Comfort by Harlan Goldstein (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

It is going to be a busy 2014 for celebrity chef Harlan Goldstein. After seeing his flagship restaurant Gold capture its Michelin star for the second straight year, the chef went back to work with the opening of his new casual eatery, Comfort by Harlan Goldstein early this week. That will soon be followed by two more additions to his culinary empire, Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein and Sushi To by Harlan Goldstein in early 2014.

Comfort replaced the space previously occupied by Striphouse by Harlan Goldstein on the fifth floor of Grand Progress Building. As the name hints, it's a casual dining restaurant serving modern comfort food in a relaxed and loft-style setting.

At Comfort, expect international culinary delights such as beef brisket curry (Thai), croquettes, patatas bravas (Spanish), pasta, pizza (Italian), burgers and steaks all perfect for sharing among friends.



Replacing the old black and red back-drop in the dining room is a chilled and inviting ambiance highlighted by wooden colors and natural lights.





We had a nice visit from chef Goldstein himself and it's great to see the slim-down chef looking all pumped up with his latest venture. 

He didn't waste any time recommending his signature dish, "Melt-in-your mouth" pork belly bao bao to us. 

This was a picture-perfect piece of pork belly. It was very tender and succulent with the perfect balance of fat and meat. The hoi-sin glaze (seafood sauce) provided a nice Chinese twist but the steamed buns could perhaps be a little more spongy (6/10).

For pork belly buns, I still preferred those from Numero 15. (I have yet to get my hands on the legendary pork belly buns from Little Bao but I have heard a lot of their raving reviews so far.). 



Another house specialty, Japanese wagyu beef croquettes was next and it was a beauty. The
wagyu meatballs were deep fried to perfection and it was served with a barbecue sauce and mustard mayo (7.5/10).



Our final course was a bucatini with tiger prawns. If you like flavorful food, you would love this dish as it was perfectly tossed in a rich tomato sauce with pancetta, sweet onion and basil (7/10). 

Comparing to the penne with Arrabiata sauce we had in CIAK In the Kitchen 2 weeks ago, this was so much better.

 

Chef Goldstein has every right to be upbeat about this new restaurant. After all, good food brings people together and that's exactly their theme carved on the wall - "Food for friends".

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: 5/F, Grand Progress Building, 15-16 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel:+852 2521-8638
Website: www.comfort-dining.hk



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