Sale of Jimmy's Kitchen to give restaurant a 'Chinese voice'

Jimmy's Kitchen, one of Hong Kong's dining institutions, is about to change hands in a break with more than 70 years of tradition.

Established in 1928, Jimmy's claims to be Hong Kong's oldest Western-owned restaurant and has been controlled by the same family since opening. But the chairman and majority shareholder, Neil Mackenzie, plans to sell a controlling stake to Sherman Tang's Epicurean Group.

No timetable for the planned sale has been set, but Epicurean will take over management of the Jimmy's Kitchen Group today in an interim arrangement.

Epicurean recently took over the lease at another historic establishment, the site of the former Peak Cafe which is now the Peak Lookout. Mr Mackenzie said the desire for a Chinese voice in management prompted the decision to involve Epicurean.

'Hong Kong has changed a hell of a lot in the last four or five years,' he said. 'I'm not talking the economy . . . It's a different place. It's not a British colony any more. Jimmy's has got to be part of the Hong Kong scene rather than the expat scene.'

Jimmy's Kitchen, in Central, has a British club atmosphere and is located in the South China Building in Wyndham Street. Its menu includes classic dishes such as chicken a la king, Waldorf salad and bread and butter pudding.

Mr Mackenzie said the new management was considering introducing an oyster bar, flying in better-quality raw produce, marketing more aggressively and hiring a chef to supervise all of the restaurants in the Jimmy's Kitchen and Epicurean groups.