Last night my wife and I planned to have a dinner together and we had decided to try out Jimmy’s Kitchen in the old Jinjiang Hotel on Maoming Lu. Late afternoon Sam Flemming got in touch with me to see if I knew a place that would still have a table available for him and his wife (if you don’t reserve in advance on a Friday night it’s almost impossible to still find a table in a good place), so we invited him to join us at Jimmy’s. He had also not been there yet and it turned out to be a good choice.
In the 1920s, 30s and 40s, Jimmy’s Kitchen was the place to be for good Western food in Shanghai. It was the first Western restaurant in town, and according to their advertising from those days the only one with a clean (open) kitchen. But in 1948, shortly before the Communist takeover, Jimmy packed his bags and left for Hong Kong, never to return to Shanghai.
But 63 years later Jimmy’s Kitchen is back – without Jimmy, who passed away back in 1990 in Dallas, Texas – but with a similar menu as the one from the old days and a similar ambiance. A huge menu with among others such classical items as Borscht, Lobster Bisque and French Onion soup in the soup section. Prawn Cocktail, Home Cured Norwegian Salmon, Fresh (French) Oysters, Iberico Ham and Foie Gras (parfait or pan friend) as appetizers. And in the classical main course section among others Steak Tartar, Chicken Kiev, Beef Stroganoff and Ox Tail Pot au Feu! There is also a large choice in curries and pasta and rice dishes, plus fresh fishes (from Fish and Chips to Boston Lobster!)
I decided to go for the Mulligatawny (an Anglo-Indian lightly spicy curry soup), that came recommended by the manager. For my main course my choice was a good old Tenderloin. Jimmy’s has a broiler that prepares the meat at 650 Celsius and the result was excellent. Together with the side dishes and two bottles of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon I was so full that I decided to skip the dessert menu (think Hot Sticky Date Pudding!) and just have some coffee.
Jimmy’s Kitchen location in the renovated old wing of the JinJiang hotel feels exactly right. The restaurant is a bit dark inside with leather seats and booths and soft lightning, reminding me of good US steak house. The service is top, waiters speak good English and are very attentive. Not something you can take for granted in all of Shanghai’s top restaurants.
We had a very enjoyable dinner. Not only was the food great, but also the conversations with Sam and Vennie were interesting and entertaining (and a lot of what we said was unbloggable). We decided to stay away from business topics as much as possible, talking more about developments in the Chinese Internet world and (long-term) plans for the future. We seem to have more in common than I realized. A nice evening in a great setting. I’ll be back.
Great recommendation. I’ve frequented Jimmy’s Kitchen in Hong Kong Tsimshatsui (its near our offices) for years and I didn’t know they originally started in Shanghai. I’ll try next week when in town. Thanks – Chris
Thanks for the heads up on what looks like a nice Western restaurant in Shanghai. I checked out the menu, I assume those prices are in RMB, despite the dollar sign? Lobster bisque sounds awesome, how much does that Boston lobster go for? I would like to check this place out next time I am in Shanghai.
Yes, the prices are in RMB, otherwise it would be *very* expensive. Nice blog by the way, tried to add it to my RSS reader but could not find a feed (I don’t want to subscribe by email), is there one?
Yah that would be very expensive, but nothing surprises me in Shanghai. I do have a feed… thanks for the heads up, I was doing some construction on the blog and that disappeared. But I now have it back up.