Open Sun–Wed midday–11pm, Thu–Sat midday–11.30pm
As I walked down hectic Queensway, past a greasy Burger King, the chances of finding an upmarket Taiwanese restaurant seemed ominous but as we entered the dimly-lit, sleek restaurant my initial fears subsided. My friend and I were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress and ushered to our table through the promising buzz of early evening Taiwanese diners feasting on afternoon dim sum.
On first impressions the restaurant seems attractive and rather chic but on closer inspection we felt that the feature wall displaying a faux tiger skin, imitation exposed brick that looked more like breeze blocks and tacky fake spears cheapened the rest of the otherwise attractive interior. Which, with low hanging lights and tasteful, dark, wood screens separating the tables into private booths, was reminiscent of an authentic Chinese inn.
As we perused the food menu I ordered a half bottle of the Chablis (£16.50), a mid-range bottle that was subtle enough to compliment the many and varied flavours of the food to follow.
Despite the odd, and at times amusing use of the English language (we were not sure what a ‘vegetarian fish’ would entail), the menu’s variety was impressive, featuring around 70 traditional Taiwanese dishes from dim sum and congee to soups and noodles. The menu also doesn’t have an explanation as to what the dishes include, which can make ordering a daunting task.
For our starters, we opted for the homemade dim sum and were bowled over by the quantity; for just £5 we were presented with eight enormous, handmade parcels of prawn and pork. Each parcel took us at least three mouthfuls to consume which with the combination of the thick plastic chopsticks and slippery dim sum was no mean feat, but it was worth it. The filling was rich and deliciously seasoned although we found the excess water that squirted out with each bit a little offputting – maybe not the dish to order on a first date.
Having stared, baffled at the confusing menu for quite some time, darting between exotic delicacies from duck tongue and tripe to pigs trotter with boiled eggs, I settled on the sautéed jumbo prawns with spring onion, ginger and fresh noodles, at £13.50 it was the most expensive dish on the modestly priced menu. It was impressively presented with four enormous tempura creatures that I can only presume were lobsters masquerading as prawns! Fried in the shell they too were slightly tricky to eat and despite being a bit bland they were incredibly morish.
My friend Charlie ordered the aromatic chilli lamb (£6.80) with steamed rice (£2.00). The lamb was served with red pepper, mange tout and fiery whole dried chillies. The lamb had a rich, deep flavour although it seemed to have an odd gelatinous coating which gave it an unusual and slightly unattractive texture.
Having earlier ordered the half bottle of Chablis with all the best intentions I soon found myself requesting the second half as we perused the desert menu wondering if we could possibly manage another mouthful. With the waiters help we ordered the mango pudding (£2.80) which was the perfect choice; it was creamy enough to feel naughty but the fresh mango chunks were refreshingly light and the unusual flavour of evaporated milk gave it a nostalgic feel.
With a glass of house wine starting from £3.80 and incredibly generous portions Leong’s Legends is great value for money and has the potential to become a real hit but the finishing touches need perfecting first.
Dinner for two, around £50 including wine.
