Gold by Harlan Goldstein

If one is to talk about great food with great noise, this is the place. When I said noise, I mean publicity. Harlan Goldstein, being one of the most renowned chefs in the town, opened Gold a year ago and tried to elevate French cuisine to another level. It attracted so many different people since the launching day, from celebrity to food gourmets.

There is no doubt about the quality that Harlan offers. Besides his famous 990g Big G Fiorentina Porterhouse Steak, you can also find many signature dishes of seafood and pasta. If you are not sure what to offer, a HKD990 tasting menu is not a bad idea at all, which comes with 13 courses.

The restaurant was mainly in brown and yellow colors. An oval-shaped bar counter sits at the entrance, and then around 30 tables inside under a curvy chocolate-colored ceiling. The deco certainly sets the mood up, but I was more attracted to the menu.

The bread is probably the only problem I have with this place. It was not warm, and while the pesto coming with the bread was nice, it didn't help with the bowl of cold bread.

Very soon, the appetizer arrived. It was Scampi with Black Truffle Sauce and Orange Slices. It was fresh and I loved how the truffle brought up the flavour of the scampi, yet struck a nice balance with the orange.

The first main course we had was the Spinobellii with Smoked Eel topped with Caviar. This pasta, with a name invented by Chef Harlan probably, was something between spaghetti and angel hair, but a little tougher than both of them.

You would be very surprised by the crunchy texture of the eel. I fell in love with this dish as the flavour of the garlic and black pepper went deep into the pasta and the fish. That was so different from merely mixing the ingredients in a bowl. The portion was not big but definitely perfect for me since we had two main courses yet to come.

The Slow-cooked Colorado Lamb Rib was wonderfully executed. The dish was served with Porcini Truffle Mushroom, broccolini and roasted garlic.

Just from the taste of the lamb you might not be surprised because it was at most very good meat. However, when you felt the soft tissue, you would start to be so amazed by the skill of slow cooking. The inside was so tender that it was like just thoroughly cooked. The most amazing part, though, was the roasted garlic.

The garlic was incredibly soft and light in the mouth, contrary to what I expected garlic should be. It felt like mashed potato!

Finally, the real awesome part of the meal came, the Melt In Your Mouth Scottish Salmon served with clams, spinach, garlic and white wine sauce.

At first, I thought the "melt in your mouth" part was only a gimmick, or more like a exaggerated description of the dish. However, it was real. It was so soft that you could simply use your fork to tear the fish apart. It was indeed very tender, and like the lamb, the fish was just cooked before the tissues inside started to contract due to excessive heat. I was told that it was cooked at 60 degree Celsius for more than 10 hours actually, which could then preserve the texture and the juiciness of the fish. That was the best salmon I have ever had in my life.

The desserts were no sloppy things here. Chef Harlan actually reinvented them by introducing new ingredients and arrangements of them in the dish. We ordered the Tiramisu - The Way We Like It and the Chocolate Chip Panna Cotta.

And like the name suggested, this was really nothing like the tiramisu you would had before in other restaurants. Each layer was really distinct and the middle coffee layer was really melting! Good thing about this was that it was not too heavy. It was creamy but not overwhelming creamy, which made it a wonderful dessert after dinner.

The Panna Cotta was beautifully prepared. Topped with Amaretto Foam, the dessert contained three layers of Cranberry Jellies, Nutella Gelato and Crumble Crunch. It looked like a funny combination at first, but I was surprised by the interesting flavour and textures when I had my first bite. For this, you could not enjoy the true taste if you ate it by layers. Go through the layers with your spoon, pick up one big spoonful, and enjoy the taste of Heaven!

I must say that while this HKD900 meal was not cheap, it was very much worth it. I appreciate two major things here. First, the ingredients were all very well selected and prepared. Everything was fresh and chosen with great care, and you must realize that that is very important and you cannot lie about it. Bad ingredients will make bad food. No disguise at all.

Second is their way to prepare the food. The chef really thought about the combinations of ingredients, which required great understanding of the food, its flavour and its texture. With the right mix, each of them can enhance the other ingredients, forming wonderful experience for the tongue.

What you see here is not very rare kind of food. Pasta, lamb and salmon, nothing really hard to find. However, bringing them to the next level instead of simply cooking them into edible stuff is not easy. You have to bring out the true flavour while creating a new experience for the guests. Chef Harlan really did it, and he did a great job too.

No wonder there are so many people admiring the extraordinary skills of this larger-than-life chef. I would no doubt give all my five stars to him and his restaurant, and I can't wait to revisit this truly golden place in the coming days!