Top Deck at The Jumbo - (Hong Kong)

 The Jumbo is a floating boat restaurant on HK Island side that is published on Touristy books and promoted on the HK Tourism Board database -  a lot of us invited foodies today haven’t returned back to here for many years since childhood,  dating back for decades because even as locals we didn’t know what exactly to expect nowadays.   The Jumbo Deck is a bit out-dated and not many people willingly go back to explore again.   Wow I feel like I am an old Santas Claus lol!   The quite new Top Deck addition is part of Café Deco’s new adventure into this remote space and opening up a niche market to sell Modern European cuisine to try to lure in again new customers.  The location isn’t friendly enough to become a regular spot but  recently during October 2012, newcomer Chef Zero came to oversee and take charge of the entire kitchen team.   I think Top Deck was definitely one of the biggest surprises this year encountered and it shot right to the top as one of the best restaurants we ate at during 2012.   Apparently Chef Zero has trained in some very notable kitchens around the globe and this really manifested in the small attentions to detail in his food.  

 

You arrive in by Boat -
from some nearby piers.  Takes around 5-10 minutes.  It’s actually not far away from Causeway Bay but it’s on the other side of the mountain.








Front Bar -

 

Exotic Chinese Look,
for a Western Restaurant.  But the food is even more surprising..

 

Sculptures -
Rise of the Phoenix,  literally?  

Top Deck -
Rightfully named.

 

Porcini Butter and Normal Butter -
With warm fluffy bread rolls.


 

 

Marinated Botan-ebi Spot Prawns in White Balsamic,  Coriander,  Shallots,  Caper and Smoked Shrimp Oil – $188
This was really well balanced and despite the various add-ons,  the sweetness of the prawns still managed to manifest thru.  Very sensible.  ~  9/10

Salted Cod Fish soup with Spanner Crab meat and Parsley Oil & Emulsion  – $155
This was served in an insulated Bodum glass and served quite warm,  it was again well balanced between the salt cod flavour vs the subtle yet sweet Spanner crab pieces.  One of the best soups I remember having in Hong Kong as so many places get the Bacalao Salted Cod dishes wrong.  ~ 9/10

 

Some NZ Marlborough Pinot to start off the 2nd part of the night -

Obviously not an Anti-Griddle Machine -

 

Roasted Boneless Spring Chicken,  with Morels,  Leek Custard, Smoked Shrimp Cracker,  Red Wine Reduction,  Pommery Mustard Mash and Fondant Truss Tomatoes – $178
The chicken breasts were soooo tender and tasty,  and rolled into very pretty shapes.  Sous-Vide low temp cooked for around 40-50 minutes with seasoning and butter.  The skin was browned to enhance the flavour.  The mini-morel mushrooms and the leek custard,  with the smoked shrimp crackers enhanced the whole experience.   ~  9/10

 

Japanese Wagyu Rump with Roasted Onion Jam,
Horseradish Cream,  Caramelized Endive and Confit Potatoes – $298
Cooked Medium,  this was so meaty flavourful but carrying good wagyu fat taste as well!  I swore this was F1 Wagyu x Angus if u asked me.  A lot of places serve weak in meat taste wagyus,  but this was melt in your mouth but flavourful!  Can’t rave enough about this and with the very appropriate caramelized endive with both sweetness and slight bitter note to balance it all.  And at $298 this beats most steaks out there at 2 times the price.   ~  9/10

We smelt Fries being served on the next table..  and that was like 10 metres away! -
So we ordered some Pomme Frites just because we were too jealous.  At $45 a Pop these were fried well and I honestly wouldn’t mind if it came with some very very eggy Mayo dip as a selling point as well. 

 

Dark Chocolate Mousse,  Hazelnut and Coconut Soil,  Wild Rice and Pop Candy,  Yoghurt Chips,  Kumquat Marshmallows and Raspberry Sorbet – $79
The popping candies were expected these days.  But the fried wild rice and very sour ‘twisted’ Marshmallows really made my day!   Some people complained that this was too sour especially with the Yoghurt powder coating on top but for me it was very Kumquat-like and very natural,  not too sugary.   ~  7/10




 

Chocolate Fondant – with Chocolate Glaze Hazelnut Ice Cream $79
Not very melty but this wasn’t one of the chocolate ganache filled versions but the proper half-baked desserts.  At least it was crispy on the outside.  It seems like everyone wants a half flowing fondant,  mi-cuit or coulant whatever the language.  I really feel sorry as a Hong Konger. The most traditional version is just half-baked with chocolate with flour and not one with an easy ganache filling to make it artificially flow with ease... Truly embarrassing to a true baker!  ~  8/10

 

The overall food was rather Excellent,  I would say it was WOW if not the nature of this meal being an Invitational nature and I didn’t pay.  But even if I did it was affordable  -
Everything was cooked to it’s intents.  I mean you could go visit some so-called Michelin 2-3 Star restaurants in town and still come away being yawned or dissatisfactory.  Call me being a skeptic  but the food here was exactly as it intended to be, well planned and followed up with execution.  Thanks to Chef Zero as he was very well taught and also inspirational all by his own.

 

 

 

 

Price: HKD $400-500 per Person.
Ease of Access:   3/5  (Come past Causeway Bay.  Ride a boat for FREE to Jumbo’s Top Deck.)
Food:   ♕♕♕♕ 1/2 to  ♕♕♕♕♕  (Meal at Bloggers Event.  But will be back again soon.)

Opening Hours:
Tues to Fri  - 12:00pm - 00:00am
Sat to Sun -  11:00pm - 00:00am

Address:  香港仔黃竹坑深灣碼頭珍寶海鮮舫頂層
Top Floor Jumbo Kingdom, Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen
Ph: 2552 3331