The Place
With the runaway success of Charlie’s Burger, the no-holds-barred fast food indulgence temple founded by restaurateur Charles Zeng in 2015, any subsequent younger siblings would always have big pants to fill. Such is the case with The Milkshake Bar, opened just a few doors down from its big brother Charlie’s. Judging from the high-calorie menu of gently elevated comfort food, it looks like The Milkshake Bar will be growing into said pants in no time at all.
The Food
As the name suggests, milkshakes are front and center. Served in generous tall glasses, they are adorned with whipped cream, and embellished with cookie crumbles on the outside. We saw one with a whole slice of red velvet cake perched on top. The peanut butter brownie milkshake (RMB65, above) is as decadent as it sounds, and we’d recommend sharing one if you’re not intent on spoiling your appetite completely.
Other triumphs include the 8oz sous-vide wagyu cheeseburger (RMB75) – a cut above the offerings at Charlie’s in terms of flavor and quality. The patties undergo a sous-vide (slow cooking) treatment before being fried, and the result is an even medium rare texture with a strong beefy flavor.
The quality of the former outshines the Milkshake Bar's meatball sliders, which we found a little mushy for our palates, though the marinara sauce, fresh basil and melted cheese do give it a hearty profile.
Pepperoni mac ‘n’ cheese (RMB75) is breakup food at its finest. Once the pizza-esque topping is plunged through with a fork, fusilli spirals wallow in a cheese-rich pool of liquid heartbreak.
The Bolognese (RMB55) offers a more classic side to Italian-American pastas (minus the sprig of mint), its meaty red-sauce basicness evoking the charms of Little Italy.
The fun comes screeching to an abrupt halt once a bungled order sees the ‘house salad’ (RMB55) arrive instead of one dressed with blue cheese and bacon. Grotesquely sweet vinaigrette and orange slices don’t play nicely with the bitterness of the kale leaves, but worse was the fridge-cold slow-cooked egg in the middle. When the bacon blue cheese salad did arrive, it was also sweet and with a cold egg on it.
These frigid, snot-like eggs make appearances in multiple Milkshake Bar dishes (avocado toast, Bolognese, salads), and we unanimously agree that there is never an occasion at which an egg should be eaten at such a temperature.
The warm cookie skillet (RMB45) looked fantastic, but was dry, crumbly and didn't come through on the gooey, fudgey promises you might expect from such a dessert. Save your sweet tooth for a mikshake.
Food verdict: 2/3
The Vibe
While the menu goes full-throttle into the comfort food theme, the atmosphere at the Milkshake Bar seems somewhat stuck in the past from its former Americana life as the Captain Rooster sports bar. A tyre on a chain hangs with a small potted plant in it; chalk writing on the window invites men to be dropped off at ‘husband daycare center.’ At some point, a gang of confused expats come in asking if this is indeed the Milkshake Bar.
Ultimately, it's a tough call whether we'd choose this place over Charlie's just a few doors down, since both do great burgers and milkshakes, the latter for a better price.
Vibe verdict: 1.5/2
Total Verdict: 3.5/5
Price: RMB120-250 per person
Who’s going: mainly expats
Good for: milkshakes, burgers
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