When Australian restaurateur Michelle Garnaut opened M on the Bund 25 years ago, she was considered a pioneer for venturing into uncharted territory in China – even after finding success in Hong Kong with M at the Fringe. But she believed Shanghai was ready to embrace her style of cuisine, hospitality and panache.
The irreverent independent restaurant at No 5 The Bund, whose signature dishes including crispy suckling pig, crab soufflé and pavlova, became known for its warm hospitality and panoramic views of Pudong, across the Huangpu River.
Expat and Chinese diners alike flocked to M on the Bund, and in the ensuing years it became a cultural salon, hosting the Shanghai International Literary Festival – attended by the likes of authors Amy Tan, Alan Hollinghurst and Gore Vidal – and holding chamber music concerts, fundraisers and pride parties.
One such patron was documentary filmmaker Luo Tong, who vividly remembers her first time at M on the Bund, for a Sunday lunch in 2001 – it was where she first met her future in-laws.
“Everything was very elegant. It was a beautiful sunny day. We were there around 11-ish, and my future mother-in-law was in a pretty, flowery dress. Everything we ordered, everything was delicately placed on the table, the plating and the taste was so nice. And we had some champagne,” she recalls fondly.
Luo frequently took friends and clients there, attended its many cultural events, and even screened one of her documentaries in the restaurant.
