Restaurant Review #3 – Jumbo Kingdom – Top Deck
JUMBO KINGDOM, ABERDEEN HARBOR, Hong Kong, SAR, China – Situated in the middle of Aberdeen harbor is the world-famous floating restaurant known as Jumbo Kingdom. This boat is also one of the staples of Hong Kong. It has four different floors each housing a different restaurant. Upon arrival in Aberdeen this was my first stop. There are two ways of reaching the restaurant and both are by ferry service. One of the boats leaves from the Aberdeen Promenade and it is marked by a large archway that simply says “Jumbo” on it. The second ferry departs from the Shum Wan Pier near the Aberdeen Marina Club. The ferries are constantly shuttling people between the mainland and the restaurant and depart approximately every five minutes. After a quick five minute boat trip, you arrive at the restaurant. Along the way, make sure to take in the numerous fishing vessels that clutter the harbor and are reminiscent of Aberdeen’s past. The floating restaurant is extremely popular with both tourists and locals.
Each restaurant is fairly large and has a good number of seats available. The first three restaurants serve various types of Chinese food. One specializes in Dim Sum. The third restaurant is fairly expensive. The restaurant located on the top of the restaurant is called Top Deck, this is where I ate. Upon first entering the boat, I found the decorations within the floating restaurant to be extremely ornate. Yet the Top Deck restaurant had an extremely laid back feel. I went on a Sunday, which is when the Top Deck holds their brunch buffet. For $440 HKD (approximately $55 USD), you get all you can eat from the buffet until they close. You also receive your choice of sparkling wine, champagne, rosé, or various juices. Whichever drink you choose, you will receive unlimited refills, however, any other drink you order, you will be forced to pay additionally by the glass. While this may seem expensive for a student living on a budget, it is definitely worth checking out at least once.
The food available here ranged from various cuisines. I stuck with breakfast foods. I started with the eggs Benedict and ham with a side of naan bread, unlimited bacon, a Peking duck burrito, and the lamb. This food was unbelievable, it was also the first time that I have had eggs in four months, and bacon has never tasted so good. For my second helping, I again went with the eggs Benedict, but I also piled on some of the asian cuisine offered. They had fresh hand rolled sushi and sashimi, as well as all you could eat oysters on the half shell. There were many other aspects to the raw bar, including queen crab legs and New Zealand mussels. There was also a desert bar with fresh made crepes. Aside from the food, the Top Deck also had a full bar, serving jumbo sized drinks. I honestly cannot recommend this restaurant enough, everything I had was delicious and it was definitely worth the price.
The Top Deck operating hours:
Tuesday – Friday:
5PM-12AM
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays:
11AM- til late
Monday:
CLOSED
You can find this restaurant by taking bus #70 from exchange square three in central (exit D out of the Hong Kong station). Get off of bus #70 at the Aberdeen promenade and walk along the water until you reach the archway that says Jumbo.
Location:
Middle of Aberdeen harbor
Jumbo Kingdom
Jumbo Kingdom #2
View from Top Deck Restaurant
Top Deck Restaurant
Interior of Jumbo Kingdom
Interior of Jumbo Kingdom #2
Jumbo drink
Round #1
Aberdeen
ABERDEEN, Hong Kong, SAR, China – Located at the southern end of Hong Kong island, Aberdeen was once a fishing village. Today, like most of Hong Kong, it is dwarfed by newly built high rises and other buildings. It is slowly becoming an part of history. The village of Aberdeen is built along the water. Many of the people here used to live on their boats and use fishing as a way of life. To this day there are still many people living here that fish. This is evidenced by the number of fishing boats that are located in the harbor. The people that used to live and fish in Aberdeen used to almost never leave the their boats for their entire life.
Aside from the a nice stroll along the harbor promenade, Aberdeen is home too a couple of tourist features. The first is Jumbo Kingdom or the Jumbo Floating Restaurant (review to come later). There is also a temple located near the harbor as well as shopping area in Aberdeen square. Older women are also walking about the promenade offering tours of the harbors on sampans. The prices of these tours will vary based on how busy the area is on a given day. I was offered a ride for $40 HKD (approximately $5 USD).
Boat Shop – Aberdeen Harbor
Yachts – Aberdeen Harbor
More fishing boats
fishing boat and high rises
Fishing boat #3
fishing boat #4
Fishing boat #5
The Lost Traveler 