Szechuan Legend

I had no idea they served Cantonese style dim sum from the name of the restaurant, but was introduced to it when Unilocaling for dim sum in Scarborough. From 1:30 — 3:30pm, dim sum is $ 1.68, which is when I go. I find myself coming here every time I’m craving for some quick cheap dim sum. They have a relatively decent selection — although not as extensive as Cantonese restaurants. But for the price you pay, this dim sum place can’t be beat! I like how the food comes out piping hot each time and they don’t charge for table cloth and tea only 80 cents for however many people you have. Most locations I’ve been to charge table cloth fee and $ 1 tea per person. They also serve Szechuan style dishes like noodles, rice and snacks for those wanting a little more variety which is a plus. One star off is because the food quality could be better — but you really can’t complain for the price right? Overall, would highly recommend coming here for afternoon dim sum.

I’ve been here a few times with my parents since they love this restaurant. It’s a pretty decent place for some authentic Chinese food while getting more bang for your buck. The portions for the dishes are huge and since we always order a lot of food between the three of us we always end up with lots of leftovers for days. Despite the name and the number of spicy dishes they offer, there is plenty of non-​spicy dishes, like sweet and sour fish and even peking duck! I always end up feeling stuffed every time I leave with leftovers.
The quality is alright and the service can be better in my opinion, but it’s a good place for ordering Chinese food in large quantities on a budget.

Went for dim sum. Excellent taste. Got siu mai, har gow, chicken feet, egg custard tarts, crystal shrimp rolls. The only, bad thing is that we didn’t order tea because we knew that they would charge us $ 1. But they added it on our bill, we disputed this and they gave us some bs answer that they charge it anyways if we don’t drink it or not. Then they gave us another bs answer saying they charged it because it was “standard“ amongst dimsum restaurants. What a load of crock!!! They then said it was being used to pay kitchen staff ahhaha. Honestly, I would’ve tipped more because my meal was so good! But this left a sour taste in my mouth. Don’t get scammed people.

Szechuan Legend is franchised and there are many of them in GTA and in Markham area. To make it easier for some of my colleagues, we came to this Scarborough location right at midland and finch instead of travelling more North.
I have to say, the prices at this location is much cheaper than the other ones, however, this place suffers the same downfall as many other Chinese restaurants. And yes, I am talking about the service. I usually do not mind the service if price is cheap, but I was very upset during my dinner here. We ordered a Peking duck combo, which was fairly cheap but the Peking duck came almost last out of all our dishes (which is rare). That is fine if the duck was actually hot or even warm, nope, the duck and the bread it came with to wrap the duck was cold, well below room temperature. We asked the server why it was cold, the server said, literally word by word in Mandarin, «of course it is cold since you guys took forever to start eating it». Like for REAL? The duck JUST arrived on our table so if anything it’s your fault that the duck was cold. Also, all the Chinese restaurants I have been to and ordered Peking Duck, they usually show you the duck and skin it RIGHT infront of you. This one was all done behind the scenes, so who knows what happened to it.
Anyways, overall the food was so-​so, the customer service was horrible. At the end, we barely gave any tips and will not come to this location ever again!
Beware guys! I highly recommend going to another location for Szechuan Legend even if it means a little more expensive for the same food!

I was taken here by some Chinese friends after they were tired of me complaining I couldn’t find dishes like I had in China. So let that be a lesson that complaining does get you good things.
The small tables I was unable to fit my legs under immediately made me feel like I was back in China. I am very tall so you probably won’t have this problem.
I really wanted to order a fish dish, but my fellow Canadian in the group was hesitant so we just went for staples. 麻辣水煮肉片 was my favourite of our dishes. The only bad one was the bamboo dish which I can’t remember the name.
Overall none of the dishes were spicy, but they all tasted authentic. I’ll have to try the dim sum next time.

Don’t be fooled by the name: there are plenty of non-​spicy dishes here. This is probably one of the cheapest places for dim sum in Toronto/​Scarborough! If you come between 1:30 — 4:00 PM on weekdays each dish is only $ 1.60, and the dishes are actually a decent size too. Ordered 8 dishes between two people (we couldn’t finish it all, so took some home), and the total bill was less than $ 15 :) Also they don’t charge for tea.
The quality of the food was pretty good, pretty standard dim sum stuff, but again, points awarded because of the low price and large portions. They had a few interesting things on the menu i.e. deep fried milk (which was quite good btw, light and slightly sweet!) The décor of the restaurant is also kind of interesting, not like a traditional Chinese restaurant, they have like these interesting wood seats (still okay comfortable) and tables.
Overall I would come again to this place just because the dim sum is cheap and the food quality is pretty good :) I think prices on weekends are pretty reasonable as well, I believe it is $ 2.30/dish before 4 PM!

I came here for dim sum after 1:30pm because every dish was $ 1.65 (super cheap!). Here is a list of all the things I ordered:
Pumpkin and corn congee — one of the better pumpkin congee I’ve had
Shrimp with leek and chives dumpling — standard good taste
Shrimp rice roll — the soy sauce came in a different bowl which was nice for those that like this dish plain
Chive pancake ($ 2.99 for 1 piece) — this is on the pricier side and the taste isn’t as good as New Northern Dumplings (they sell is for $ 3.99 for 3 pieces)
Mango pudding — nothing special
Squid — it wasn’t as crispy as I would like it, it was actually very squishy and I’ve never had it so squishy at a Chinese restaurant before
I would definitely come back here for the cheap prices to try out some of their other dishes!

This is a great place for traditional Chinese-​Szechuan cuisine. I have not had amazing cuisine and taste like this restaurant for a while. I was very pleased with the service since the waiters were very attentive and they actually cleared our plates three times since we had lobster. Overall, this place has a great reputation for good prices on their dim sum and stir fry dishes. When you enter, you feel like you are entering a historic Chinese monument. I would recommend coming to this place if you are looking for authentic Szechuan cuisine.

I’ve been here several times.
I was even able to find parking at the front! Lucky me.
I really like the décor. Serious nice Chinese style furniture and wallpaper reminds me of one of the 2010 Expo China pavillion. Nicer than the usually dim sum place. Usually we get a private table.
Staff was friendly and accomodating. It’s only when they have a lunch time crowd, then it could be difficult to get hold off.

Frequent visitor to this restaurant. I love the prices and the food. From 1:30pm-4pm on Mondays-​Thursdays the dim sum dishes are all $ 1.60 each. I’ve been to other cheap Chinese restaurants but the food weren’t nearly as good. I’m very satisfied with the price, taste and service.
Edit: There was this one time I brought someone and the service was really bad. Some of the dishes I wanted weren’t available and the food took over 30 minutes to arrive. I haven’t went back since. Quite a disappointment.

Came here for dimsum between exams, I was pretty impressed with most of the food we ordered. However, the names of the foods were slightly different from what I was used to, so it took me awhile to figure out what to order (I can’t read the chinese). They also had a TV right above our table, so we watched soccer while we waited for food.
Mango pudding & egg tarts were by far our favourites, as with the shrimp noodles. Amazing food in general, and good service. Will be back for sure

Wonderfully spicy Sichuan restaurant in the heart of Miliken
Szechuan Legend means much more than the cover photo that Unilocal presents of it (fly in a bowl… really??). The restaurant offers up some of the better Sichuan dishes I’ve had in the GTA. The place itself is rather large inside with peculiar décor and a private room that is reminiscent of many of the old Chinese movies I’ve grown up watching. The menu has Sichuan staples like Fish in Chili Oil or Mutton Hot Pot. I’ve had a variety of dishes there and there were very few that I ever disliked.
Appetizers like the Spicy Beef Slices, Chongding Chicken, and Yams with Blueberry Sauce are great. The Beef slices are just like they are described. Thin (often gelatinous) slices of beef are served drenched in chili oil and at room temperature nonetheless. The Chongding Chicken has a sharp spice to it, but being that it is cold, it isn’t one of my favorites (never was into the whole cold chicken dish aspect). Yams with Blueberry Sauce are exactly as they sound. Though more of a dessert dish, the yams were soft and a bit bland. The blueberry sauce is incredible and really is the shining light of the dish.
Spicy Clams are a favorite as well. The clams are quickly steamed and served with this wonderfully flavorful broth that has a hint of wine and plopped in with Sichuan peppers. Not really spicy at all, but aromatic and a must-​have when I’m at the table.
Braised Pork Belly with Pickled Vegetables were a bit too heavy for me. The pork belly, though flavorful, was a bit too mushy. I enjoyed that they are served with the white steamed bun as a nice contrast in taste. Crispy Half Chicken was meh. Not bad for only $ 6.99, but many other Chinese restaurants serve it much better. Focus on getting spicy stuff here.
The Tea Smoked Duck is done real well here as well. I’m not a huge fan of smoked poultry, despite my fetish for duck. The duck here had crisp skin and the tea leaves were present from the aroma down to the flavor. Luckily, it wasn’t overpowering so it left a good taste in my mouth
Poached Fish in Chili Oil ($ 9.99) is my favorite dish there. It has this wonderful flavor to it as the fish is light and flaky on its own without ever getting soggy from its time in the chili pool. The Sichuan peppercorns and the chili oil can be quite intimidating, but the fish still brings subtle flavors into it without inheriting too much of the oil. HUGE portion for only $ 10!
Unilocal Pro Tip for you. Get the VIP card! If you intend to come here for only one meal, then buy all means, maybe you can forego the card. But if you’re in the area often and see yourself coming to this place more than once, the $ 10 card will grant you access to the discounted prices (though slight as they are, they do add up folks). The discounts, mixed in with the great service, atmosphere, portions, and food make this one of my more popular destinations.

The food here is great, especially the spicy dishes. Service could be faster. Asked for ice water and never came. Had to ask 2 more times to get that straightened out. What’s good about this place is they give a big bowl of noodles if you go on the day of your bday.

This review is coming from an out of towner… foreigner actually.
The first selling point is that this place is open until 4 am.
Secondly most of the food we had was fantastic, although not as spicy as I thought it would be. The defining feature of Sichuan cuisine is not just spicy, but mouth numbing. I felt the mouth numb from the peppers of our dishes, but not so much the heat. Barring that, there were several stand out dishes like the sauteed green beans, the spicy fried chicken, and the egg mixed with crab and broccoli. The mapo tofu was kind of disappointing… the flavors weren’t really there. There was also a pork belly dish which I could only eat a couple bites of because it was so fatty and oversauced. But as someone who doesn’t get to eat good authentic Chinese very often, the food here REALLY hit the spot.

My family & I used to come here for dim sum all the time and, somwhere along the way, we stopped. Returned here recently and am sad to see the quality in all aspects has gone down. My favourite order here is the ‘chicken with auricalaria’ rice, which is still fairly good. My dad, an avid lover of all things spicy, is addicted to their chili wontons. Everything else – all the usual dim-​sum suspects – are simply average, though they used to be great: hot & fresh. Now, most of the dishes we get are often lukewarm, at best.
This place used to be extremely busy during regular dim sum hours, and now we can get a seat almost immediately which, to me, is only an indication of its decline. With only half the crowd, you’d think service would be much quicker, but it isn’t. And out of the last handful of visits, there have been at least 2 occurences of forgotten dishes. I think it’s time to move on…

It was Chris T.‘s farewell — he decided to choose this place because he LOVES spicy food. So we went — all 24 of us.
Floors were… slippery — just warning you.
We ordered a BUNCH of dishes at each table:
STARCH NOODLES IN CHILI SAUCE: if you can’t handle your spice, do NOT — do NOT eat these. Our lips were quivering.
SPICY BEEF SLICES: good, tender, and delicious!
SPICY FRIED CHICKEN: I don’t think that this is what the dish was actually called — but it was good.
SPICY POACHED FISH (LARGE): don’t let this large bowl fool you. The fish was absolutely delicious and not too spicy — however, avoid the cabbage if you’re trying to avoid ultra spice.
SPICY STIR FRIED BITTER MELON: I love my bitter melon, but I found this to be a bit too bitter.
EGGPLANT: Cooked to perfection — I absoultely loved this dish. It was quite flavourful considering that my tongue was burning.
FOUR SEASON BEANS: I can’t complain — I love my string beans.
LAMB SKEWERS: I thought these were delicious — however, they were fried, not BBQed. But what do you expect.
It’s quite the spicy spicy. All of us were sweating beads and turning red.

It’s funny that although this chain has three locations that has the same name in chinese (half-​acre garden as its literal translation), each of their English name is different.
I’ve been to the one in Metro Square a couple of times, and this might be my first or second time at this location. I’ve been craving their «water cooked beef» for a while now, which is really hot spicy and numbing stew with beef and napa cabbage. It was really good, although I think I remember it being better. Another favourite of ours is the «minced garlic white meat» which is a cold dish. They make it well here.
In general, most of the common szechuan food they serve here is authentic and tasty, so there’s not much to complain about. Service here is pretty good for a Chinese restaurant.
I’ve never been here for dimsum, but i likely would not go to a szechuan restaurant for that!

Before my first visit to Szechuan Legend, my knowledge of Szechuan food was about the size of a Szechuan peppercorn. But after last night’s Hot n’ Spicy food crawl, I have gained a better understanding of this fiery Chinese cuisine and learned that the Szechuan peppercorn is not my friend.
+ At first glance, the Spicy Poached Fish looked delicious and deadly. The poached fish was cooked to perfection and absolutely divine. It was rustic, garlicky, spicy and so tender. Warning, be sure to avoid eating the Szechuan peppercorns in order to avoid the mouth-​Novacain-​numbling sensation. [
+ Spicy Pork Slice was one of my favorites. The long slices of pork belly were so scrumptious with spicy garlic sauce. [
+ The bony Spicy Duck Tongue was interesting. Or was it the Novacain-​effect from the peppercorns talking?[
+ Stir fried Spicy Bitter Melon was yummy. If you are not familiar with bitter melon, you may not like this dish. I loved the bitterness of the melon, the spiciness of the chili and the flavorful minced pork, a good combination. [
I thoroughly enjoyed my culinary exploration at Szechuan Legend, from the tastiness and authenticity of the food to the traditional, classic Chinese décor. The sights and sounds of the local Chinese crowd as well as the company completed this marvelous culinary journey.

If you are into Hot and Spicy like me, Szechuan Legend is the place to go! Here you will find dishes that will bring tears in your eyes, drink water like crazy and your face all red and sweaty.
My favourite dishes here are:
— Fuqi feipian/​Mixed Spicy Beef ($ 6.99) which is made of thinly sliced beef, beef lung/​stomach/​tongue, and a generous amount of spices, including Szechuan pepper
— Spicy Poached Fish ($ 9.99) where the delicate and tender white fish showcases the hot and numbing effects of the chillies and Sichuan pepper
— Spicy Bittermelon ($ 7.99)
— Starch Noodle with Chilli Sauce ($ 5.99)
Beware of the dishes with 3 peppers icon next to them, those are really not for non spicy eat!
Most of the waitress staff here speak Mandarian, so it is a good place for me to practice my limited vacobulary.
They accepts Visa and Mastercard.

Vic H. covered Szechuan Legend quite well so I’ll just put some additions into the Dum Sum I had. It’s located in the Scarboro Village Plaza which is extremely busy as one of the main spots of Chinese food during Lunch and Dinner. If you come at the wrong time, the parking can be ridiculous and the signs and one way roads of this Plaza is confusing for beginners.
Szechuan Legend has 2 other branches named: Chilli Secret (Leslie/​Hwy 7) and Backyard Garden (Steeles/​Warden). The ambiance is very classic Chinese wooden furniture and wall dividers with chiseled designs. Chairs were FLAT and hard wood that doesn’t allow you to slouch, unfortunately our generation is too used to slouching.
As a Szechuan Restaurant they offer Cantonese Dim Sum ($ 1.8 — $ 2) and most are standard, nothing exciting to report here except that the Steamed Rice Noodle Roll was commented as smooth. Not the best Dim Sum but edible and enjoyable by most of the local retired Chinese folks that are treated and greeted by the server while they were less enthusiastic towards us NEW faces. Took 2 tries to get my Mustard condiment.
Btw, you know that most of these older folks are returning locals to this restaurant when everyone of them has something to pack away and they know exactly which drawer to get the bags and containers from.
Service — 2.0 *Star*
Dim Sum — 0.5 *Star*
Décor + 0.5 *Star*
Price + 0.5 *Star*
= 2.5 *Star*