HK celebrity chef to cook here for five nights

LARGER-than-life Hong Kong-based chef Harlan Goldstein will be in the kitchen at UsQuBa - Grill and Whisky Bar for five nights only, starting Dec 13.

The self-proclaimed "No 1 celebrity chef of Hong Kong" will be presenting dishes such as Harlan's Crab Cake with mustard, aioli and mayo salsa; 44 degree slow-cooked salmon with seafood ragout, San Marzano tomatoes and Gremolata as well as his Jasper Grilled Lamb Chops with smokey eggplant and roasted tomato vinaigrette.

Chef Goldstein hails from New York's Lower East Side, where his cooking career started in the kitchen of his uncle's restaurant.

As a teen, he was shipped off for formal apprenticeship at the prestigious Montreaux Palace in Switzerland, followed by stints in Lyon and Milan.

He later returned to the US and worked with the late three Michelin- starred chef Jean Banchet at La Francaise in Chicago, which is now closed.

His foray into Asia was at age 28, when he was appointed executive chef at Shangri-La's China World Hotel in Beijing.

Later, after being given carte blanche to create fine dining at Hong Kong's Aberdeen Marina Club, he succeeded in establishing the club's reputation and gained considerable traction with the clientele of tycoons and prominent entrepreneurs of Asia.

Within just five years, the club named its signature restaurant Harlan's, which speaks volumes to his achievements during his tenure.

In Hong Kong, he opened a string of restaurants including H One, The Box and G Bar, all located at IFC. He has since sold them off.

Other restaurants he later opened included Tuscany by H, Gold by Harlan Goldstein and Sushi To by Goldstein. In 2012, Gold by Harlan Goldstein received its first Michelin star.

His restaurants are popular with celebrities such as Jackie Chan and Leon Lai, as well as tycoons Walter Kuok, Henry Tang, Stephen Ip and "Mr Lan Kwai Fong" Allan Zeman.

In September, he was about to open four restaurants at 8 Lyndhurst Terrace, in Central, in partnership with ZS Hospitality, but left unexpectedly before the restaurants' opening, reportedly due to health concerns.