Jimmy's Kitchen @ TST

Tonight was my first visit to Jimmy's Kitchen @ TST since it moved to street level from the floor above. One thing for sure, it was way easier to find! It modernized itself with a bar area in front of the dining area which would certainly increase happy hour business which they did not have before in my opinion. However, the modernized layout and location did take away the exclusivity element compared with the old venue. Anyhow, I was here for Happy Hour this Friday evening.



It was a long week, at least it seemed long to me. Someone asked me why I "sigh" so much lately and I can't help myself but to wonder as well. So what is the cause of the "sigh-ing"? Where should I start ... the list can go on and on and on and on ... longer than the Energizer bunny can play its drum. (Maybe a monthly mood swing?) Sometimes having a drink alone can be a good activity or good setting for personal reflections.

(1) Black Sheep Ale
For some odd reasons, I find myself constantly going against common trends such as supporting the underdog sport teams (just for the sake of supporting one) or picking something new and unfamiliar on the drink list. I never consider myself as an adventurous person yet I strive to differ and be unique at times. Maybe I am just too stubborn. Instead of picking the common beers, I opted for this Black Sheep Ale which I never tried before. It was love at first sight! ... Not because of the taste / flavors or texture but the bottle has the description of the ale already! - "Crisp, Dry & Bittersweet." It certainly saved me time to think of the right words to describe the ale. Well, how accurate was the description? It was Dry and Bittersweet for sure but I am unable to experience what it meant by Crisp. How can liquid be crisp? I have much to learn indeed!



(2) Fuller's London Porter
Moments of personal reflection can be dull and boring at times, so I chatted with the waitress for some recommendations for snacks and another ale / beer. She recommended me this London Porter because it is her personal favorite. She warned / informed me that the Porter is a dry stout beer similar to that of Guinness but since I am a fan of stout, I was fine with it. Apparently stout was said to be derived from porter beer but their history are intertwined according to wiki. Is it a trend of UK's marketing traditions to include detailed description of the drink on the bottle? Well, as long as the description is accurate, I am more than happy to read it. For the Porter, the description says: Rich, Dark & Complex. It was very rich in flavors with strong traces of chocolate and coffee taste as well. Very complex it was! I enjoyed it very much, better than Guinness actually because its flavors were richer, stronger and most importantly, less thick / creamy compared with Guinness. Thumbs up!



(3) The Ploughman's Platter
(smoked ham, cheese, coleslaw, pickled egg, fruit chutney, apple and crusty bread)
If you are a fan of pickled items, this is definitely one of your favorite dish! In addition to the items listed on menu, there were some pickled beetroots, pickled fruit chutney and slightly pickled salad. So many things were pickled. I like pickled stuff very much but I think some items here were overly sour, ie: pickled eggs. Aside from the pickled issue, I have to say that the portion was rather generous indeed especially with the number of sliced cheeses. I wish they can give me more bread to go along with the pickled items. Good that there were some sliced granny apple and tomatoes to balance the sour flavor. It was definitely an upgraded version of a ploughman's lunch.



So what did I get out of this personal reflection moment? Nothing, absolutely nothing, NIL and zip! Maybe another session is needed with stronger drinks like whiskey or wines. In the meantime ... SIGH ...

Likes:

• environment and great service
• a good list of less common ales / stout / porter

Dislikes:

• Too many pickled items for the ploughman's platter.

Avg Spending: HKD 100 - 200 per person

Jimmy's Kitchen
Shop C & C1, G/F Kowloon Centre,
29 Ashley Road, TST
Tel: 2376 0327