Restaurant Review: AnQi in Costa Mesa
The new eatery is cozy, sleek, hip yet elegant.
I met some friends for dinner a few weeks ago at AnQi, the new gourmet Vietnamese-fusion bistro at South Coast Plaza that is a sister of the celebrity-patronized Crustacean restaurant in Beverly Hills.
There were lots of candles, tiny ceramic pots of moss on the tables, traditional Asian wood screens, beautiful people in beautiful clothes eating beautiful food and, believe it or not, a runway on the floor for fashion shows.
I found it cozy, yet sleek; hip, yet elegant. The music was a mix too, from Enya to Cat Stevens to Frankie Goes to Hollywood, but it worked. And most importantly, the service that night was super and the food was yummy.
My only beef is that it's a bit pricey for the small portions, but if you've got the money or have a special day coming up, you should put this one on your list.
Perhaps I'm easily amused, but AnQi had me at the Pink Lotus martini ($14). The waiter brought out a short martini glass containing a puff of cotton candy. He then poured a cup of chilled vodka and grapefruit juice over it and voila, the cotton candy melts into a martini with sugar coated walls.
The first thing we ordered was a round of the Salt and Pepper Calamari ($9), which three of the four people at the table proclaimed it the best calamari they ever had. The order arrived with a pile of fried jalapenos and a side of a tangy sun dried tomato aioli for dipping, giving it a peppery southwestern zing.
We then had a side of An's Famous Garlic Noodles, a nod to the An family's garlic noodle and crab dish at Crustacean. They were fat and sticky and tasty. They apparently once made one Esquire food critic "cry" he liked them so much, and Warren Beatty finds them "addicting." You can also order the noodles with a pan roasted half Maine lobster for $26.
The menu is broken down into small plates and large plates. There are 20 small plates to choose from. Another one we tried was the Sweet Mango-Chili Glazed Shrimp ($9). Four shrimp arrived, each looking pretty in its own little square on a white sectioned plate, topped with marinated shitake mushrooms and corn and mango salsa.
