Greer's OC

Dining

Katsuya by Starck Opens Soon in Laguna!

06.30.11

By Joanne Tucker

Get your chopsticks ready for a Japanese-inspired feast as Katsuya by Starck opened its doors last night for its premiere party. Located along PCH in the former hush space, Katsuya is named after Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi. This sleek, sophisticated, yet warm and comfortable restaurant was created by a world-renowned designer Philippe Starck. The restaurant opens to the public on July 8.

Starck’s all-wood bento-box inspired design was simplistic, but the backlit images of Geishas gave a striking backdrop to his Japanese décor. The dramatic use of black curtains around the robata bar highlighted what Starck considers to be a “temple” to the art of Japanese cuisine.

At the grand opening, we sampled Chef Uechi’s famous crispy rice with spicy tuna, a yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and an albacore sashimi with crispy onion. A full sushi bar included delightful sushi and sashimi options. We loved the rock shrimp tempura roll with a dynamite sauce. The sunset roll of eel, cucumber and avocado with a sweet sauce was a winner too. The traditional robata dishes, which were prepared on a Japanese grill, come in either chicken and beef in yakitori sauce, along with rice and a finely-chopped vegetable salad.

To complement our sushi and robata dishes, we were served Katsuya’s refreshing specialty cocktails such as the Vitamin A, which was made with tequila and fresh agave juice.

Katsuya by Stark, 858 S. Pacific Coast, Hwy., Laguna Beach.

Joanne Tucker is a dining and travel writer based in Costa Mesa, California.

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Dining

ANQI LAUNCHES NEW SUMMER AND MOLECULAR MENUS!

06.29.11

By Sheryll Alexander

AnQi by Crustacean, which is located at South Coast Plaza near Bloomingdale’s, has launched its seasonal summer and “Molecular Monday” menus.

AnQi’s Master Chef Helene An and Chef de Cuisine Ryan Carson collaborated to create sophisticated and refreshing summer menus featuring only high quality, natural, organic ingredients for the restaurant’s California-Asian fusion with Vietnamese fresh herbs and spices.

For a refreshing and figure-friendly summer lunch, AnQi’s new “Ssam” lettuce wraps offer flavors such as Kurabota pork belly (with grilled prawns, sesame soy emulsion, red jalapeno and ssamjang) and hamachi (with sweet chili-cashew sauce, golden garlic and rice noodles). Other “Ssam” lettuce wraps feature Mongolian barbecue duck, Kalbi hangar steak, rock shrimp tempura, crispy chicken or crispy vegetable rolls.

New on the lunch menu are AnQi’s summer salads from the sea, land or garden. The sweet pepper shrimp salad is tossed with crisp romaine lettuce, smoked bacon, Haas avocado and black sesame while the half Maine lobster salad features the succulent crustacean with mixed greens, mangoes, cherry tomatoes and a white miso vinaigrette. The spicy beef and watercress salad has crisp textures and flavors with red endive, jicama, green apple tossed with vanilla-peanut dressing. Another favorite is the Vietnamese charctuerie salad (Vietnamese-style cured meats, baby artichokes, hearts of palm, radicchio, quinzoi-herb dressing) and the green tea noodle salad, complex with kimchi, black sesame seeds, Haas avocado and cilantro dressing.

The lunch menu also showcases some of AnQi Bistro’s classic Vietnamese-inspired dishes such as chicken pho soup, Chef An’s famous garlic noodles or a beef-and-green bean wok with shitake mushrooms. These items may also be enjoyed at the AnQi Noodle Bar, open daily until 5:30.

To view AnQi Bistro’s summer lunch menu, visit http://www.anqibistro.com/menu/lunch.pdf.

New Molecular Monday Menu for Summer

AnQi’s much lauded molecular gastronomy menu makes the restaurant one of OC’s only destinations for "MG." On Monday evenings (from 5:30-10:30 p.m.), AnQi Chef Ryan Carson prepares omakase-style molecular gastronomy cooking demonstration and multi-course tastings. Offerings may include an amuse bouche, Champagne and caviar (Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne jelly and American sturgeon caviar), a hiramassa crudo (sheet of sweet-and-sour tangerine, beet sorbet and avocado silk), filet mignon (burnt carrot, shitake mushroom demi glace, wasabi tater tots) and a deconstructed carrot cake (hazelnut praline, star anise-orange emulsion, popcorn ice cream). Reservations must be made in advance for AnQi’s six- ($60 per person) or 12- ($120 per person) course dinners (excludes tax and gratuity). AnQi’s summer Molecular Monday menu is available through Sept. 19. For a sample menu, visit http://www.anqibistro.com/menu/molecular.pdf.

AnQi Bistro, South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-557-5679, www.anqibistro.com.

Sheryll Alexander runs a news media agency based in Costa Mesa, California. Follow her! @sheryllalexande

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