Shanghai

It was the very first Western restaurant in Shanghai: Jimmy's Kitchen opened for business in the 1920s and its enterprising founder, retired US naval officer Jimmy James, had a simple strategy - he put all the time-tested dining classics from different countries into one menu.

The restaurant soon became the place where sailors from the United States, Germany, France and Russia would head straight to as soon as they got off the ship, because at Jimmy's, they could always find the flavor of home.

In the year when Jimmy's partner Aaron Landau took the brand to Hong Kong, the same scene happened again. Unlike the original in Shanghai, which unfortunately closed in the 1940s, Jimmy's Kitchen in Hong Kong has lived on and evolved into a dining institution that now has several outlets.

Now, Jimmy's has come full cycle, and two months ago, Jimmy's Kitchen Shanghai opened at a historic location, the Jin Jiang Hotel in the former French Concession.

The enduring appeal of Jimmy's is what makes fathers feel so comfortable. Dark wooden floors, leather and velvet chairs, shutters and chandeliers not only create a warm and cozy ambience, but they also reflect the taste of the old Shanghai gentry of yore.

"It's always been a family restaurant. In Hong Kong, the restaurant has a history of that," says Grant Baird, the operations director of Epicurean Group who takes care of all Jimmy's outlets in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

"I've seen fathers bring their sons and daughters here. When sons and daughters get married, they bring their own children along. And finally, they bring their fathers back," he says.

For Father's Day this year, Jimmy's Kitchen has prepared a special four-course set menu. It features the restaurant's all-time best dishes, including chicken Kiev, beef Wellington, cured Norwegian salmon fillet and traditional bread-and-butter pudding.

Baird strongly recommends chicken Kiev, a deep-fried breaded chicken breast that will ooze an explosion of melted butter, garlic and parsley when the first cut is made.

Other classic dishes include the baked escargots, fish and chips, Madras curry and mulligatawny soup, a Jimmy's specialty.

For a spectacular end to the family meal, nothing is better than Jimmy's baked Alaska, a dessert with ice cream on top of a sponge cake base that is smothered in meringue. It is quickly baked and served doused in brandy, which is then flambed at the table.

Going to Jimmy's is also a walk down memory lane. Photos on the wall include images of old Shanghai and a picture of the famous Jimmy James.

The Father's Day set menu, available for both lunch and dinner, is priced at 388 yuan per person with a 10 percent service charge.

China Daily