Asian Legends Toronto

Location: 3636 Steeles Avenue East #152, Markham, ON, (905) 947-0370

One of my favorite Taiwanese restaurants is Asian Legends.  They food they serve is consistently delicious, they have lots of appetizers to choose from as well as mains.  My favorite things to get is appetizers (as I miss Taiwanese street food dearly)...and that's we did this time. 

First up:  deep fried tofu with garlic and hot soya sauce oil ($4.95).  The tofu was perfect, crispy on the outside, tender and fresh on the inside, the minced garlic added the necessary kick.  :-)  I love fried tofu.

This dish is called "Fan Tuan" in Mandarin ($3.95).  This is one of my favorite dish to get a Asian Legends, it's the best here.  Glutinous rice filled with a crispy dough fritter and dried shredded pork floss.   This is a very common lunch item to get in Taiwan, and it's oh so tasty.  This one is wrapped in plastic because glutinous rice is very sticky.  Chewy on the outside, crunchy on the inside, and the wonderful flavour of the dried shredded pork floss inside.  I can eat these all day long.  :-)

Hot and sour soup with chicken ($4.95).  Get this if you like it with a lot of white pepper because I think they overloaded on the white pepper a bit.  It was still very good and had a great kick though. 

The best "shao long bao" (steamed soup filled juicy pork dumplings) in Toronto ($5.50 for 6).  Thin dough skin wrapper, delicious seasoned pork juices that pour out once the skin is broken, and a juicy ground pork and spices nugget inside.  Amazing dipped in some red vinegar with thin ginger spears.

This is just "Har Gow" or steamed shrimp dumplings ($6.50 for 5).  I wouldn't recommend getting thisd at Asian legends, but my coworker really loved this dish and Asian legends is the only place that would serve Har Gow at all times of the day. 

This is a treo of cold taiwanese appetizer dishes. ($5.95 to $7.95 for each selection)  My coworker wanted to try things he never had before, so I picked the following:
Top left:  Jelly fish in a bit of seseme oil.  I LOVE jellyfish.  I just love the crunchy but chewy texture and I usually only get to have it when there is a Chinese ten course banquet dinner.
To Right: Marinated duck tongue.  Odd to most western cultures, common in asian cultures, just slightly salty and in a bit of seseme oil, it's delicious!  :-) 
Bottom center:  Smoked fish.  It's marinated in a sweet sauce, and it's been cooked for so long that you can eat ALL of the parts of the fish, including the fins and bones.  I enjoyed this dish...the marinated fish is kind of like eating a candied salmon (and I love candied salmon). 

Last dish that is also one of my favorites, is rolled onion pancake with sliced beef ($5.95).  I think they wrap it in foil so that the entire pancake doesn't fall apart as easily.  But this is so tasty, and slight greasy, that I have to order this every time. 

I highly recommend this restaurant.  There are other great Taiwanese restaurants in Toronto, but this chain of restaurants (with 6 location in Toronto) is one of my favorites and easily satisfies.  :-)