As a refreshing introduction to the Chinatown scene, Leongs Legends has caused quite a stir amongst those food lovers that yearn for the sweet nostalgia and passion of authentic unpretentious street food. The street food of Taiwan, to be precise.

The Venue
This traditional teahouse-styled restaurant is inconspicuously positioned amongst the big named restaurants of Chinatown but is no less popular as a result. This is perhaps due to the fact that it’s one of the only restaurants in the area recreating popular small eats for the masses. It’s a small, dimly lit venue, with the lighting consisting of a suspended lamp over the table.

The Atmosphere
Leongs Legends is is intimate in a good way, but almost uncomfortably so for those who don’t like to hear their neighbours cooing over their duck and pancakes – but this is all part of the experience. Unfortunately, it has to be said that the service is not attentive enough and the staff can be rather gruff.

The Food
At first glace, the menu does not read well and the descriptions do not titillate your imagination, but for some obscure reason this is quite often a good sign – less time wasted on the menu is more time spent on the food. To start the ball rolling and to whet the appetite, try the prawn siu mai and the basket of delicately pleated pork dim sum are good, although not excellent, they’re a solid choice. The kebab, the specifically designed hand-held snack food, is comforting and moreish. A soft, fluffy steamed bun crammed with roast pork, lettuce and coriander (£3) bursts with flavour.

The cold slices of pork chop served with a lethally antisocial yet brilliant garlicky paste (£4) are rich from the additional scattering of deep-fried garlic shards. The dish is fresh with chilli and pleasurably salty but not inspiring. For those willing to try something new, the cold duck’s tongues (£4) push the boundaries, but unfortunately they’re flavourless, gristly, gelatinous and distinctly meatless and the sprinkling of sesame seeds and drizzle of chilli oil does not improve them, which is a shame.

The main courses shine with more energy and excitement and the flavours are distinctly different from the immediate connotations of such familiar dishes. Take the Kung Pao chicken (£7), for example, the chicken is succulent and the sauce is sweet from the rice wine, salty from the soy and aromatic with sesame. It is not for the faint-hearted as it’s loaded with dried chillies – imagine 25 per portion – but they pleasantly offer a much more subtle hot, rather than spicy, taste. Slow-braised pork belly hotpot (£6) is an utter joy; the pork is tender and beautifully gelatinous with a springy bite, the stock is thick, meaty, heavily spiced and rich with a subtle stickiness as a result of the hours is has been cooking for – a wholesome and rustic dish. The oyster pancake (£7) is spectacular. The egg omelette encases refreshing plump oysters and is laden with a sweet citrus sauce, which cuts through the intense flavours of the oysters and egg.

The agreeably spongy dish of tofu stuffed with minced prawn (£5) soaks up an incredible amount of flavour from its surrounding sauce of soy, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger and garlic. From the selection of noodles, the chow mein is smoky, crunchy with spring onions and garlic shards and well-seasoned, and the sticky rice is topped with prawns, mushrooms, garlic, shallots and a slightly barbecued sauce which is a clever touch. Some dishes are exhilarating and passionately constructed whilst others seem to lack a certain flair but thankfully the former are good enough to prevail over the latter.

The Drink
The drinks are reasonably priced. There are two beers, Tiger and Tsingtao on offer (£3), which authentically come alongside a bowl to drink them from. The house wine at £12 a bottle is pleasantly crisp and fruity. The Pinot Grigio (£15) is zesty with citrus flavours, which counter-balances the spicy, hearty, rich food very well.

The Last Word
Leong’s Legends is a somewhat rustic and claustrophobic restaurant and is hugely endearing because of it. There are some startling gems on the menu and for just over £20 a head including plenty of wine, you can feast for hours.

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