This was a celebration because as I mentioned in this post, my sister is now engaged!  My sister announced it to my parents that night, so we decided to celebrate all together at dinner at AnQi Gourmet Bistro & Noodle Bar.  It was delicious and of course a fun time!

First of all, check out the restaurant.  Beautiful!

The inside is just as pretty.

And actually, this pretty glass table is a runway!  The restaurant is actually located just inside the enormous South Coast Plaza mall, so it makes sense that there would be fashion shows here.  🙂

Here is a peek at the delicious menu…

Now, let’s finally get to the food!!!  I must say that although the inside is super fancy, the food itself is not overthought or fussy.  They are all beautiful, delicious, and firmly based on Vietnamese traditional dishes.

best local farm fresh produce available, white anchovy romesco

Unexpectedly very good!  The mushrooms were the favorite around the table.

Both incredibly beautiful.  It’s a good thing we ordered one of each for all six of us!

My guy who claims to detest eggplant, really enjoyed this dish.  Basically, this dish has the power to convert non-veggie lovers!

chef AN’s secret sauce, sautéed chinese broccoli, baby heirloom tomatoes

Although I prefer vegetables to meats, this was an incredible dish!  Perfectly cooked and seasoned.  For those of you that are wondering why this is called the Crustacean Shaken Beef, it is referring to the amazing Crustacean Restaurant in Beverly Hills.

I suppose we were in a hurry to eat because I snapped just this one blurry picture.  Of course, it was amazing and served atop a mountain of garlic noodles!

Speaking of garlic noodles…

This is easily one of the most recognizable dishes, having been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  It looks deceptively simple and bland, but it is so so delicious!  Easily my favorite dish, partially because I am such a carb-aholic!

new potato, roasted peppers, shiitake mushroom, golden curry sauce

There is nothing better than a wonderfully glazed piece of meat, and this lamb chop was absolutely fantastic.

Since we were celebrating an engagement, we decided to go celebrate with three amazing desserts!

salted almond brittle, cinnamon chantilly, lemongrass – PX reduction

Gosh, I love tres leches cakes and it is so hard to find a good one.  I loved the little dried fruits on top as well!

Who could say no to caramelized sugar and cream?

banana caramel, vanilla bean ice cream

Yes, we had some delicious desserts for sure.  A perfect way to cap off a sweet celebration!

And now, I am hungry after seeing all of this beautiful food again!

AnQi By Crustacean
3333 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-5679
anqibistro.com