Glamour Bar: Exterior/entrance to the building; Entrance to Glamour Bar; Part of the interior and looking out at the Bund from the bar
The two venues my family and I went to this particular — Glamour Bar and M on The Bund — are part of the M Restaurant Group. These two luxurious places are not pretentious but definitely swanky and if you are a Western expat, it mostly makes you feel like home with the cordial service and familiar Continental fare and drinks. These two are meant to impress anyone you need or want to knock their socks off with the views and they are popular spots to hang out and be there to be seen.
If you ever need a cocktail with stunning views of The Bund of Shanghai is the Glamour Bar. Opened in 2006, the pink lit bar makes it a distinctive part of the M Restaurant Group. Framed by classic arched windows showcasing the Pudong skyline, Glamour, as it is affectionately known, is divided into a Wine Bar, Champagne Bar and Cocktail Bar, each elegantly furnished with retro velvet armchairs, chaises-longues and Art Deco lamps. It’s a sophisticated setting of stylish, comfortable elegance, ideal for relaxed early evening cocktails, lingering over drinks and small bites, or late night drinks and socializing.
My family and I went in for pre-dinner drinks and take in that jaw dropping view of The Bund. We sipped on cocktails of Secret Garden (118 RMB) made of Hendrick’s Gin, elderflower, lychee, apple and lemon juice, Mango Sparkler (98 RMB) a mixture of Absolut Elyx, mango purée topped with sparkling wine, Fly Me to the Moon (118 RMB) Absolut Vodka, Aperol, white cacao, orange juice, lychee juice, and bitters. (My mother wasn’t up for drinking and had sparkling water.) All of these cocktails were on the fruity side but it was balanced. We snacked on the gratis bar snacks of popcorn and sweet-salty potato chips (we’re saving space for dinner upstairs, M on The Bund).
Looking toward the restaurant; Looking down the Bund from the restaurant
When our dinner reservation rolled around, we headed up the next floor up to M on The Bund (Chinese name: 米氏西餐厅). Since it’s a beautiful night out we opted for outdoor seating on the rooftop/terrace area of the restaurant. Needless to tell you, the unobstructed views of The Bund is breath taking. The first thing you’d see when walking to the terrace is that large photo on the header of this post (link). The M on The Bund is an institution to the city. Buzzy but classy decor. The mentioned stunning views. Very solid Continental fare and friendly yet professional service.
Our spread; Pig Platter
We dived into the generously portioned but delicious main courses. My father loves pork so he opted for the M’s Pig Platter (288 RMB) composed of crispy suckling pig, braised pork belly, and pork neck confit served with roasted baby carrots and new potatoes. The pork was succulent, moist and tasty with the right amount of crispiness. The vegetables were cooked perfectly and gave the dish a subtle earthiness.
My brother had the smoked duck breast and tortelli of duck liver parfait with shiitake mushrooms, pea purée (248 RMB), a large bowl of trio large, al dente tortelli (like the size of a toddler’s hand) filled with a creamy, slight livery flavor from the duck liver filling. The smoked duck breast was nicely tender and not too smoky and was balanced with the sweet pea purée and earthy, meaty shiitake mushrooms.
I opted for their signature baked salt encased leg of lamb (288 RMB) that arrives de-boned and piled up in large chunks, served with root vegetables and a pot of aioli. The lamb tastes very good on its own but the aioli does bring the dish together and adds more moisture.
My mother wanted fish so she opted for the hot house smoked salmon on celeriac purée with sautéed spinach and a slow-cooked egg, topped with Baltic salmon eggs (288 RMB). This dish is a substantial, dinner version of a brunch dish I’m very familiar with (smoked salmon and eggs benedict). The salmon was moist and delicately smoky. The slow cooked egg was yolky enough to make the dish a bit more seductive and the salmon eggs gave it a briny “pop” texture.
M’s Truly Grand Dessert Platter; Signature Pavlova & Bottom tier of dessert platter
Of course, we saved room for dessert and went all out with M’s Truly Grand Dessert Platter (128 RMB per person). This two tier behemoth would satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth ranging from fruity to chocolate-y, ice creams to tarts. And of course, their sinfully divine pavlova. The fruity category would be their miniature custard and berry tart, mini porcelain cup of piping hot raspberry soufflé, and a wedge of pineapple upside down cake. The decadently creamy bittersweet chocolate croquant that could easily satiate your chocolate cravings in one bite. The trio of ice creams — raspberry, chocolate and vanilla — were not too sweet and delightful. The surprising item that got my mother’s attention was the large quenelle of lemon pudding topped with crushed rose petals. This pudding looked so understated but the flavors of lemon and rose merged so beautifully that it made us pretty amazed.
The huge slab of pavlova that topped this tier is the true star of this entire dessert spread. Crispy exterior meringue filled with a thick cloud of whipped cream, topped with vanilla custard sauce, various sweet-tart fruits dotted on top and large flecks of edible silver. You have many textures and temperatures in your mouth and it’s not so sweet that it entices you to keep on eating this delicious dessert.
To view more photos of these vists, please CLICK HERE or view the gallery below:
[alpine-phototile-for-flickr src=”set” uid=”26389565@N00″ sid=”72157647830226335″ imgl=”flickr” shuffle=”1″ style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”1200″ grheight=”800″ size=”640″ num=”30″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]Information:
Glamour Bar
Website
20 Guangdong Rd
6th Floor
Shanghai, China
Phone:+86 21 6350 9988
M on The Bund
Website
Same address as Glamour Bar but on the 7th Floor
