Jimmy's Kitchen @ Central

After staying home for 4 days straight, surviving on congee and bread only due to sickness, it was time for some "food"! I need to regain some energy. I wasn't sure eating steak was a smart idea on the first day after recovery; but hey, my craving for some meat won the debate against my hesitation. My friends and I decided on Jimmy's Kitchen @ Central because it was close to work and for me, it was my first me to visit the Central outlet. My first impression was that the whole place has been upgrade and renovated for sure because it looked very familiar, just like the new Jimmy's Kitchen @ TST. I think at least some kind of touch-ups have been carried out ... humm. (Please correct me if I am wrong about the recent renovation because it was my first time here) I guess the restaurant group (Epicurean Management) that operates the two outlets decided to align the decor and atmosphere of this classic franchise.



The interior decor is very elegant and upscale, with a touch of modernity if you ask me. Not as lavish as Amigo but definitely more elegant than Louis' Steak House. I regret not coming here before it was renovated (so I assumed). We were assigned a big semi circular sofa seat similar to that from Lawry's. Everything seemed so new to me, the seats, the wallpapers, the carpet and the fixtures. The plates and bowls are a different story because the logos on them were all wore out and etc.



Among the various kinds of bread being served, my favorite was the tomato and herb one. The flavors were light and would not overtake the bread and butter flavors. However, they should have keep them a bit warmer, one of the pieces was rather cold. (Note: Many of us ordered the same thing (ie: steaks) so the variation of dishes for this evening was not as wide as initially anticipated)



(1) Smoked Scottish Salmon
The presentation of this dish looked better than I imagined. It was pretty generous on the smoked salmon as well. Instead of using the most common small capers (aka Non-pareil), they used a slightly larger type which I assumed was capotes type of caper (or maybe even the bigger type as well). It was good in general but no particular surprises.



(2) Mixed Seafood Grill
Look at the size of the prawn and scallops! I did not try any but it certainly looked yummy enough. This dish somehow caused my craving for seafood especially the king prawns! Maybe it is about time go head back to Sharton's Oyster and Wine Bar for its Sunday Brunch.



(3) Rib Eye Steak
Beef is a good source of energy and I ordered my favorite cut, rib eye, as usual. As mentioned in previous reviews, upscale Hong Kong styled steak house has it own category and steak under this category is usually thinner than its Western count parts such as Ruth Chris or Morton's based on my personal experiences. One of the famous items from Jimmy's Kitchen is its Steak Diane which cannot be found that easily in Hong Kong. There is actually quite some history behind Steak Diane but I will go into it in more details next time I try it. For my rib eye, it was well prepared because it was Med-Rare as ordered, but a bit more "red juicy" (aka more rare) would be would wonderful. It was very tender and very beefy with strong beef flavor. Very good! The steak came with a selection of side dishes and sauces. I am not a big fan of sauces when having steak unless it was a classic or authentic way of preparing it such as Steak Diane. Among the selections, I picked one which I had no idea what it was, namely, Cafe de Paris Butter. Apparently, there is a big difference between Cafe de Paris sauce and Cafe de Paris butter, and according to wikipedia, the Cafe de Paris sauce has a bit of history to it as well. As for Cafe de Paris butter, the following is what i got from wiki:

Quite distinct from the classic Café de Paris sauce are various compound butters commonly referred to as Café de Paris butter. These typically contain a mixture of herbs, spices, and other condiments such as mustard, marjoram, dill, rosemary, tarragon, paprika, capers, chives, curry powder, parsley, shallots, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and anchovies, all whipped into the butter. The resulting compound butter is shaped into a roll using aluminium foil and chilled. When the dish is served, a piece of the butter is sliced off and allowed to melt on the hot meat.

As you can see from my pictures, no butter piece was sliced off on the hot meat but instead it was a sauce to be poured. I guess that was a varied style for this upscale Hong Kong steak house which has its own category.



(4) Baked Alaska

O yes, Baked Alaska, time for some flames !! Although the flames were smaller than expected, the whole thing looked way better than Louis' Steak House's in terms of presentation. Also, it was not too sweet, unlike Louis' one which gave me a sugar overdose. It was a pleasant and fulfilling dessert to complete our meal.

(5) Apple Crumbles

Not enough crumbles on top if you ask me but overall it was alright, the apple mixture was rich in flavor and it was a comforting dessert. What surprised most of us was the vanilla custard sauce which was wonderful! We basically cleaned out the sauce from the container. It was good enough by itself. Fattening it maybe, but it was so good!

Likes:

• Elegant decor and atmosphere
• Very Good Steak (among its competitors in the upscale Hong Kong styled steak house)
• Valina Custard Sauce (from the Apple Crumbles)

Dislikes:

• Bread a bit cold
• Apple Crumbles (not enough crumbles)

Avg Spending: Above HKD 500 per person

Jimmy's Kitchen
Basement, South China Building,
1- 3 Wyndham Stree, Central
Tel: 2526 5293
http://www.jimmys.com/


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