Checking in with...AnQi:

AnQi by Crustacean is a gourmet Asian bistro that opened last month next to the Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza, bringing to the area a new concept of fresh, healthy and reasonably priced eating, its owners say. AnQi is part of the House of An restaurants, a family business started by Helene An and her daughters, who came to San Francisco from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon.

The restaurant is a partnership with Bloomingdale’s and is the first of many more to come. Elizabeth An is daughter No. 2 of five, and is spearheading the project.

What kind of a restaurant is AnQi?

In the food world, I see bistro, I don’t see gourmet. AnQi is a gourmet bistro; it’s a different dinning experience and what I coin as gourmet bistro.

What do you mean by a gourmet bistro?

One where you can eat every day but that gives you a quality, healthy, fresh experience. We use organic vegetables, organic meat, and we try to bring in the best seasonal fish and vegetables. We offer customers an opportunity where they can eat gourmet food without paying for the fine dinning.

My hope is you would feel comfortable enough, enjoy glamorous decor, gourmet ingredients, warm service, but at bistro prices.

You have three different concepts to this restaurant; tell me about them.

I wanted to create multiple levels of dinning experience. If you are shopping and you want a quick bite, you can come to the Q noodles bar. You can choose to sit in or order to go. Don’t expect something fancy; you can be in and out in 15 to 20 minutes.

You get to leave without feeling like you had fast food. If you have more time to relax, we have the front dining patio area. All the doors open up and you can just walk in from the mall. We have a fuller menu, more elaborate dishes.

At night, we open up the main dining room area. We also have the chef’s table where you can join the chef that can make you dishes from the Crustacean menu. The chef can also make dishes from a molecular gastronomy menu, it’s using techniques and unique cooking tools to change the shape, texture and look of the food.

You have this runway inside the restaurant, tell me about it.

Because we’re partnering with Bloomingdale’s, we wanted to create a concept that would work well for Bloomingdale’s and that would be a benefit to both sides.

We decided to attract vendors and have opportunities to bring all the great stores here at South Coast Plaza because I believe food and fashion goes together.

We created a crystal catwalk over a crystal water garden.

Why did you pick the name AnQi?

An is my last name. And Qi has always been my nickname. In Chinese, Qi means energy. In Thai, Qi means tasty. In Korean, Qi means flavorful and spicy.