Manchurian Legends

Time Out says

Tue Oct 16 2012

Manchurian Legends, cousin of nearby Leong’s Legends, offers faithful renditions of the hearty rib-sticking cuisine of China’s frosty north. Robust stews from the north-east are well executed; braised pork with glass noodles was a rich, melt-in-your-mouth slow-cooked triumph of meat and starch. Stewed chicken with tea-tree mushrooms had similarly rich and tender meat, but this time with wonderfully springy fungus.

The true test of a north-western Chinese restaurant is whether it can properly execute yang rou chuan, the classic Muslim lamb kebabs that are popular – and delicious – street food throughout the People’s Republic. Manchurian Legends serves the best we’ve had in London; the small morsels of nicely fatty lamb are cooked until the fat melts, and liberally doused in the signature chilli-cumin-sesame topping. Another Xinjiang classic, ‘big plate chicken’, is a wonderful symphony of spicy chicken, root vegetables and giant noodles (truly enormous: they look like tripe) in a star anise-infused broth.

In July 2012, Manchurian Legends moved to Lisle Street, occupying the pleasant if cosy tented dining room that formerly housed the short-lived Wulumuchi. The elegant surroundings are a step up in class; and the food certainly transcends that produced by the previous inhabitants.