Manchurian Legends

Regional Chinese cuisine is hot at the moment, & the latest contender to stake its claim is this Chinatown newcomer serving food from the north-eastern province of Dongbei (formerly Manchuria). Set up by the team behind Leong’s Legends, this plain, hard dining room deals in rustic, stomach-warming flavours with noodles, potatoes & breads replacing rice as the staple starchy ballast. The fascinating menu needs some fathoming, but there is plenty to enjoy, from gutsy dumplings to appetisingly spiced salads. Some specialities will be familiar to fans of Szechuan cuisine, though the results tend to be less incendiary: a rich, warming dish of pig’s intestines with leeks has outshone a hotpot of fragrant chicken with dried chilli. To drink, order ‘bubble teas’ all round, & don’t worry about financial heartburn when the bill arrives.