He’s done it before, and now former New York chef Harlan Goldstein is about to do it again: create an upscale drinking and dining playground for the moneyed set. Gold, due to open in the Lan Kwai Fong Tower in November (taking over the FINDS space), will serve European and Spanish favorites in a 70 seat main dining room which will be decorated in, you guessed it, subtle gold.
“I’d been offered many locations to open a restaurant, especially in Tsim Sha Tsui’s iSquare and K11 mall, but I just didn’t feel it was the right location,” Goldstein says. “It’s all about the location.” After a year and a half of thinking about the concept, he finally found what he was looking for in the Wyndham Street area. “We’re at the heart of banking land. Look around: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse…all of them are hanging out on Wyndham Street. It used to be IFC, but now it’s right here.”
Patrons will be able to sip sangria, as well as nibble on tapas and premium cold cuts, such as fine Iberian ham from 5J, Spain’s most respected (and oldest) cured ham producer. Harlan’s signature dishes will be present too, including charcoal-grilled beef from New York supplier Lobel's and his trademark beef cheek ravioli with foie gras and truffles (pictured below). In a nod to his former restaurant Harlan’s, guests will also be allowed to smoke on the terrace, where a vintage cigar menu will be presented to diners. There will also be a wine cellar stocked with everything from moderately priced HK$250 bottles to a HK$150,000 trophy wine. “People always want what they can’t have,” says Goldstein by way of explanation. “I want to give them this option and I bet someone will buy it.”
The new venue also means that Goldstein can finally put some distance between the confusion caused by his contentious 2008 divorce from the JC Group (Goldstein alleges that the group trademarked the name “Harlan” without his knowledge). His former IFC based restaurant “Harlan’s” recently relocated to The One mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. “People were like ‘I heard you’ve opened in Tsim Sha Tsui’ to which I say ‘No, that’s not me’, says Goldstein. “The real Harlan is going to be Gold by Harlan Goldstein.”
Harlan also plans to launch his cookbook, The Gold Collection, featuring 40 different recipes on bread, pastas, meat main courses and desserts. “This book is arriving when the restaurant opens in November and will be exclusively available at the restaurant, not in bookstores.” As for his current venue Tuscany H in Lan Kwai Fong, that will close permanently on October 15th so Goldstein can focus on Gold.
2/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central; opening in November.
