Asian Legend @ Sheppard & Brimley

It's been a long time since I was last at Asian Legend: it's an oldie, but a goodie. 

I remember the last time I went, the food was good, but it was on the pricier side. 

Shanghai Fried Noodles

There's cabbage, noodles, carrots, green onions, pork and shrimp (in that order). 

It didn't really have the strong flavour I usually associate with Shanghai Fried Noodles probably because the vegetables got in the way of the noodles absorbing the sauce. 

Chunked Beef Noodle Soup

The beef noodle soup was really good! The beef was tender and tasty and the soup base had a nice spicy kick to it. And who can forget the choy and green onions to keep everything balanced?

Zhajiangmian

This was zhajianmian done Taiwanese style...which unfortunately just doesn't taste as good as the original Northern Chinese version. The zhajiangmian sauce, in general, has a pretty strong taste and smell and the sauce is hearty and savoury. I found this sauce was more about the tofu and cucumbers than the traditional heavy and savoury black sauce used to overpower the taste of the wheat noodles, it just felt a little weak and not particularly tasty to me. 

Scallion Pancake Roll with Beef (cong you bing)

At the last few places I ordered this roll, there are chunks of beef and springs of green onion all smothered with hoisin sauce and wrapped in the pancake and even that version got me hooked onto this delicious treat. 

I have to admit, Asian Legend does a pretty good scallion pancake roll with beef with the scallions baked right into the pancake. I would have preferred more hoisin sauce, but the beef was done really nicely and it was really tasty. 

Xiaolongbao (Soup Filled Dumplings)

They passed the dumpling stem test like the xiaolongbao from Din Tai Fung. However, it was mostly because the dumplings didn't have a lot of soup inside, but the meat inside was good.

Steamed Chicken Dumplings
Personally, I found these chicken dumplings kind of bland (pork dumplings usually have a stronger flavour). Then again, I usually avoid eating dumplings with vinegar - so maybe it's the vinegar adding flavour to this dish? 

Wo Tip (Pan Fried Dumplings or Potstickers)

Yummy! One of my favourite things to eat. This version had lots of meat inside, but the skin was a tad oily and only the bottom was crispy (I love when the skin is crispy all the way around).

Red Bean Dessert with tapioca
Watery and grainy...I'm a bigger fan of cakes than I am of Chinese desserts.

Overall: I love Northern Chinese cuisine and it's pretty hard to find restaurants serving great food.  I thought it was an okay meal at Asian Legend - there were some hits and some misses (and it was on the pricey side), but the service was fast.

Website: http://www.asianlegend.ca