Jimmy's Kitchen (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

All good things must come to an end. That's what we all learned after 2003 SARS. Likewise, it's inevitable that during this COVID-19 pandemic, we will lose some of our favorite restaurants in town. Following the abrupt closure of Jamie's Italian, Rech by Alain Ducasse and all 3 Gordon Ramsay restaurants (definitely not among my favorite), a number of Hong Kong's most beloved restaurants (past or present) will soon be making their curtain call as well. This includes She Wong Yee (蛇王二), Jimmy's Kitchen among others.



Jimmy's Kitchen has been a stalwart in Hong Kong's food scene serving up refined western dishes to celebrities and businessman for over 90 years. Honestly, I have not been to their original shop in Central so this was my first and likely last visit. This was a totally unplanned visit too as I was en route to Four Seasons Hotel to pick up my pastries. It really came out of left field.



Like we always do these days, Jelloman getting things ready for our meal by spraying electrolyzed water all over our cutlery and let them sit for a while.



English crab cake ($158) - I know for sure I won't be able to resist ordering their crab cake when I first saw it on the menu. 



I like the crispy batter. There were chunks of crab meat in there (and potato), which was nicely matched with a small salad and homemade tarragon mayonnaise. Not bad.



Lobster bisque ($92) - Less successful was the lobster bisque, which was reasonably flavorful but not nearly smooth and thick enough for me. Not my favorite dish of the afternoon, that's for sure.



Chicken Supreme "Kiev" ($208) - A gorgeous dish that looks like a classic shrimp toast (蝦多士).



I had a similar dish when I was visiting the Ukraine Pavilion at 2010 Shanghai World Expo almost a decade ago but this was a much fancier version.



It was served on a bed of garlic butter with baby carrots and broccoli on the side.



You can tell there's a lot of work involved in this one but sadly, it didn't live up to expectation. For one, it was really bland. Some salt (or seasoning) would really do this dish justice. And if I was allowed to introduce some modern twist to the dish, perhaps a thin slice of pancetta inside the crispy batter to go with the chicken fillet? That will really give the dish some extra bite and flavors to work with.



Pig's Knuckle ($228) - Baked with honey and cloves.



This was after the chicken supreme so I was already 80% full. Unlike the previous dish, it was well marinated and underneath the crispy skin, the meat was still tender and juicy. It's probably not going to be as popular as the beef wellington and chicken supreme here, but nevertheless not a bad choice. 

I thought this was really goodbye (officially 13th April which will be 3 days from now) but then I overheard the hostess answering a number of incoming calls and claiming that they were fully booked until 7th May. Could the storied restaurant be getting a second life?




Food Rating: 5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Basement, South China Building, 1- 3 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2526-5293
Website: www.epicurean.com.hk/restaurant/jimmys-kitchen
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 11:00pm daily