Lovers of Asian cuisine have a new option in Penticton.
Early this summer, the old King’s Garden restaurant reopened as Jimmy’s Kitchen, after a six-month makeover that saw everything change, decor, management and food style, with a switch to Asian fusion: Japanese, Chinese and Thai.
“We pretty much tore out everything that is in here. One thing we didn’t change is the floor plan, where everything used to be,” said David Qiao, the new manager.
While the general floor plan may be the same, Qiao said they tore out the bar, cashier and other amenities, then rebuilt from the ground up.
The goal, Qiao said, was to create a relaxed atmosphere, more like coming home.
“We removed the whole ceiling and every single piece of tile in the restaurant and then we repainted the whole thing.
It was quite a bit of work,” said Qiao. “It took us half a year for the renovations, We started mid January and we opened in June.”
Qiao said they are also raising the bar for Asian cuisine in Penticton.
“That is one of the reasons we brought the restaurant to Penticton.
“We think Penticton definitely deserves a better standard of Asian fusion cuisine,” said Qiao. “Our whole crew is from Vancouver so everything is very Vancouver standard.”
While the restaurant is open and operating, Qiao said they are still settling operational details, so the date of a grand opening hasn’t been set yet.
But there will be one, he said, and they are planning a special event to take place after the grand opening, setting aside a day where they will donate the proceeds to Penticton Regional Hospital.
“One of the major things for each community is the hospital,” said Qiao, noting that everyone has health concerns at one time or another, and by this gesture they want to show their commitment to the community.
“That (PRH) is very important in the community.
“At Jimmy’s Kitchen here, we don’t only care about our revenues, we care about our community,” said Qiao.
