Benson - Robert Guillaume (1984) - Aberdeen Harbour

In the second episode, Made in Hong Kong: Part 2, following the disappearance of the Governor, Benson and Kraus retire to Aberdeen to plot their next move. We get a night shot of Jumbo as well as some daytime shots of the pair as they get shuttled around on a sampan.

Benson - Robert Guillaume (1984) - Jumbo Restaurant

Clayton has gone missing because he's been kidnapped by the baddies. The other three go for dinner at the Jumbo and then head back to shore on one of those little shuttle boats that used to run from Shum Wan Pier Drive and elsewhere.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen

Shivam heads to the Jumbo, which in this film is a nightclub frequented (possibly run) by Rajan, Malik's brother. He goes to confront him about Reema's whereabouts.

Gen Y Cops - Edison Chen (2000) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen

Any footage of the Jumbo (or the other floating restaurants) is appreciated these days given what happened in 2022. This is where Edison first goes to meet with his friend Kurt. The pair have a paintball fight amongst the piers on the Shum Wan Drive side of the harbour.

Jumbo is also seen later in the film as Edison and Jane (Maggie Q) try to retrace Edison's footsteps to track down clues as to Kurt's whereabouts. Don't forget to go and listen to my RTHK podcast about the various international films the Jumbo has been in over the years.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Adam Baldwin (2000) - Aberdeen Harbour

Mr Wong, the enigmatic tour guide, berths his boat in Aberdeen Harbour, just across the water from the Jumbo Kingdom restaurants, which can be seen in quite a few shots. Don't forget I did a radio show a couple of years ago when the Jumbo was "eliminated".

Jumbo Palace in the background 

Jumbo (R.I.P)

Mr Hercules Against Karate - Alberto Terracina (1973) - Aberdeen

In another bit of geographical gymnastics, although not quite as weird as merging Victoria Peak with Sydney Harbour, the back of Tiger Balm Gardens apparently leads directly into Aberdeen Harbour as the pair run away from the henchmen by diving into the not-so-clean waters of Aberdeen. This is the eastern end of the harbour because, low-and-behold, in the background of several shots is the dilapidated carcass of the original Jumbo restaurant. Old readers may remember years ago (2011) when I first identified the old Jumbo in the background of a shot from Enter the Dragon. It seems that at least one narrator (I'm looking at you Frank Djeng) had picked up on this for the recent Enter the Clones of Bruce - Enter the Dragon locations featurette, but failed to look further into the location of the Sammo fight. Shame on you. 

Anyway I digress. If anything, it was just an indication of how long the burnt out wreck was left to fester at the side of the harbour since it tragically caught fire in October 1971 i.e. the best part of two years at least.

We see it again, albeit in low-res, during the Aberdeen harbour sequence. The first image below shows Terracina braving the harbour waters to escape the henchmen and, in the second image, you can see the old Jumbo on the left hand side. This shot was taken from the promontory where the Aberdeen Seminary is located. Even in low-res it looks like a sorry sight. In image three, you can see its collapsed roof in the background.

Anyway, that appears to be all from Ming, Ragazzi! aka Mr Hercules Against Karate. The final scenes appear to have been shot at a sort of Chinoiserie-style building, but it's not somewhere I recognise and it wouldn't surprise me if it was in Thailand or the Philippines. If you know better then feel free to let me know (remember, I posted the film link in the first post).

Mad Mission 3: Our Man from Bond Street - Sam Hui (1984) - Aberdeen Harbour

Peter Graves (yes, that Peter Graves of the Mission Impossible TV series) plays a CIA agent for no other reason than to add some international gravitas to the film. It worked because Cinema City were able to secure some very lucrative international distribution deals as a result. He was so expensive (by Hong Kong standards) that all they could afford to get him to do was sit in a rickshaw in various parts of town and do a little comedy thing with a self-destructing tape message. We first see him as he is standing on a junk as it is towed through the middle of Aberdeen Harbour.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant

The trio reunite for a celebratory dinner at the Jumbo Restaurant in Aberdeen. This was back when the "Jumbo Kingdom" consisted of the triple delight of the Jumbo, Tai Pak and Sea Palace. All can be seen in the top and bottom images. However, their meal takes place on board the Jumbo proper.

The Thieves - Kim Yoon-seok (2012) - Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen Harbour

Despite the Jumbo being towed away and sunk in the middle of the pandemic, the Tai Pak is still in Aberdeen harbour and supposedly undergoing some sort of renovation and rebirth. We shall see, time will tell. It would be a shame if Aberdeen was to lose its sole remaining floating restaurant. In the meantime here it is functioning as the location where our two heist gangs, Korean and Chinese, meet up to plan their big heist of all heists. 

The first images show the Jumbo and its old kitchen unit that was attached to the back. Coincidentally, a few weeks before the Jumbo sunk, this kitchen structure also capsized and sunk in Aberdeen Harbour.

Legacy of Rage - Brandon Lee (1986) - Floating Restaurants, Aberdeen

With their corrupt ex-police liaison now dead, the gangsters start grooming his replacement and go for talks at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant (R.I.P 2022). The film has done a bit of a switcheroo though because the interior scenes were actually filmed inside the Tai Pak. I seem to remember Les Fruits de la Passion did the same thing (although it looks like I never bothered posting about it).

The Confidence Man JP: The Movie - Masami Nagasawa (2019) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

Given the recent unfortunate destruction of the Jumbo restaurant, this may just be the last time it was ever captured on film for an international movie (or any movie for that matter) before the pandemic hit, it closed, and then met its watery fate several hundred miles southwest of Hong Kong.

The first proper location is Aberdeen as the gang, all dressed in yellow/black Bruce Lee Game of Death onesies, celebrate their arrival with a trip over the harbour as they imitate their hero.

Blade in Hong Kong - Terry Lester (1985) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen

It's a pity I did my RTHK stint on the Jumbo before I had watched this film, otherwise I would have known to include it in my radio chat on films where the Jumbo featured. Anyway, the now sunken (somewhere in the South China Sea) restaurant was used twice in this film. The first time, we see the interior as Blade's adoptive father (played by Keye Luke) is thrown a celebration for his retirement but becomes the target of a bomb. The top two images are from that scene and, yes, that IS Leslie Nielsen.

The second time we see the Jumbo is later in the film as a ransom demand leads Blade to help a local businessman (played by James Hong) with the ransom exchange on the top deck of the restaurant.