Cha’s Restaurant
30 Sinan Lu (???30?,?????)
Shanghai, China
PRICE: ??
RATING:

Upon recommendation, we headed off to Cha’s Restaurant on a sunny Sunday afternoon.. stomachs rumbling in anticipation. A 1950’s style Hong Kong cafe, it’s easily missable on the streetand we probably wouldn’t have entered had we not heard it had great food. It’s a very casual cafe with frazzled waiters running back and forth, and loads of Hong Kongers chowing down on cafe-style food. Expect a long line on weekends – we arrived at almost 1PM but had to wait for about 20mins before we scored a table.

Half-starved by now, we were silly and only ordered a few dishes, but after eating had to add 2 more dishes… because the food was too good! It all arrives fairly promptly (though some dishes come out at the blink of an eye, whereas others take 15 mins) and you’re basically hustled out once you’re done eating. That all adds to the charm anyway, and very typical of busy Hong Kong cafe dining 😉

On with the food review!

The small, nondescript entrance

1950’s cafe style interior

The menu, neatly tucked under the glass table

Milo and Hong Kong milk tea. Cripes these were good – perfectly mixed.

Instant Noodles with Sichuan Pork –
AWESOME!!!! Hong Kong’s famous for their instant noodle concoctions and
this was spot on. Really tasty, with just the right amount of spice.

Noodles with Beef Brisket –
This was much more bland than the above noodles, but we really enjoyed it too.
A lovely ‘bite’ to the noodles and the brisket was soft and melty.

Toasted Butter Bread with Luncheon Meat and Scrambled Eggs –
how very very Hong Kong! They love their luncheon meat, and so do I.

Made into a sandwich. Oh man this was luscious. So hot and savory and tasty….
Loved it so much we ordered a Corned Beef & Egg Sandwich too – no pic cos I forgot!!

“Bo lo bao” – a crispy, sweet bun with a pat of butter half melted inside.

Having a foodgasm. Don’t mind me now…