Jimmy’s Kitchen first opened in Hong Kong in 1928 and despite having moved homes quite a few times since, the ambience at Jimmy’s Kitchen in Central still retains its old-fashioned ambience. A cosy basement with leather banquettes, stone walls and a welcoming host all help to transport diners to a Hong Kong that ceased to exist half a century ago. Although one would expect the restaurant to be packed with tourists looking to get a bite of old Hong Kong, the crowd is packed with a regular crowd of businessmen, suggesting that Jimmy’s has more to offer than just a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The food served at Jimmy’s Kitchen is unabashedly colonial. Whereas could one find chicken Stroganoff (from Jimmy’s Shanghai days), calves liver, mulligatawny and Waldorf salad all on one menu? We start with a signature of French onion soup, a sweet rendition of a bistro classic. Served so hot that the onions were still causing blisters on our lips minutes after the bowl has been set down, this is a satisfyingly gooey start to the meal. For mains, we opt for veal cordon bleu and steak Diane. The deep-fried square of veal comes at a tepid temperature on a bed of enthusiastically steamed vegetables, an old classic that clearly has not been updated in decades. This is a similar case with the steak Diane, which comes smothered in so much brown sauce that it neatly obscures any flavour the steak might have had, or even the doneness it was cooked to. We found our dessert much more enjoyable: food purists might sniff that nothing beats a plain scoop of excellent vanilla ice cream. That is because they have not tried Jimmy’s Famous Satellite, where a scoop of ice cream is battered, deep-fried, set alight at the table with Grand Marnier and doused in chocolate sauce; possibly one of the most entertaining desserts we’ve tried this year.

Jimmy’s Kitchen has an extensive wine list: the majority is reasonably priced but there are also some real bargains to be found on its “ends of bins” list.

The majority of the staff at Jimmy’s Kitchen are male, portly and courteous. It is obvious that most have been with the restaurant for a long time and their experience shows. Service is efficient yet friendly.

A three-course meal for two with wine comes to about HK$1,200. Considering the ambience and its location smack in the middle of Central, this is not a lot to pay.