Cha's
1/F, 30 Sinan Lu,
Huaihai Zhong Lu
near Huaihai Zhong Lu
思南路30号1楼
近淮海中路
6093-2062
Open Daily 11am-2am
Price Y100-Y199 per couple
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- City Weekend says
This Cantonese "cha canting" is a throwback to the 1950s, boasting dishes from crispy roast chicken to macaroni and spam in broth and fishball soup. The tiled floor, cafeteria ambiance and straightforward menu of skillfully recreated classic canto diner hits draws many curious expats and locals.
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Most Recent Reviews
I think that this place has lost something, though I'm not sure what it is. The food is still pretty good. Has it gone down in quality from a year ago? I really couldn't say. Locals will still queue simply because there is a queue to eat there, so they feel the need to follow, as usual. Yet as of now, it isn't worth a special trip to Sinan Rd just to eat there.
If you like Hong Kong cuisine you can go check it out, but I think that the place is overhyped. Every time I've been there I had to stand in line, with the food turning up to be good, but nothing to get so excited about.
Met some friends there and caught the end part of dinner, so didn't really get to try a variety of dishes. But from what I ate, I didn't notice anything special. Maybe I am just used to Hong Kong/Cantonese food. A long line of people waiting on a Saturday night which I would not have waited on. A very simple and basic place to grab some food, I probably would not have noticed it if I were just walking on the street. The people I were with seemed to really like the place but I think it is over hyped just because it is Hong Kong styled.
My favorite Cantonese joint in town. the shrimp toasts are pretty bad ass.
finally decided to drop by cha restaurant after hearing so much about it. first time experience was good. the food not bad too. but the service was poor. being busy is not an excuse for poor customer service. it's just like another coffee shop in HK or singapore though. noisy environment and they should ban smoking. hate being a passive smoker while eating. argh! i like the sweet and sour pork. yummy. and also the 28RMB set meal. i thought that was quite worthy. will be back for the pineapple butter buns but i hope the service improves for my next visit.
LOVE love love the pineapple buns with a fat pat of butter!!
heard quite alot about this place from my friends and also it's "must try" dishes. really didnt expect to see such a huge crowd in the restaurant. i like the hk feel in the restaurant where we have to queue for our number and share tables with others. My husband and I tried the sweet and sour ribs, which was not on the main menu. Try it! its so good, that im definitely going back there again.
Sad to see that Cha's is following the foot steps of the other restaurants that have all failed in Shanghai. Beginning with good food & great popularity, and within or shortly after a year turning into a mediocre restaurants using cheaper substitutes yet maintaining the same price.
Went and ordered the noodle with pork and bean sprouts today, only to find the pork has been substituted with something white, looks like pork fat but tastes like flour and powder. After finding out manager on duty is NOT on duty (funny right?), the next person in line came and got a server to argue with me about how it IS indeed pork and only different from normal because it's been washed under water (ORLY?). I challenged him to get a pair of chopsticks, sit down next to me, take a bite and tell me if it actually tastes like pork, he refused for 15 minutes, finally gave in because I wouldn't, tasted it, and shut up on the spot. I told him unless he's tasted it, he can't argue with me on what the chef said because I'm sure we all know what pork tastes like. If it's white, it has no consistency, not even chewy one bit, tastes like powder, chances are it's not pork!
VERY disappointed with how low the quality of food at Cha's has sank to. My friends has complained to me about it recently and I didn't believe it until today. Let's hope the owner or whoever is in charge smarten up before the customers do.
A 1950's style Hong Kong cafe, Cha's is easily missable on the street if you haven't been there before. 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, and at dinnertime during the week.
Try their Milo as well as their famous Hong Kong milk tea. They're perfectly mixed and delish!
The Instant Noodles with Sichuan Pork is AWESOME!!!! Hong Kong's famous for their instant noodle concoctions and this was spot on. Really tasty, with just the right amount of spice.
The Noodles with Beef Brisket 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 is a must-order for us. 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.
Dont' forget their Bo lo bao aka pineapple bun - a crispy, sweet bun with a pat of butter half melted inside.
Recently I noticed their food quality has slightly dropped in our past 2 visits. I hope this is just a phase....
Photos here: http://beverly.livejournal.com/756468.html
This place has a distinct old-school feel about the modern, new and clean deccor. We were greated freindly on the street and taken to a table. We enjoyed fastastic noodles which were first to arrive, the chicken in soy and the roast chicken were both tasty and presented well. The vegetable dishes were all well seasoned and cooked just till they wilted so they retained their fresh taste and a little crunch. Don't skip dessert the pineapple bun that you spread very generously with butter was the standout for the evening!! Definitly recommend! Price 160y each with few imported beers each.
Love this place - the line up is worth it!
Best local Hong Kong food in Shanghai!
finally a great Canto cha canting in Shanghai. i seriously feel like i'm back in HK when i'm here. the prices are more than reasonable though some of the food may not be top notch quality. but that's the whole point of a cha canting - great flavor, great value and a place you don't ever have to worry about breaking the bank at. the decor is awesome. they could teach Tsui Wah a thing or two.
Try the chicken in soy sauce...it's our find of the week!
http://cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/articles/mag-sh/find-otw/chicken-soy-good/
A HK friend brought me there last week. When you come to a place like this, taste is secondary to me (though they still get a passing grade for taste), love the decor. Feels like we had traveled back to the 70/80s. Very nice crowd. We have enjoyed the evening, and I'll sure bring my friends here next time.
Fantastic HK diner food. Limited menu means that what they offer is done right.
Just like the coffeeshops of olde days gone by, this place will bring tears to any homesick HKer or Singaporean. Love the attention to detail from the Green Spot fridge at the entrance, the tiled floors we used to play on as kids and the retro toilets.
Don't expect upscale gourmet Cantonese food at the prices here. Unlike the original review, I would suggest sticking to the excellent HK comfort food. You will not find a better XO sauce carrot cake or stir fry noodles in this town. My HK friends were drooling over the luncheon meat sandwiches and chicken sausage in the 28RMB set meal. Remember to save room for the pineapple butter buns buns.
New Eats | Hong Kong Hits
The city’s latest obsession is a dowdy homage to the classic Hong Kong cha canting with smudged glass tables, art deco stained glass accents and tiled floors already grungy from legions of diners enjoying their meals under the fluorescent lights. Cha resembles your danwei’s cafeteria more than your usual glitzy Cantonese restaurant, but, then again, it isn’t trying to be the next Crystal Jade with its humble menu of blue-collar hits , ranging from customizable wonton, fish ball and noodle soups to crispy roast chicken and comical fusion dishes like spam and macaroni in soup.
With a resident Hong Kong native in tow, we (meticulously) ate through every section of the menu. We began with a spread of dishes to pair with our steamed jasmine rice: silken tofu with scallops (¥36), Chinese okra in fish soup (¥28), ox tongue curry (¥32) and a whole claypot of pork in preserved mustard (¥36). Each was on a different wavelength of delicious.
The tofu was by far the crowd favorite–every delicate, fresh square was topped with a large, equally silken slice of scallop and finished with just a tad of black bean sauce. The intimidatingly huge portion of braised pork in mustard had a wonderfully gluttonous mouthfeel due to almost 50/50 fat and lean meat ratio and saucy greens perfect for dredging our rice with. The curry was a bit greasy, though flavorful with coconut and generous chunks of soft ox tongue. The faintly sweet okra in bland, tepid fish stock was relegated to the back burner.
Of course, we couldn’t leave without trying Cha’s version of the classic macaroni, spam and soup concoction (¥18). It wasn’t quite delicious with a bright yellow broth that tasted distantly of chicken, but the macaroni and fried, salty spam made the dish oddly comforting, like gussied up Campbell’s chicken soup. We finished our meal with another quintessential treat–pineapple buns (¥6 each) with delicate, crumbly crusts and fresh baked sweet bread underneath.
Joanne Yao