Leong's Legends

terrible service - 3 staff none of them were paying any attention (only two customers)

we had an issue with our food. when we told them, they seemed they didn't care. some of the food was good, but most of them tasteless.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Sunday, October 23, 2011

Popped in for dim-sum. Both staff and food were mixed. All the dumplings were great but the Taiwanese-style pork kebab was bland. Spring onion pancake good. One of the waitresses that served us was friendly and helpful the other wasn't. Nice table upstairs next to the windown although the view isn't up to much. Reasonably priced. I'll probably go back and try some more of the menu.
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Rex - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 04, 2011

What a disgrace !!! Shame on you Leong’s !

First of all, I am a chinese and I know how to rate a quality of chinese foods.

Regardless the food quality, I don’t really deserved these kind of humiliation or any discussion at my back from the waitress with their native languages which I don’t deserved to be talked down. I was disappointed when a cold rice have been served and a glass of uncooked pearl milk tea (chewing jelly type in the drink). I requested them to change the cold rice and get me another fresh make pearl milk tea . From their conversation, they were just heat the rice from the microwave. AND she poured the existing drink into a new glass to look like a freshly made. I saw it with my own eye when I walked past the counter which gave me a BIG SHOCK!! I immediately cancelled it. I am totally unhappy with these kind of services and low quality of foods. It made me even more angrier is I even HAVE to pay them a 10% service charged on top of the bill. Please note the waitress said the 10% is a compulsory fees and it cannot be taken out. REALLY? I don’t mind to tip them, but with these services manner, I would rather pay for a beggar at least they are being thankful not a big rolling look down eye.
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Pamela Tsang
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I ate here with friends recently and loved it. It was Saturday night and we had no booking, but had no trouble getting a table. We ordered a mix and shared plates. The food arrived quickly, steaming hot and absolutely delicious! I am vegetarian and found plenty of choice on the menu. I was pleasantly surprised by the bill - around £20 a head with a beer each and plenty of food. Nom, nom nom!
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Jo - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 17, 2010

Stopped in for lunch today. The floor was sticky, the staff didn't speak enough English to explain the menu (there are no descriptions on the menu) and the food was disgusting. The worst meal I have ever had in London!! Both dishes ordered remained barely touched which didn't seem to concern the staff at all.
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2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Friday, May 21, 2010

This used to be one of my favourite restaurants from China Town, as their xiao-long-bao's are very tasty. But I've had a horrible experience today that I'm not sure I'll want to visit again!

I went there over lunch, ordered, waited ages for my food but nothing arrived. Because I needed to go somewhere after the meal, I asked one of the waitress to follow up; her supervisor came to me and said, "can you not see that we're very busy?" I mentioned that I saw people arriving later than me have their food served (that's why I wondered if my order's got lost somewhere in their system); I also mentioned that I've been there a couple of times when they're more busy, and never had to wait for so long. She then started shouting at me and asked "so do you want your food?" I said, "yes of course" then she disappeared.

What kind of service is this?!?!? So rude! This really puts me off going there again! To be honest, it's only their xiao-long-bao that I like... other dishes aren't that great. And if they can't treat their customer with respect, why would I go there again?
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Jenny
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Being a regular customer of the China Town restaurants I thought I must not miss trying the relatively new Taiwanese restaurant. Being Taiwanese myself I was curious about the authenticity of the dishes.

In summary before I go into more detail is the service attitude was not great and the food were over-prices .

For example, feeling quite hungry I ordered "garlic beef" (I cant remember the exact name, sorry) which is one of the most expensive main dish costing nearly 10 pounds, so I expected a reasonably sized portion as can be seen in the picture of it in menu. However, I was shocked when the dish arrived! I thought they had given us the wrong starter! (I almost told them that they had got the wrong table.)To put it bluntly It was extremely small , small enough to easily put the diced beef into the palm of my hand.

I asked the waitress why it was so small, she replied in a stern voice (probably due to their own embarrassment) "You can order more if you think it is too small" .....

Well, to be fair I have to admit that the beef did not taste bad, but by far not good enough to be a £10 starter, even at London prices. There are many restaurants you can go with good prices, good food and good service.

Btw, if this is a real Taiwanese restaurant, a least one of the cooks should be from Taiwan, but it's very unlikely. I am from Taiwan, but all I felt was that they stole the name of the dishes.

A few dishes were good, e.g. the Xiao Long Bao, but they seemed to have 'improvised' 90% of the dishes, and way too expensive from the perspective of authenticity and portion size. I will definitely not go again.
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Taiwan Foodie
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Friday, December 18, 2009

I can’t think of a restaurant that attracts such a range of different opinions as Leong’s Legend. I had meant to visit it for some time but had been put off by some damning reviews by fellow bloggers. My curiosity got the better of me, and so I headed to Chinatown’s Macclesfield Street with an inquisitive but open mind.

At around 6:30pm, our group of 6 arrived at a very full and buzzing restaurant. We were soon greeted by the manager “Jade” who promised us a table if we returned in 30mins. He explained that bookings were not taken in the evenings, and that they operated on a first-come-first-served basis when seating their customers. We returned at the time agreed (by this time there was an enormous queue) and were soon shown to our table.

Our first impressions were good – the manager and staff were extremely polite and helpful (unlike in most reviews), the decor was elegant and the food looked delicious. Leong’s Legend’s interior is reminiscent of Hakkasan’s dark wood panelling and subtle lighting, but in a much more understated manner - it feels more like an old teahouse than a posh restaurant.

Some of the good write-ups, like that from World Foodie Guide, praised highly Leong’s Siu Loung Bao, its Braised Pork Belly and the Mini Kebab with Pork. We ordered these and other dishes and found, with only a few exceptions, that they were very good.

The “Legend’s Siu Loung Bao” (8pcs) @ £5 was indeed excellent. The skin was a tad too thick for my tate but the pork filling and delicious broth inside them more than made up for this. They were one of the best Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Dumplings) I have had for a long time.

Leong’s “Crab Meat Siu Loung Bao” (8pcs) @ £6 also did not disappoint, they were just as good as their pork equivalent. I would strongly recommend ordering either of these XLB dumplings.

The star of the evening however was “Leong’s Braised Pork Belly” @ £6. The sauce was sweet and intensely flavoured while the meat was tender, utterly soft and delicious.

Since we had two children with us, we also shared a “Half Crispy Aromatic Duck” @ £14. This was good with plenty of meat and pancakes for all of us.

The “Aromatic Chilli Lamb” @ £6.80 was an interesting dish. I would not normally have ordered lamb at a Chinese restaurant before being introduced to Sichuanese cuisine a few years earlier. This dish was a delicious example of Sichuanese food, and one I would like to try again.

Another star dish of the evening was the “Aubergine with Mashed Garlic and Tao Pan Sauce” @ £5. These were by far the best stir fried aubergines I have ever had. Similar to Gourmet San’s Aubergine with Fish Fragrant Sauce, they were packed with flavour and the sauce was not too liquid. A real winner.

The other two accompanying dishes that we had were “Fried Special Noodle with Shredded Pork, Chives, Carrots and Onions” @ £4.80 and the “Bamboo Rice” @ £3.80. These were passable, and portion sizes were on the small side.

The “Taiwan Mini Kebab with Pork” @ £2.60 was flavoursome – the pork belly was slightly on the fatty side but the flavours were good, and together with the steamed dough, couscous and herbs made up a delicious dish.

Having had oyster omelette in Singapore many times previously, I was a little disappointed with Leong’s version “Fried Oysters Wrapped with Egg” @ £6.60. It contained tong choy (morning glory) which was an interesting addition, but the amount of oysters was not overly generous and it was a little dry. It was a mediocre version in comparison to its Singaporean equivalent.

Leong’s wine list was well prices with their white or red house wine starting at £12.50. We had two bottles of the Cuvee Le Bosq Blanc de Blancs at £12.50 – it was very easy drinking and partnered the food well. The total bill was £111 or £18.50 per person including 2 bottles of wine, tea for 6 people, soft drinks and service.

Verdict – Very good Taiwanese/Sichuanese dishes at reasonable prices in Chinatown. I would happily return to Leong’s Legend, particularly for their superb Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai Dumplings), and Braised Pork Belly. Good service.
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The London Foodie - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, December 06, 2009

Popped in for a late lunch.

Food prices are more reasonable during lunch so it is a better time to visit. The place was 75% empty but it took the wait staff almost 20 minutes to approach our table for drink orders. We waited another 15 for them to take our food orders but they never came back so we had to go to the front desk and place our order there. A waitress was also taking a nap at the table next to us which was a bit strange.

The food however was great. Really good dumplings at a reasonable price. I have been to New World for yum cha but found everything there to be deep fried - I though this was better.

Would definitely return but will be more forceful with wait staff in order to get my order placed.
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max
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I am a real Taiwanese temporarily in London and I was already missing my home cooking. i found the restaurant by chance and we tried with few other friends. We were really impressed with the menu and the food was of exceptional quality. I was particularly impressed with the aubergine and the beans sunrise... perfectly cooked: Crispy outside and soft inside. Meat was also of very high standard and even the service was above the average for Chinatown (even if the people working are not Taiwanese). Highly recommended for first date place as the food is high quality and fancy decor as well. I loved the weapons scattered around the area.
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MC
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 14, 2009