SGV: Instagram Worthy Sichuan Food at The Legendary

 

I recently checked out The Legendary in Alhambra. It’s one of the newest Sichuan restaurants and there are some really interesting dishes there. The roomy restaurant features a heavy menu full of well illustrated photos and some intriguing dishes.

It all starts with the cold side dishes where the plating hints of chefs coming through instagram and pinterest for design ideas. For instance, we ordered the garlic shredded pork. The photo hints at it but when it arrives, we were still a bit befuddled by the “meat curtain.” There’s no other way to explain it. Strips of pork belly hang over a rack. Each slice is separated by cucumber strips. The idea is you pick up your strip of meat and twirl it into the provided sauce. It’s a bit more gimmick-y than anything else. Very instagram worthy.

There is also garden salad that comes in a mason jar but we didn’t order that. I wanted to get to the heart of the Sichuan menu. Bring on the spice!

 

But first, iced tea. I got the honey chrysanthemum tea which came in a tiki mug. I loved it of course.

 

I can’t help but order bean jelly whenever I’m at a Sichuan spot. These at the Legendary were a bit mushier than I like. It also didn’t have enough of a ma la zing for me but it did feature a lot of garlic. After some time in the fridge (yes, we had a lot of leftovers), these did firm up wonderfully.

 

I love mapo tofu and was curious about the stinky tofu used in this version. After initially getting used to the pungency, it turned out to be an addicting dish. Be sure to eat this with rice.

 

 

I think one of the hallmarks Sichuan food is water boiled fish served with a ton of chilis. After consulting with our server, he recommended the longley filets. We weren’t sure what kind of fish longley was but it was a nice firm white fish. There was tons of fish and plenty of veggies as well hidden under the mountain of chilis. I didn’t see a green chili version which I prefer at spots like Chengdu Taste and Szechaun Chef.

 

Under the griddle section which I believe is their term for dry hot pot, we ordered the cauliflower. This was one of our favorite dishes. At other Sichuan spots, I always love the veggies in the dry hot pots but there never seems to be enough of the veggies. You definitely get a huge fix this way.

 

I’ve now gone to Mian a few times so I feel I have a handle on Chongquin noodles. I tried out the Legendary’s street noodles which were very good. The noodles had a nice texture and there was a lot of minced meat. The sauce wasn’t quite as spicy as Mian’s which is probably better for my much abused system.

The spice level is definitely something I can handle and there was no wait during lunch time. I would love to go back to try more items out.

The Legendary

2718 W Valley Blvd., Alhambra, CA 91803  —  (626) 427-2236

© The Minty  2017