Nine months after dumping founder, Harlan's has much to celebrate

It's been nine months since the Harlan in Harlan's was unceremoniously dumped, and the restaurant is still doing just fine. The establishment - started by chef Harlan Goldstein, who has fallen out with the partners in the JC Group - hosted a fourth-anniversary bash on Monday night, complete with an indulgent oyster and salmon station and Parma and Serrano ham stands. As managing director Eric Ting (pictured) boasted, the restaurant is hardly hurting even if its IFC clients have had to tighten their wallets. 'Business is still maintaining so we're confident about expanding next year,' he said. 'We're going to open a Spanish, French and Japanese restaurant. Plus, our group is bringing here the Vietnamese chain Pho24. We were going to open the first ones in October or November, but we're delaying it because if the economy takes a downturn, it will be easier to negotiate [rental] terms.'

A bigger question is will they continue to use the former chef's name? 'We haven't decided whether we will use the Harlan brand yet.'

But you couldn't help but be reminded of the boisterous former chef. The background entertainment was a musical duo. The guitarist, a heavy-set westerner with sleepy eyes and a black shirt, had more than a couple of guests remarking that he looked just like H-man.