Jumbo Kingdom

Jumbo Kingdom consists of the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the adjacent Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, are renowned tourist attractions in Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter, within Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour. Over 30 million visitors have visited Jumbo Kingdom, including Queen Elizabeth II, John Wayne, Chad Garvin, David Bowie, Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chow Yun Fat, Stephen Chow, Legend Tong Yiu San and Gong Li.[1] There was also a Jumbo Kingdom Manila in Manila Bay, Philippines, but it was closed after 8 years of operation. Jumbo Kingdom is part of Melco International Development Limited, a company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Jumbo Kingdom
Jumbo Kingdom in 2017
Restaurant information
Established19 October 1976
Closed3 March 2020 (Temporarily closed under COVID-19 pandemic)
Owner(s)Stanley Ho
Food typeCantonese, dim sum, Western
Street addressShum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
CityAberdeen
CountryHong Kong
WebsiteOfficial site
Jumbo Kingdom
Traditional Chinese珍寶王國
Literal meaningTreasure Kingdom
Jumbo Floating Restaurant
Traditional Chinese珍寶海鮮舫
Tai Pak Floating Restaurant
Traditional Chinese太白海鮮舫

History

Floating restaurants appeared in the typhoon shelter shortly after World War II. The Sea Palace Floating Restaurant (海角皇宮) was sold and towed to Australia.[2]

A second Sea Palace was sold to Stanley Ho and moved to Macau as Macau Palace floating casino operating until 2007 and scrapped.

The Tai Pak Floating Restaurant was established in 1952,[3] when Wong Lo-kat purchased a boat, transforming it into a floating restaurant spanning 105 feet in length.[4] The second Tai Pak floating restaurant operated from Castle Peak, now Tuen Mun, and sold off and relocated to Guangxi in the 1980s.[5]

On 30 October 1971,[3] a 4-alarm fire occurred at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant before its opening which left 34 dead and 42 injured.[6][2][7][8] The new Jumbo Floating Restaurant was built at Kowloon Chung Hwa Shipyards in Yau Tong.

The Jumbo Kingdom was established in October 1976 by Stanley Ho after four years and over HK$30 million were spent to design and build it.[1][4] It was originally decorated in the style of an ancient Chinese imperial palace.

In 2000, two tugboats brought one of the floating barges (Sea Palace) from the Aberdeen Harbour to the mouth of Manila Bay, and it was rebranded as the "Jumbo Kingdom Manila". Much of the original ancient Chinese imperial palace style renovation was retained. The Manila restaurant closed in 2008.

The Jumbo Kingdom went through a major multimillion-dollar renovation in 2003.

On 1 March 2020, the restaurant announced it would be closed until further notice and laid off all staff due to the coronavirus pandemic.[9]

Attractions
  • Topdeck (now closed): A restaurant and bar located on the topdeck of Jumbo which serves dim sum. Topdeck opened in 2005 and was managed by Cafe Deco Group.[10]
  • Dragon Court: Dragon Court is a fine dining Chinese restaurant which serves authentic and innovative Cantonese cuisine located on the first deck of Jumbo. The interior design of the restaurant is a mixture of Ming Dynasty and contemporary Chinese.
  • Cooking Academy: A Chinese culinary school taught by the chefs of Jumbo Kingdom.
  • Sampan Dining: Hong Kong dining from a bygone era, serving Typhoon Shelter seafood meals on a sampan.
  • The Chinese Tea Garden
  • Pier Plaza
  • Bronzeware Exhibition
  • Wine Garden

A traditional Hong Kong-style food area is allocated at 4/F of Jumbo Kingdom, named SO-Kee Coffee Shop (蘇記茶檔). Fast foods such as sandwiches, hotdogs, noodles, soft drinks, coffee & tea are provided, at lower prices.

It is shown in The Amazing Race 17, Leg 10. It has also featured on the first season of the Australian version of The Amazing Race and some openings of The Amazing Race Asia.

The British miniseries Noble House shows the compound being destroyed by a fire.

The video game Sleeping Dogs features a mission set in a floating restaurant based on the Jumbo Floating Restaurant in a semi-fictionalized version of Hong Kong.

The Japanese anime Mister Ajikko also had few episodes using Jumbo Floating Restaurant as a scene. However, the floating restaurant appeared in Victoria Harbour in the anime, rather than Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the actual location of the restaurant.

Access

The Jumbo Kingdom can be accessed free of charge, by shuttle boat from Aberdeen Promenade or from Sham Wan pier.[13]

  • Jumbo Kingdom pier along Aberdeen Promenade
  • Transport boat to the restaurant
  • Distant view
  • Staircase leading up to topdeck
  • Interior dragon court
  • Back of Jumbo Kingdom

See also

References
  1. Jumbo Kingdom. "A Celebrated Landmark". Retrieved 10 July 2007.
  2. "ABERDEEN - HONG KONG EXTRAS3". www.hongkongextras.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. "Hong Kong (& Macau) Stuff: "Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen"". Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  4. Mok, Laramie (25 March 2020). "Hong Kong's Jumbo floating restaurants: a stroll down memory lane". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. "The mystery of the Tai Pak floating restaurant". Susan Blumberg-Kason. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  6. "調查報告書指出 珍寶大火起於燒焊 此慘劇死傷達七十六人". Ta Kung Pao. 25 May 1972.(in Chinese)
  7. NFPA.org. "NFPA.org Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine." Key dates in fire history. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  8. England, Vaudine (1998). The Quest of Noel Croucher: Hong Kong's Quiet Philanthropist. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-962-209-473-4.
  9. Standard, The. "Virus shutters Jumbo Kingdom". The Standard. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  10. "Cafe Deco Group". www.cafedecogroup.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  11. "Hong Kong Cinemagic - Mapping Hong Kong film locations". www.hkcinemagic.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  12. "特撮特化 - その他まとめ海外編 (Special Effects - Overseas Scenes. In Japanese)". Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  13. Welcome to 18 Districts: Southern District
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