Review of 'Jumbo Kingdom (NOW CLOSED)'
Known the world over, Jumbo Kingdom or Jumbo Floating Restaurant is a landmark restaurant found in Aberdeen Harbour. The lights that cover almost all surfaces of this barge permanently moored in the harbour are easy to stop from miles away. I have visited many times in the past as it is a fun place to visit and the food is not half bad either…You pay for the novelty of the restaurant with the owners going for expensive and unusual dishes throughout the menu though if you visit for lunch it can be somewhat cheaper.
We visited for dinner.
Arriving by taxi you are dropped at a brightly lit dock where frequent (free) ferries operate to and from the restaurant. After taking the obligatory pictures we hopped on board the comfortable small boat for the short 5 minute trip across to the restaurant. It drops you at the front entrance which has two large gold dragons on either side and a water fountain in the water outside. We were directed to the first floor for our evening restaurant and we climbed the massive stairs covered with red carpet throughout and spectacular mural on the wall.
Offered an inside table or an outside we chose the later which put us on a narrow balcony having only about 3 tables and looking down at the ferry as it travelled back and forth throughout the evening. Ok, it was quite warm being outside but it was certainly more interesting than the nice, but not terribly unusual, interior.
I started with the Hot and Sour Seafood soup which was very tasty - Lots of prawns and just the ride side of spicy. We shared a starter of deep-fried squid with garlic and peppers which came on a massive platter that we worked our way through even as our mains started arriving on the table. The squid was perfectly cooked - not chewy with massive flavour given by the garlic and peppers.
For our mains we had mixed vegetables with cashews (lots of cashews but fairly bland), belly of pork cut into elegant even squares (delicious and juicy), and lemon chicken (a half order but wonderfully tasty, succulent, juicy and crunchy - nothing like what you might get in a western Chinese takeaway restaurant).
I had the Mango Pudding with cream for dessert which was nice but nothing compared to the rest of the meal.
This was by far the best meal I have ever had at Jumbo. True, at more than $1,330 it was not the cheapest either but I certainly left a lot happier than I have in the past. The food quality is amazing and the service was pretty much faultless with our tea being topped up at all times. The whole experience was relaxing, elegant and very enjoyable. We had a wonderful evening.
If you do visit, be sure to walk around to the back to see the aquariums where they keep the live seafood. It is amazing to see what is on offer - Beautiful looking produce and even some more unusual items on offer. If you are wealthy you can even buy it from them if you want.
I will, no doubt, be back.
NOTE: (From Wikipedia) On 14 June 2022, the Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed out of Hong Kong to Cambodia to await a new operator. While transiting in the South China Sea, it experienced bad weather and capsized near the Paracel Islands on 19 June 2022. Its operator has denied describing it as sunk.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2013-10-08
Cuisine: Chinese
Address: Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Han, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Location: Hong Kong (China) - Aberdeen
Map:
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Telephone: +852 2553-9111
URL: https://www.jumbo.com.hk/