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* I am a Xiao Long Bao (XLB) enthusiast, so I ordered XLB (Crab & Pork, takeout) only. Thus my review is quite limited. I mentioned in another Asian Legend (North York) location's review, this chain restaurant tastes different by location. This Dundas x Spadina is the closest one to my workplace. I have been here for XLB a few times before. But, my experiences were negative - inconsistent - sometimes, over-steamed, too salty, lack of crab flavor, and soup leaking. After a few disappointing experiences, I stopped coming here, and visited other places for XLBs as this area (Dundas x Spadina) is a mecca of XLBs. In spite of these experiences, I came back here today to respond to my urgent need - my crab XLB craving :). Also, I appreciate the places that are still serving crab XLBs more these days, as many places stopped making it due to the high food/labor cost. So, I should revisit this place again. Today's Crab XLB was the best in my experience of this location. The wrappers were thin, NO leak of soup, and good meat & soup ratio. The pleats were beautiful. Elegant. Satisfied. Thank you!
White guy walks Into random Asian restaurant with good results. Some language issues and the workers should get rid of their masks. Best item was the green onion pancake. Chicken fried rice could have been great, but some pieces of white chicken were sketchy. The veggie potsickers had some promise too.
If you're in the area and overwhelmed by food options, worries about flavour, quality, service, seating comfort...come to Asian Legend. Specialized in Northern Chinese dim sum they have a variety of dumplings, steamed buns, potstickers, deep-fried pancakes for a simpler meal, or you can order a full dinner with stir-fry, soups and stews, noodles and rice. There's something for everyone, though vegetarian options are limited. The last time I was here was years ago but this time did not disappoint at all! The dumpling skin was not too thick, the meat filling was plentiful and flavourful, and food came out quickly piping hot. You can't go wrong with an order of xiaolongbao--steamed pork and shrimp soup bun, and some scallion/green onion pancakes. Notable items included their "Silver" steamed bun, which you can get deep fried (highly recommend) - it is a simple steamed bun from the outside but inside you will see little sections. Splitting up the bun with the "grain" reveals that the pieces inside actually tear away like string cheese - a sign of excellent handiwork by the kitchen to achieve this quality. Accompanied with sweet condensed milk, this is both an appetizer and a dessert item loved by many for its simplicity and enjoyable eating experience. Service was attentive and kept our teapot filled throughout the meal, and ordering is made easy with the many pictures in the menu and clear numbering system for menu items. Consistently one of the cleanest and most reliable chains in town, so always an easy go-to when in doubt on what to eat. Prices have gone up with the times but are still worth it and relatively affordable - we walked away at $20 a person before tips. Their front entrance and their washroom is one downside - it is not accessible because of a steep set of stairs even to their main dining area, and another set downwards (two in total) to the washroom. The washroom is also small and narrow stalls which feel quite tight because of the heavy stall doors (which depending on the weather may not close properly either). Tough to renovate for such things, so do keep in mind if those are of concern - consider takeout instead!
We had a team member who was leaving work to pursue his dream job and we took him out for lunch. This place was suggested and quickly liked by a few. The restaurant managers/owners generally I think underestimate the power of mentioning a bit more details on the menu or at least a server who is knowledgeable about ingredients. In the absence of information I went the safest route of ordering a plain congee and a steamed bun. My order would easily have been more than double if the right information was provided. So on the limited items that I could have, my review is not a review per se. One cannot mess up a Congee and a bun. However the food did not arrive all together and out of respect for others, all of us had to wait. Which resulted in food going cold. The congee and bun were as good as they can be
This is a really great place for authentic Chinese food! I've ordered a variety of their foods, from xiao long bao to hot and sour soup to Peking duck. All of it is delicious, it's not the best Chinese food I've ever had but it's pretty darn good and hits the spot. The atmosphere is great, clean and modern. It looks like a high-end restaurant, but the prices are very reasonable! Service is generally good, but it kind of depends on the day. That's the only reason I'm holding back from 5 stars.
What a serious gem. Came here on a David Chang recommendation and was definitely not disappointed. Being met with the same apathy and authenticity as any of the best Chinese restaurants in nyc along with only Asian people eating in the dinning room I knew it was legit. We got some dim sum, pork dumplings, xio long bao soup dumplings, Baby bok choy, shrimp things (pictured) and a seafood fried rice. So full. So cheap. They have beer and teas. Everything we had we spent like $60? Maybe less. Including beer and tip. Highly reccomend.
Not bad but quality control should be supervised. We order probably once a month and food quality is a hit or miss. Like today, broccoli was old. Some time the beef noodles, the beef is tough.
Dropped by the Asian Legend on Dundas for a quick dinner. There's both an upstairs section and a downstairs section. The upstairs section contains the bulk of the seating, but there's a large room for private, larger parties, and a smaller seating area downstairs. We got seated upstairs - the dining room has a nice view of Dundas because the facade is basically all one window, which was important for us because we needed to figure out if it was raining or not. The menu is pretty extensive but also pretty typical of a Chinese restaurant - I didn't find anything particularly exciting that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else down Spadina. Service was a little strange - it seems like they aren't quite in sync. We were approached by two waiters within about five minutes asking if we were ready to order. We got the shredded pork in chili sauce and an order of the beef wrapped in chive pancake. Both were pretty blah - nothing bad, but I've definitely had better. The portions for the plate dishes are huge though - for the two of us, we ate until we were full, and were able to pack a good amount back home. Overall, a very solid but unmemorable dining experience, especially considering the fact that we were in the middle of Chinatown and could have probably gone anywhere else. Considering the portions, it was priced very reasonably.
It's definitely one of the cleanest restaurants in Chinatown. If this is what you're after read no more. We order just two simple noodles, and both disappointed. The spicy noodle was by far the worse. First of all, it wasn't spicy. In fact I can't remember the last time it was spicy. The soup base lack life. Never again will I order this at this location. The dai lo mein was missing sea cucumber and a host of other stuff. Felt ripped. Oh well. At least the place looked clean .
I've been to the restaurant a few times now and I can say that the food is solid. Not the best Chinese food I've had but nonetheless the food is good here. I'm a fan of dumplings so I tend to order different types each time I'm here. So far I've enjoyed each type that I've tried (steam soup filled and vegetarian). Hope to try them all some day. We also had the mapo tofu which is our favourite dish here and we've also had fried rice and meat dishes which were good as well. The food arrived quickly and the servers were fairly friendly and checked in on us often so I am pleased with the service. In terms of the restaurant space itself, they have tables on two floors. They usually do not open up the tables downstairs unless it is packed upstairs so there is quite a bit of space in the restaurant. If you're in the Chinatown area Asian Legend is a fairly good option if you're craving Chinese food.
1 year ago
I was visiting for work and wanted some dim sum. A friend told me to try it out. I wanted to try everything on the menu, but obviously couldn't, so narrowed it down to my two favorites: crab/pork soup dumplings and beef noodles. Dumplings were solid. Beef noodles: the beef was tender; noodles were not exactly my style (too thick) but still good. It was only me and another couple, so the service was great as well. The ambiance inside was much nicer than I expected! I'm excited to again and try other dishes. read more
* I am a Xiao Long Bao (XLB) enthusiast, so I ordered XLB (Crab & Pork, takeout) only. Thus my review is quite limited. I mentioned in another Asian Legend (North York) location's review, this chain restaurant tastes different by location. This Dundas x Spadina is the closest one to my workplace. I have been here for XLB a few times before. But, my experiences were negative - inconsistent - sometimes, over-steamed, too salty, lack of crab flavor, and soup leaking. After a few disappointing experiences, I stopped coming here, and visited other places for XLBs as this area (Dundas x Spadina) is a mecca of XLBs. In spite of these experiences, I came back here today to respond to my urgent need - my crab XLB craving :). Also, I appreciate the places that are still serving crab XLBs more these days, as many places stopped making it due to the high food/labor cost. So, I should revisit this place again. Today's Crab XLB was the best in my experience of this location. The wrappers were thin, NO leak of soup, and good meat & soup ratio. The pleats were beautiful. Elegant. Satisfied. Thank you! read more
White guy walks Into random Asian restaurant with good results. Some language issues and the workers should get rid of their masks. Best item was the green onion pancake. Chicken fried rice could have been great, but some pieces of white chicken were sketchy. The veggie potsickers had some promise too. read more
8 months ago
1 year ago
If you're in the area and overwhelmed by food options, worries about flavour, quality, service, seating comfort...come to Asian Legend. Specialized in Northern Chinese dim sum they have a variety of dumplings, steamed buns, potstickers, deep-fried pancakes for a simpler meal, or you can order a full dinner with stir-fry, soups and stews, noodles and rice. There's something for everyone, though vegetarian options are limited. The last time I was here was years ago but this time did not disappoint at all! The dumpling skin was not too thick, the meat filling was plentiful and flavourful, and food came out quickly piping hot. You can't go wrong with an order of xiaolongbao--steamed pork and shrimp soup bun, and some scallion/green onion pancakes. Notable items included their "Silver" steamed bun, which you can get deep fried (highly recommend) - it is a simple steamed bun from the outside but inside you will see little sections. Splitting up the bun with the "grain" reveals that the pieces inside actually tear away like string cheese - a sign of excellent handiwork by the kitchen to achieve this quality. Accompanied with sweet condensed milk, this is both an appetizer and a dessert item loved by many for its simplicity and enjoyable eating experience. Service was attentive and kept our teapot filled throughout the meal, and ordering is made easy with the many pictures in the menu and clear numbering system for menu items. Consistently one of the cleanest and most reliable chains in town, so always an easy go-to when in doubt on what to eat. Prices have gone up with the times but are still worth it and relatively affordable - we walked away at $20 a person before tips. Their front entrance and their washroom is one downside - it is not accessible because of a steep set of stairs even to their main dining area, and another set downwards (two in total) to the washroom. The washroom is also small and narrow stalls which feel quite tight because of the heavy stall doors (which depending on the weather may not close properly either). Tough to renovate for such things, so do keep in mind if those are of concern - consider takeout instead! read more
4 years ago
5 years ago
We had a team member who was leaving work to pursue his dream job and we took him out for lunch. This place was suggested and quickly liked by a few. The restaurant managers/owners generally I think underestimate the power of mentioning a bit more details on the menu or at least a server who is knowledgeable about ingredients. In the absence of information I went the safest route of ordering a plain congee and a steamed bun. My order would easily have been more than double if the right information was provided. So on the limited items that I could have, my review is not a review per se. One cannot mess up a Congee and a bun. However the food did not arrive all together and out of respect for others, all of us had to wait. Which resulted in food going cold. The congee and bun were as good as they can be read more
7 years ago
This is a really great place for authentic Chinese food! I've ordered a variety of their foods, from xiao long bao to hot and sour soup to Peking duck. All of it is delicious, it's not the best Chinese food I've ever had but it's pretty darn good and hits the spot. The atmosphere is great, clean and modern. It looks like a high-end restaurant, but the prices are very reasonable! Service is generally good, but it kind of depends on the day. That's the only reason I'm holding back from 5 stars. read more
7 years ago
What a serious gem. Came here on a David Chang recommendation and was definitely not disappointed. Being met with the same apathy and authenticity as any of the best Chinese restaurants in nyc along with only Asian people eating in the dinning room I knew it was legit. We got some dim sum, pork dumplings, xio long bao soup dumplings, Baby bok choy, shrimp things (pictured) and a seafood fried rice. So full. So cheap. They have beer and teas. Everything we had we spent like $60? Maybe less. Including beer and tip. Highly reccomend. read more
3 years ago
7 years ago
Not bad but quality control should be supervised. We order probably once a month and food quality is a hit or miss. Like today, broccoli was old. Some time the beef noodles, the beef is tough. read more
Dropped by the Asian Legend on Dundas for a quick dinner. There's both an upstairs section and a downstairs section. The upstairs section contains the bulk of the seating, but there's a large room for private, larger parties, and a smaller seating area downstairs. We got seated upstairs - the dining room has a nice view of Dundas because the facade is basically all one window, which was important for us because we needed to figure out if it was raining or not. The menu is pretty extensive but also pretty typical of a Chinese restaurant - I didn't find anything particularly exciting that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere else down Spadina. Service was a little strange - it seems like they aren't quite in sync. We were approached by two waiters within about five minutes asking if we were ready to order. We got the shredded pork in chili sauce and an order of the beef wrapped in chive pancake. Both were pretty blah - nothing bad, but I've definitely had better. The portions for the plate dishes are huge though - for the two of us, we ate until we were full, and were able to pack a good amount back home. Overall, a very solid but unmemorable dining experience, especially considering the fact that we were in the middle of Chinatown and could have probably gone anywhere else. Considering the portions, it was priced very reasonably. read more
It's definitely one of the cleanest restaurants in Chinatown. If this is what you're after read no more. We order just two simple noodles, and both disappointed. The spicy noodle was by far the worse. First of all, it wasn't spicy. In fact I can't remember the last time it was spicy. The soup base lack life. Never again will I order this at this location. The dai lo mein was missing sea cucumber and a host of other stuff. Felt ripped. Oh well. At least the place looked clean . read more
I've been to the restaurant a few times now and I can say that the food is solid. Not the best Chinese food I've had but nonetheless the food is good here. I'm a fan of dumplings so I tend to order different types each time I'm here. So far I've enjoyed each type that I've tried (steam soup filled and vegetarian). Hope to try them all some day. We also had the mapo tofu which is our favourite dish here and we've also had fried rice and meat dishes which were good as well. The food arrived quickly and the servers were fairly friendly and checked in on us often so I am pleased with the service. In terms of the restaurant space itself, they have tables on two floors. They usually do not open up the tables downstairs unless it is packed upstairs so there is quite a bit of space in the restaurant. If you're in the Chinatown area Asian Legend is a fairly good option if you're craving Chinese food. read more
8 years ago
Tucked away into the many food places of China town in Toronto is this place, asian legend. Bruh lemme tell you, this restaurant is legendary, primarily because of the soup dumplings. I've never had them before but was told to go here by a friend. It can be difficult to spot walking down the street so I'm not sure how people would know to go here without being told beforehand. Come here for the xiaolongbao(soup dumplings) trust me. Are you stupid? Are you duuumb? They're best fresh and with a little bit of the vinegar they provide. Really good flavour, overall A+. read more
Without question the worst cashew nut chicken I ever unfortunately ordered... Smaller than most restaurants portions, to top it off; $18.01 for garbage food. There are many WRONGS in this world; a bad meal is pretty low in the grand scheme of things/life. BUT; a garbage meal is still a garbage meal. Staff looked miserable, absolutely unpleasant. I don't need an ass-kissing or TLC at a fast food Chinese restaurant, this was depressing. Waste of money, waste of time. read more
7 years ago
6 years ago
9 years ago
Everything was delicious and on point. Great prices, and quality of food. We ordered the peking duck (two courses), beef and green onion pancakes, eggplant casserole, fried tofu cubes, green beans, and Xiao Long bao with crab meat. Servers also refilled our team and water constantly. Would recommend 100%! read more
8 years ago
We ordered takeout. It was exceptional. If you're into Sichuan cuisine, this iteration of Mapo Tofu will not let you down. It's spicy, oily, meaty, and absolutely delicious. One thing that surprised us was the soup dumplings. As Xiao long bao connoisseurs, we were expecting a mess of exploded dumplings. However, they came all perfectly intact, still warm and full of soup. While it wasn't as good as fresh (obviously), they were pretty damn good, and were well worth the cost. The baos were less exciting. They were not juicy, and the bun itself tasted off - the texture was strange and not crispy enough. All in all, a great choice for authentic Chinese takeout. Will be ordering here for the rest of our lives. read more
Since living in LA and having a chance to go to Din Tai Fung whenever I wanted, it makes it really hard to think anywhere else could be better. This place was authentic and tastes like bistro dim sum. We got the soup dumplings, shrimp steamed dumplings, and scallion beef rolls. read more
10 years ago
Food at Asian Legend today was such a disappointment. 1. Their staple soup-filled pork dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) had broken skin on every single one of them. 2. Their fried pork buns tasted sour... 3. The worst part is! They advertised their "hand-made noodles" for an extra $1. When the dish came, it's like one of those flat store-bought noodles. (I will post the photo for proof.) Overall experience is subpar. read more
This was our first Chinatown experience and it left much to be desired. I'll start by saying that the menu is extensive, with over 160 items to choose from. Perhaps we didn't order the best dishes. We ordered the soup dumplings with crab meat and pork, which were the highlight of the night. Both the Sui Mai and the chicken and cabbage potsticker, which were on special, did not hit home. They were both bland and could have used some salt. The last dish, stir fried Ho Fun with beef was good but the beef had an interesting texture, it had no chew and fell apart in your mouth. I'd say the noodles had good flavour but could have been better. To sum up, the food was good. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad... it was good. The service was great. Food came quickly and servers were always nearby. If I do come back to this location, the soup dumplings are the only thing that I will be ordering again. read more
I had recalled that Asian cuisine in Toronto was top notch from a trip during school over 10 years ago. On this return trip, I was happy to see it was still the case. Asian Legend, located in the Chinatown area of Toronto is a perfect example of this top notch cuisine. Having eaten in Hong Kong, China, Vancouver, San Francisco, and LA, I have certain expectations when it comes to Chinese food and flavor. Asian Legend met them and in some cases exceeded those expectations. The decor is modern and really belies it's Chinatown location. But the diverse menu, friendly prices, and casual service remind you that this gem really is in Chinatown next to many 1 star locales. Our choices: Crab meat and pork soup dumplings - excellent. The crab meat and pork were both very distinct and very fresh. The dumpling skins were a tad thicker than many places, but there was plenty of soup in each one. Crab meat and fish maw soup - a large bowl of soup came out piping hot. Not as much crab meat as I expected, but reasonable given the low price. Lobster e fu mein - a huge lobster accompanied the e-fu noodles. At least three large claws were present and the flavor was wonderful. The noodles were a bit dry though and could have used more lobster sauce. Overall, a huge portion for the price. Asian Legend accepts credit cards, but not American Express. read more
Snap Judgement: We love this place! When the question of where to host an informal celebratory dinner with friends and family came up, the answer was easy, Asian Legend. Good food. Nice, clean space. Lovely private rooms. From my experience, Asian Legend has been consistently good. I knew I could count on them to deliver a great dinning experience and set the tones of the rest of the evening. They were right on. The entire dinner has been pre-ordered ahead of time [Thank you, you know who you are]. So when the entourage arrived and was seated, the staff brought out each course without a hitch. One dish that stood out was the Peking Duck. It was Peking-Delicious! The crispy skin and tender meat were so good. It looked so tasty that one of our vegetarian guests ALMOST jumped off the wagon to join in! Thumbs up from all around the table. The lobster dishes with Szechuan and Ginger & Green Onion sauce were also a hit. They were freshly and properly prepared. Our dad didn't say a word after the lobster dishes arrived. You wonder why? Both dishes stayed right in front of him most of the time. We love and appreciate that the meals came out fresh and hot from the kitchen like they should. And in terms of tastiness, you know that everything must be mouthwatering good, when there are no photos attached to this review. No time for snapping photos when you are dinning with my group of people. You snooze, you lose! Overall, I could not ask for a more fun and delightful evening at Asian Legend. Even the staff, who usually look stern, cracked smiles...or was it the promise of the automatic gratuity that brought out those bright smiles? read more
18 years ago
Let me first tell you the determination it took for me to eat here. The night before my boyfriend told me he wanted to leave early the next morning to drive home so I tried looking up the restaurant hours online and it could not be found so I figured most restaurants open after 10am. We got there exactly at 10am the next morning and it was still closed as were most of the other restaurants in Chinatown. I wasn't giving up without eating dim sum in Toronto before driving back so I walked up and down the street asking random chinese people what time most restaurants open on sundays using my elementary level chinese skills :) No one seemed to know so I went to the internet cafe across the street to speak to the employee on duty and he also did not know what time it opened and was extremely puzzled why someone would have to eat specifically at Asian Legend when he could recommend other restaurants down the street that were opened. I wanted to call Asian Legend hoping the hours would be recorded on the answering machine but my phone internet doesn't work in Canada so asked if I could buy like 5 min internet time at the internet cafe. The guy was really nice and let me use his own computer and when I called Asian Legend they picked up and told me they were opened?! I was like umm I was just outside and he told me he was on the way to open the door as we speak. So now that I've wasted a half hour and my boyfriend is irritated waiting in the car we go inside and my boyfriend is expecting this place better be no less than amazing. I ordered soup dumplings, jelly fish, deep fried tofu, red bean pancake and the waiter recommended this onion/beef fried pancake which was very good. The fried tofu and pancakes were my favorite picks and we had some pancakes leftover for our long drive back. My boyfriend and I were both very happy we got to eat here. read more
For this review, I used my Android phone to write and continuously updated it. When we arrived, we were quickly seated. Food was very fast to arrive to our table. Atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. The first dish was dumpling pork with chive and it was very tasty.The shanghai style fried noodles were tasty but very oily. The soup-filled steamed bun was average. Hot and sour soup was tasty and was not too spicy. Chunky beef noodle arrived at the table and tasted amazing. The house special fried noodle was very oily. The last dish was the pan fried green onion cake and it was average Overall the food was oily but still tasted delicious. Portion sizes size is just right. The decor is nice and modern. The service is impeccable and very friendly. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone who enjoys authentic chinese food. Although it was a disappointment from my last review, Asian Legend continues to impress. read more
For some reason you expect good Chinese food to only be served at ugly restaurants. But not this place. It's modern, clean and still serves rather incredible food. Dim sum, seafood, large dishes etc. The only down side to this place is that they have a limited dim sum menu and there are no old ladies to push the food around in carts. Everything on the menu is super delicious. They have large party rooms and can easily seat groups of 8-10 in their main area as well. Highly recommend. read more
15 years ago
12 years ago
I ordered 6 dishes but I only like two of them. I like: 1) Glutinous Rice Roll with pork floss (8/10) This is my childhood memory so I would really want to try it. It tasted good but not as good as traditional ones that can be found in Shanghai restaurant or old Hong Kong shops. But I think everyone should give it a good try! 2) Fried Silver Thread Roll (10/10) It comes with condensed sweet milk, which I think is the best combination with the rolls. The rolls were huge! Bigger than those found in Asian countries. It is definitely a must-try dessert! Steamed ones should be good too(I haven't tried) if you want to be healthier! Dislike: 1) Pan fried green onion pancakes They are too crispy; unlike those traditional ones. 2) Steamed shumai with shrimps and pork Huge and good looking appearance. Yet the essence of the dimsum - shrimps are not sticking together, which I dislike. (Normally, most restaurants will have bundled shrimps that give us a sense that the shrimps are fresh) 3) Steamed shrimp dumplings Same problem as #2: shrimps not bundled together. Another one is that they have too thick "skin" or cover. I can even tasted the smell of flour or some sort of plastic texture. 4) Mango pudding It is enormous, yet quite expensive (I think). That would be good if there were real mango pieces inside the pudding. It actually didn't taste like mango, so that's why I think that improvement is needed. Of course, the above are only my personal opinions based on my personal preferences and experience. Some may find the food here perfect too, so it depends on you! These are just my thoughts and suggestions! read more
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More info about Asian Legend
418 Dundas Street W
Toronto, ON M5T 1G7
Canada
Chinatown, Downtown Core
Directions
(416) 977-3909
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http://www.asianlegend.ca
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