Asian Legend - Thornhill

Asian Legend is a chain of chinese restaurants that specialize in northern Chinese cuisine. This was my first time at this particular location. We went there during the holidays and it was jam packed so I knew that the food had to be pretty good. We got to our table eventually and ordered hot and sour soup which was delicious to start off and was actually pretty spicy. The xiao long bao was pretty good too although not the best. We also had fried rice noodles with beef, seafood fried rice and bok choy with enoki mushrooms and everything was served hot, fresh and plentiful. The service was a bit slow but reasonable as they were very busy at the time. All in all, I cannot complain and I would gladly return to try the other dishes.

2017/08/07<br/ We were in the mood for Asian food for dinner on the holiday Monday, and we had not tried this Asian Legend location yet. The restaurant was more than half full, and we were promptly seated. When we were ready to order, we got a server's attention. Then things got a bit slower. I'm not sure if they were a bit understaffed for the holiday. <br/ <br/ We started with their small bowl of Hot and Sour Soup, which was enough for two very full smaller bowls for each of us. A little bit of hot, a little bit of sour, and lots of good stuff in the soup, including chicken, mushrooms, and tofu. <br/ <br/ As we finished our soup, our Sauteed Beef with Mushrooms on a Sizzling Hot Plate showed up. Tender beef, and an interesting variety of tasty mushrooms. There were at least four different types, but I don't know the names. I just know we enjoyed the dish. We had almost half of our plate finished (at a leisurely pace) before the our second plate and steamed rice arrived. <br/ <br/ Our second dish was Kung Pao Chicken. This was probably the spiciest version that SWMBO and I have had. There were quite a few chili peppers that were roasted and cut into big pieces and many tiny pieces. It was good, but it did bring a glow to our brows. <br/ <br/ When we were done, it took a few minutes to get someone's attention, so that we could get our bill and pay.

The restaurant mainly served Northern Chinese cuisine with several Cantonese exceptions. Possibly only two members of the party possessed a solid enough spice tolerance to order the chili based dishes, so we stuck to milder dishes for the most part.<br/ <br/ ​Green tinted xiao long baos were my first pick. The soup dumplings were executed properly in all aspects: size, flavour, quantity of filling, soup to filling ratio, etc. The small, golf ball sized dumplings were undeniably one of my favourite dishes of the evening a runner up to the delectable Fish Fillet in Sweet Sour Sauce. (Authentic sweet and sour fish is difficult to locate back home, so I was more than ecstatic to find a flavourful, crisp variation of the dish, even if the presentation was slightly lacking.

Are They Really On Par with Buddha, Ahura Mazda, Dragons, Sun Tzu, Musashi Miyamoto And Krishna?. E: I have been to this location of Asian Legend several times. It was time to write a few words about the food and related qualities of the restaurant. <br/ The menu is long and wide – which Chinese restaurant’s isn’t? – and seems to only be missing congee and stinky tofu. <br/ Let’s see, I have enjoyed the Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and it is good. It is not as good as Ding Tai Fung’s, but the dumplings are better than a chain’s should be by all rights. Menu item number three is 6 for $6. Menu item number seven is the Shiu Mai priced the same as the steamed soup dumplings and as delicious. It seems to be lacking roe on top, but the filling of shrimp is really well done. The Shiu Mai is easy on the tongue being both delicious and thinly wrapped. Temperature wise the dumplings are served very warm. They are not too hot and never cold. A small Hot And Sour Soup is likely enough for two people. The bowl included shredded chicken costs $5. One can taste both the vinegar and the chili peppers. Not every hot and sour soup in the city is hot or sour. Asian Legend’s is. <br/ The Home Style Fried Tofu With BBQ Pork On Sizzling Hot Plate is $12 and only middling. It is largely tasty, but the plate is barely sizzling and the little pork that there is on it is thinly sliced and plastered on top almost as a cover. With eighty percent of the dish being tofu it is a little disappointing that they are so soft and mushy. The tofu needs to be ingested quickly; otherwise the soft tofu is overwhelmed by its sauce and moisture, becomes soggy and then it should be eaten fast or the sauce overwhelms the soft tofu and then... good luck!<br/ It looks like I have not ordered from the Chef's Recommendations Menu. The items featured seem to be higher priced items either way.<br/ Having had several others dishes over multiple meals at Asian Legend it is easy to like the restaurant.<br/ <br/ A: One modern Chinese restaurant looks like the other. As someone said, it looks like the same interior decoration crew is travelling from Asian restaurant to Asian restaurant upgrading and transforming the interiors. The stylish dark wood and large windows are standard. A kitchen glass gives some transparency to the cooking and food preparation. <br/ On my last visit the restaurant seemed not busy to start, but soon became so and the traditional clang of Asian Legend took its rightful place.<br/ The washrooms are dingy, but clean ish. <br/ The view outside is a mass of cars filling a parking lot. <br/ <br/ T: While parking might be difficult to find it is never impossible. Aside from the main parking lot one can drive past the restaurants and down the ramp for additional space.<br/ The host and the waitstaff react quickly and the food arrives in reasonable time. Water refill is also prompt. Getting the bill might be a little bit of a bother, but it is barely a transgression.<br/ <br/ S: The staff at Asian Legend are prompt and polite. One can easily recommend the restaurants on this basis. Chinese restaurants are never going to develop a high end service reputation as a whole, but the chain clearly does try to orient its staff to provide friendly, prompt and attentive service. In my experience the staff usually speak a modicum of English if not be outright fluent.<br/ Not happy with all of this? Walk five restaurants down and try.... Szechuan Legend!

Good Value for Money. This is a great Asian restaurant. The restaurant is very elegantly decorated and the food is good at a great price. Would recommend this place.