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2013-12-29
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After stuffing myself with good food during Christmas Eve lunch, I had not refrained myself from eating more. It is Christmas afterall! So we got a reservation at the newly opened Harlan Goldstein's Comfort. I have great experiences at other Harlan's restaurants, and this choice of Christmas Eve dinner was certainly also a good one.The space for his former Red Strip House was switched into a modern black bistro. I liked it better than before that there were windows that made the space feel more
The space for his former Red Strip House was switched into a modern black bistro. I liked it better than before that there were windows that made the space feel more airy! We were seated into the middle of the restaurant facing the bar area. I loved how almost all servers wore T-shirts with different cute 'slogans', especially the one with 'My Tai Tai's Curry Rocks!'
All the dishes were good for sharing. The menu spanned Italian to American with some Asian twists. We had something light for appetizer to leave room for more food that I wouldn't be stuffed for the first course- Salmon Tartare. Quite a safe choice that it was refreshing to start with!
Of course we could not miss out on the "Melt in your mouth" Pork Belly, Hoi Sin Glaze Bao Bao! Yes, the town's all about bao bao these days, and I absolutely adored this bao! I feel like having a BBQ pork bun except that the pork belly in between did melt in my mouth, the hoi sin glaze was perhaps slightly seasoned that there was a hint of spiciness, but that did not affect my liking for bao~
Well, it was Christas afterall, so we went for the Slow-cooked Christmas Turkey with cranberry sauce rather than the free range yellow chicken. Guess my pick was a good one, the slow-cooked turkey meat was so tender and smooth that I almost got mistaken I was having a chicken drumstick! This turkey indeed was very well prepped. (P.S. I was busily taking pictures of the turkey, yes, my camera ate before I did almost every time I dined in. Harlan Goldstein was walking around the resto and spotted me, dropped by, and said, "you need dig in when it is still hot!" HAHA okee, but just to let you know, it was still AWESOME after I took pictures =P)
Moving onto dessert, I almost wanted to try all of them as they all looked mouth-watering. In the end, we picked two - Dark Chocolate Mousse with Amaretto Cherries, Honeycomb and Crispy Popcorn and Harlan G's Nitrogen Creation of the Day! The Chocolate Mousse arrived first and already caught us unprepared, because from the first swallow, we fell in love. Creamy Dark Chocolate went so well with the crunchy honeycomb and popcorn! While I usually disliked cherries soaked in alcohol, they were actually a good complement to the mousse that offers a mild sour flavor that lured me to eat more...
We were halfway done with the mousse when the Nitrogren Creation came, it came in a pan with smoke coming out. Chocolate sauce was poured on the top and the server asked us to mix a little and start eating quickly. The texture was VERY INTERESTING, it was like a chewy ice-cream when the top and bottom layer were a little different. The chocolate flavor was interesting that I thought there was something more to it. We asked a server and he told us milk tea was nitrogenated! Very interesting dessert, in a good way. Even though our tummies were already bulging out, we fought till the last bit of energy stored in us. I wish I had more room for dessert.
We ordered 2 drinks as well for the night. Their cocktail choices were quite nice but could be of more variety. Thanks for this lovely meal on Christmas Eve, even though I still put my blackberry on the table and endeavored to stay alert, I had a very enjoyable night with great food for all the courses in a very welcoming ambience!
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