Saturday, January 18, 2014

Celebrating Chinese New Year

As soon as Wendy and Raymond invited us to celebrate Chinese New Year with a visit to Asian Legend, my mouth started to water.

A huge thanks for a memorable meal to what I hope is the start of an auspicious year.

Our noisy group of ten soon grew quiet when the food was served.

Sensational! And I mean that literally it was pleasing to all the senses...  Not just the flavours but the balance of contrasts, temperatures and tastes made for an absolute feast. Incredibly satisfying.

So I know what to order on my next visit:
  • Steamed Soup Filled Dumplings with Crab Meat and Pork: soft and silken noodle purses that, when you bite into them, explode with flavour and warmth (I like these so much I looked up their Chinese name, Xiaolongbao)
  • Drunken Chicken Soaked in Liquor: thin slices of chicken served chilled (these arrived with the warm soup dumplings to make a wonderful course)
  • Taiwanese Street Style Deep Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce: crispy fired outside, smooth inside, with a spicy bite
  • Peking Duck: first serving is the duck's crispy skin that you wrap in a thin pancake with cool cucumber and hoison sauce; second serving is the duck, cubed and mixed with tofu, that you spoon into a leaf of lettuce and drizzle with hoison
  • Kung Pau Shrimp: spicy hot and crunchy, a known favourite
  • Sauteed Beef Sirloin with Satay Sauce on Sizzling Hot Plate: melt-in-your-mouth beef served with crunchy veggies
  • Sauteed Green Beans with Dried Shrimp: spicy, salty, crunchy and so fun to slurp into your mouth
  • Red Bean Pancakes: a savoury dessert, deceptively plain and strangely satisfying
  • Banana in Hot Toffee: tasty treats that caramelize in front of your eyes when dipped into the ice water bath at your table
We went to the Ravel Road location at Finch and Leslie

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