almost as soft as the fat, mixed with a tangle of thin, slippery, chewy potato starch noodles.

Kake's verdict: I really quite liked the food here, though judging by other reviews (linked below) it sounds like there is some inconsistency in the kitchen and we may have been lucky in our ordering.

See also:

Last visited by Kake and Sarah, August 2011.

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