Queen Elizabeth, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li and Tom Cruise have all eaten at Hong Kong’s Jumbo Kingdom floating restaurants – but how much of its history do you know?
The iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, currently closed due to coronavirus, are popular with celebrities, locals and tourists, and have featured in many movies like the James Bond film, The Man With the Golden Gun
Hong Kong’s Jumbo Kingdom floating restaurants in Aberdeen Harbour is another victim of the coronavirus, having been forced to close its doors for the immediate future.
The iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the Tai Pak Floating Restaurant are popular with tourists, and many Hongkongers will have fond memories of eating there.
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant was opened in 1976 by Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, and is operated by Melco’s subsidiary Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises. It acquired the Tai Pak Floating Restaurant in 1987.
The history of Hong Kong’s floating restaurants can be traced back to the 1920s. These restaurants, which were mainly near Wu Nam Street in Aberdeen Harbour before land reclamation in 1978, were initially run by boat-dwelling Tanka people. They served Chinese and seafood dishes mainly for rich businessmen, and occasionally for Tanka’s birthdays and wedding banquets. You needed a reservation in those days, and no walk-ins were entertained.
Aberdeen’s floating restaurants gradually became a favourite spot for seafood and soon attracted tourists.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and check out the history of the Jumbo Kingdom.
Jumbo is not Hong Kong’s oldest floating restaurant
During the heyday of floating restaurants in the 1950s, there were more than 10 vessels moored in Aberdeen Harbour. The most famous one was named Tai Pak. It was established even earlier than the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which officially opened in 1976.