[Shanghai] Char

Char | char-thebund.com | Dianping
Address: 中山东二路585号外滩英迪格酒店29-31楼(东门路) – Top of Hotel Indigo on the Bund, 585 Zhongshan East 2nd Rd near Dongmen Rd (黄浦区 Huangpu District)
Date visited: 2013.05
Total bill: ~RMB¥1700 for two people
Will return: Yes

Char is a steakhouse located on top of Hotel Indigo on the Bund. It is a posh and impressive date spot (pay attention guys). Like many high end restaurants on the Bund, it has spectacular atmosphere, service, and view. The food matches it. This place definitely makes a statement.

Shrimp Cocktail (Complimentary)
This came right away as we were flipping through the menu. The sauce was a creamy version of cocktail sauce and was really good.

Bread (Complimentary)
Still flipping through the menu and this came whizzing over. They baked one half of the loaf with pumpkin bread and the other half with spinach bread. The bread came with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and olive mash for dipping. The olive mash was really good and this is coming from someone who normally does not like olives other than in its fat for olive oil.

Lobster Bisque (RMB¥108) with lobster medallion, mussel, scallop & lime cream
The lobster, mussel, and scallop pieces were initially brought out on the plate without any soup and my reaction was that this cannot be some fancy deconstructed lobster bisque without the bisque. False alarm. Our server brought out the bisque in teapots and poured the bisque into our bowls at the table. Our teapots each had enough bisque to serve a bowl and a half. The teapot was a great spin on presentation after the initial scare.

Lobster bisque is one of those things I will usually get if I see it on the menu and this one did not disappoint. The individual seafood pieces were all very delicious and the soup was flavorful. Definitely recommend this.

Foie Gras Parfait Crumble (RMB¥148) with apple & red onion jam
This was sweet because of the crumbles, which was very different from the salty foie gras dishes I am used to. The tortilla chips actually didn’t go well with the foie gras at all so we left those alone and used the bread from earlier to spread the foie gras on or just ate the foie gras by itself. The foie gras also tasted really good with the onion jam. Drink red wine while the foie gras is still in your mouth and the foie gras will taste a little different. Try it.

1KG Stockyard Tomahawk (RMB¥988) with 70 days grain fed young beef rib fillet and rib bone
Before the beef was served, our server brought out pre-heated stone plates for us to eat our beef on and a set of knives for us to cut our beef with. The server did a brief introduction on each knife and we chose a knife from France and a knife from Japan. We chose sissy knives; should have gone for the two big knives in the middle.

We also received a selection of salts from around the world to accompany the beef.

Then came the beef. This was recommended for sharing between two people and it was huge. There was also a chef’s beef tasting plate recommended for sharing between three people. The beef was good but I think it would have been really good if they didn’t overcook it because we asked for medium rare and this was definitely medium well. It was cooked a bit too well for both of our likings.

We tried each piece with various salts and sauces and they were all great. I liked that you could make one cut of beef taste so different from one piece to the next.

Two side dishes were included and we chose the fried chickpeas and mashed potatoes. The chickpeas didn’t taste like anything, mostly just fried dough. The mash potatoes on the other hand were rich, creamy, and buttery. I actually think they put a stick of butter in it (that’s a good thing). Definitely get the mashed potatoes because they are delicious and complement the beef.

Thanks, S.

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