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Shane_Currie

Picture: Aberdeen Harbour

A visit to Aberdeen Harbour isn't complete without stopping at the Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant. First established in 1976 the restaurant is modelled on a Chinese Imperial Palace complete with Golden Dragons at the entrance. Inside are 3 floors housing 4 different restaurants serving various styles of Cantonese food.

We elected to try the Dim Sum restaurant on the 3rd floor.

The reservation system was something of a experience in of itself. There is a small lectern behind which stands the reservations person, the most powerful person in the room. After fighting our way through the throng of expectant dinners; we have learnt that in HK you are not rewarded for standing back, we were given a numbered docket - Yellow 084. When I asked how long it would be I was told 1hr. We went for a walk around the various floors for 30mins after which I checked again...it was still 1hr. It reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry, George and Elaine are at the Chinese restaurant and every time they ask how long before they'll get a table they're told 10mins.

Making things more interesting was the fact she was calling the numbers in Chinese; one of the many languages we don't speak. So I stood close watching her work the reservation sheet checking off numbers as patrons were taken to their table; the fact some people had green tickets and some yellow was a little confusing, anyway our number finally came up.

After waiting over an hour for a seat we were directed down 1 level to the Dragon Court restaurant. I'm not sure why this occurred, perhaps the staff on the 3rd floor did not speak English. I did note that the 3rd floor restaurant didn't have any non-Chinese eating there.

Picture: Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Anyway we were directed to a VIP room in the Dragon Court which contained 6 tables. It was a little different to any Dim Sum I had had before; normally a procession of carts come around and you selection dishes off the carts. The Dragon Court present you with a menu and you make your selections off the menu.

You have the option of 2 menus choices, a la carte or traditional Dim Sum; we choose the Dim Sum. Our choices were;

1. Deep Fried Bean Sheet Roll with Fresh Shrimp (HK23/3pce)
2. Steamed Rice Noodle Roll Filled with BBQ Pork (HK25 per dish)
3. Steamed BBQ Pork Bun (HK18/3pce)
4. Deep Fried Wanton with Pickle Sauce (HK18/4pce)
5. Steamed Chicken Claw in Black Bean Sauce (HK18/6pce)
6. Baked Shrimp and Smoked Duck Meat Puff (HK23/3pce)
7. Deep Fried Mashed Squid with A-gar-gar (HK23/3pce)
8. Heineken Beers - Glass (HK140)

So 7 dishes and 4 beers cost us HK343.20 (inc. taxes) which isn't bad.

The quality of the food was excellent and the restaurant was clean and tidy; which is always reassuring.

After lunch you should not miss the opportunity to take a San Pan ride around Aberdeen Harbour. At only HK200 for about 20mlns you get a real insight into how tuff life is for the local fishermen and their families. Not only are their boats their livelihood they are also their homes. It really was a humbling experience to see how these relatively poor people live their lives. It makes you appreciate the fact we are lucky enough to be able to travel as much as we do.

Aberdeen Harbour Gallery

                Click here to view the Aberdeen Harbour Picture Gallery