The Return of Jimmy’s Kitchen

Now China Rhyming is not the place for restaurant reviews, nor is China Rhyming in any way qualified to provide them. But let joy be unremitting in that someone, a Hong Kong food/restaurant group in fact, is reopening a place called Jimmy’s Kitchen, once the legendary western restaurant/diner of Shanghai.

A couple of Jimmy’s references – here on Shanghaiist with a sample menu from the old days and another here with an advert for the specials from China Rhyming back in 2009. In the old days the place was considered affordable by most – while it’s not top end by any means for Shanghai these days it is probably beyond the pay packets of any visiting soldiers on a 48 hour pass.

What is nice to see is that the old Jinjiang Hotel (formerly Victor Sassoon’s Grosvenor Mansions) is finally being used sensibly. When I visited a couple of weeks ago I walked through the usual faux marbled and poorly designed lobby up into the hotel bar, which was as dreary, overpriced and deserted as ever with cheap B&Q-style garden furniture, overlit, bored and shabby staff and tiny cups of crap coffee for extortionate prices served luke warm – what we’ve come to expect from all Jinjiang hotels. I stepped into Jimmy’s Kitchen on the same floor and the place was jumping with lively conversation, laughter and staff (admitted still being trained) who were universally friendly and giving it their best shot. The contrast was quite staggering – a professional restaurant within a hotel that, frankly, hasn’t changed since the 1980s. That’s progress right there I suppose.

And it’s taken me a couple of weeks to find this picture – Jimmy’s is re-opening with a party tonight so I’m just in time with the pic of the old Jimmy’s (bottom right) down on Nanking Road in its hey-day.