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| - I would give 4 or 5 stars if I was exceptionally well-versed in wonton noodle soup. Since I'm not, I am not going to fall for the pressure to praise Jim Chai Kee simply because it's HK flagship received Michelin star approval.
The first day of summer and quite the hottest day we've had in June this year, we came to Jim Chai Kee for a late lunch ordering B1 and A1 off their menu: a little bit of everything (wontons, fish balls, veggies, tenderized beef) in a bowl of noodles and as a lo mein dish.
Very lovely shrimp meat colours when I bit into the wonton, and fish balls were handmade and huge. Meats were tenderized with...meat tenderizer...so I don't really have many comments about the beef. It's not a plus or a minus. Noodles were great, because they were a cut above the usual fare.
Unfortunately, the hottest day of the summer was also a discomfort in the restaurant because they have a wall made from partially skylit windows and floor to ceiling windows, and the front of the shop was feng shui-ed with a ton of plants...essentially it was like sitting in a greenhouse at the table we were at.
Because the store's layout had no nook or cranny space where people outside pour in and stand and wait (not even a small partition), it is very uncomfortable to sit close to the door. They also have high turnover of customers filing in and out: this can feel like a flurry of disruptive people walking back and forth. I wish a restaurant like this with high volume of clients would consider investing a bit more in overhead and possibly make the space more navigable, or somehow expand the space a bit more to help the flow and seating plan.
Obviously, cheap food usually comes in a cheap space with mediocre service. Ain't the Ritz and we don't expect the Ritz. Food is great, seating was not, not a wonton conoisseur. Ergo, 3 stars.
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