{"id":7316,"date":"2016-04-24T06:29:40","date_gmt":"2016-04-24T14:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=7316"},"modified":"2016-05-25T09:19:35","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T17:19:35","slug":"anh-chi-making-vietnamese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/anh-chi-making-vietnamese\/","title":{"rendered":"Anh + Chi = The New Hip Vietnamese Eatery in Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

When JT suggested Anh + Chi for her birthday dinner, she was very passionate about the new eatery as she compared it to Ba Bar<\/a>, her favourite hip Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle with delicious cocktails, where I happened to visit recently.<\/p>\n

Arriving at the restaurant on Main and 18th, I suddenly realized this place used to be Pho Hoang, one of the oldest pho restaurants in Vancouver opened in 1983, which I visited a few times over the last 10 years. Soon I found out from chatting with Vincent, the show runner of\u00a0the evening, that he took over Pho Hoang with his sister Amelie from their parents, and had an incredible makeover on the dining space and the food. I suddenly\u00a0felt like being on the set of my favourite TV show, Restaurant Makeover. This is all very exciting!<\/p>\n

Brother and Sister<\/h3>\n

According to Vincent, the new name of the restaurant means Brother and Sister in Vietnamese. The new establishment reflects how they, the 2nd generation Vietnamese Canadians, \u00a0try to preserve an ethnic cuisine and its amazing culture, and also try to add their own personal views of hip and trends, making the food and the atmosphere much more vibrant and exciting. And they are benefited\u00a0from the family business achievements – their cousins are actually running\u00a0upscale Vietnamese spots like\u00a0Tamarind Tree<\/a> and Long Provincial<\/a>\u00a0in Seattle.<\/p>\n

The interior and decors are\u00a0stylish with\u00a0a lot of organic\u00a0colours from green plants and genuine\u00a0wood furnishing. From the hand crafted wooden table to elegant dinnerware, the owner’s endeavour shows their\u00a0attention to detail. The most impressive piece is\u00a0probably the bar area with artistic patterns, showing some\u00a0fine craftsmanship.<\/p>\n

\"Anh<\/a>
Anh & Chi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anh<\/a>
Anh & Chi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anh<\/a>
Anh & Chi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ahn+Chi\"<\/a>
Ahn+Chi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cocktails<\/h3>\n

The “pre” and “post-1975” cocktail choices were\u00a0enticing with the whimsical names such as J’s Grass is Greener Here<\/strong> ($9), a post-1975 version of Pisco Sour with a Vietnamese twist, consisting of Pisco, Elderflower Liqueur, lemongrass, egg white, and lemon, and my Live & Let Live <\/strong>($12), an attempt of reminiscing the pre-1975 French colonial night life, glamorously\u00a0flavoured and coloured with Vanilla infused vodka, Chambord, passion fruit, lemon juice, and a shot of sparkling wine on the side. While the visuals were stunning,\u00a0the flavours could be bolder in order to be a bit more memorable. \u00a0But we did pleasantly enjoy sharing a pitcher of the\u00a0Vietnamese Pimm\u2019s & Limeade<\/strong> ($32), mixed with\u00a0Pimm\u2019s, Martini Bianco, fresh pineapple and dragonfruit,\u00a0lemongrass, fresh lime, & a touch of\u00a0coconut, which seemed perfect for such a warm sunny evening.<\/p>\n

\"Grass<\/a>
Grass is Greener Here<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Live<\/a>
Live & Let Live<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Vietnamese<\/a>
Vietnamese Pimm\u2019s & Limeade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Starters<\/h3>\n

The menu here encourages sharing dishes\u00a0 for the full Vietnamese family style dining experience. \u00a0We tried a few starter dishes, which again, were visually captivating.<\/p>\n

Our first appetizer was the G\u1ecfi Cu\u1ed1n –\u00a0Cay Me, <\/span><\/strong>or<\/span>\u00a0Hand Made Rice Paper Rolls with Tofu<\/strong> ($4),\u00a0\u00a0filled with fried organic tofu, lettuce, jicama, carrot, shredded coconut, roasted peanuts & mixed herbs, with light soy sauce on the side. \u00a0The wrap was thin but everything was held well together. I loved the extra lettuce sticking out the salad roll, which looked whimsical, but also\u00a0helped holding the roll much more easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"G\u1ecfi<\/a>
G\u1ecfi Cu\u1ed1n \u2013 Hand-made rice paper rolls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The L\u1ee5i N\u01b0\u1edbng<\/strong> skewers ($3\/each) looked too cute and pretty to be eaten. I particularly enjoyed the Beef on Lemongrass<\/strong>\u00a0skewer, which was flavourful. And I thought the Baby Octopus<\/strong> one was slightly under cooked, which was possibly\u00a0intentional. But with the baby octopus so tender, they could be cooked a bit more to have a slightly crunchier texture instead of a mushy and slimy one. But this is just my personal preference.<\/p>\n

\"Grilled<\/a>
Grilled skewer with Beef and Lemongrass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Grilled<\/a>
Grilled Baby Octopus on Skewers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ken and Yann shared the C\u00e1nh G\u00e0<\/strong> ($11), the Vietnamese Style Fried Chicken Wings, cooked in butter, garlic, and chilli fish sauce, very similar to what I had at Ba Bar in Seattle, but seasoned better with less salt.<\/p>\n

\"C\u00e1nh<\/a>
C\u00e1nh G\u00e0 \u2013 Fried chicken wings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bucket List<\/h3>\n

The Bucket List is a section of a few Vietnamese classics, including my favourites B\u00fan B\u00f2 Hu\u1ebf<\/strong> ($12) (Spicy Porkhock Noodle Soup) and H\u1ee7 Ti\u1ebfu Kh\u00f4<\/strong> ($12) (“Dry” Tossed Noodles), showing the different varieties of rice noodles in Vietnamese cuisine. And I had my eyes on\u00a0Khay B\u00e1nh H\u1ecfi L\u1ee5i N\u01b0\u1edbng <\/strong> ($18), inspired by street food in Vietnam, a platter of\u00a0<\/span>house-made pork sausage, beef in betel leaf, grilled chicken, crisp fried spring roll & grilled prawn. \u00a0The patter also came with fresh lettuce, mixed herbs, pickled carrots and daikon, fine rice vermicelli, rice paper and chili fish sauce. \u00a0The idea is to pick an item, along with some herbs, pickles, and rice vermicelli, wrapped with lettuce and rice paper, and eaten like a salad roll or burrito. <\/span><\/p>\n

The flavours were on point on the meat items, but I had a little bit issue with the rice paper, which came in dry, and required hydrating\u00a0in a bowl of warm water. The rice paper is very delicate, and I over soaked the first one and it disintegrated. \u00a0It would be so much nicer if the rice paper\u00a0came soft and ready to be used, like how they serve the pancakes for Peking Duck or Moo Shu Pork in Chinese cuisine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Khay<\/a>
Khay B\u00e1nh H\u1ecfi L\u1ee5i N\u01b0\u1edbng \u2013 Street-side platter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Family Style<\/h3>\n

The true stars of the evening were the two family style dishes. Although the flavours were familiar, the dishes were elevated by some of the most aesthetic presentations I had ever seen in Vietnamese cuisine. The arrangement of colours and flavours on each plate was just brilliant.<\/p>\n

The Canh Ca Th\u00ec L\u00e0<\/strong> ($18), or the Wild Sockeye and Fresh Tomato Soup with Fresh Dill<\/strong>, was warm, fragrant and vibrant. Typically served with white fish, their version of the soup\u00a0features an amazing piece of salmon, perfectly cooked, complemented by the proper amount of acidity from tomato, and finished up with an incredible aroma of fresh baby dill. \u00a0I was satisfied with the comfort brought by the soup – it was a happy moment.<\/p>\n

\"Canh<\/a>
Canh Ca Th\u00ec L\u00e0 – Wild Sockeye Salmon, fresh tomato and dill soup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Canh<\/a>
Canh Ca Th\u00ec L\u00e0 – Wild Sockeye Salmon, fresh tomato and dill soup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Canh<\/a>
Canh Ca Th\u00ec L\u00e0 – Wild Sockeye Salmon, fresh tomato and dill soup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The C\u00e1 Chi\u00ean<\/strong> ($18), or the Crisp Fried Whole Red Snapper<\/strong>, on a bed of fresh mango salad, was another strikingly gorgeous plate of food. The fish was fried to crispy on the outside along with thinly cut shallots, but moist, tender, and succulent on the inside. The natural sweetness of the fish was so sublime on my palate that, the flavour quality was almost close to the one from crab or lobster. Adding the mango, the fish sauce dressing, and a little bit of jasmine rice, this dish was perfectly balanced.<\/p>\n

\"C\u00e1<\/a>
C\u00e1 Chi\u00ean \u2013 Crisp fried whole red snapper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yann’s Cari G\u00e0 <\/strong> ($15) or the Light Yellow Curry with Chicken was another visually pleasing dish. I had a taste of the curry. The spiciness was subtle but the depth of flavours was definitely there.<\/p>\n

\"Cari<\/a>
Cari G\u00e0 \u2013 Light yellow curry with chicken<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dining Experience<\/h3>\n

The service was excellent\u00a0throughout the dinner service, \u00a0as the servers were friendly and attentive. But we ran into some small issues with our bills towards the end. They didn’t seem to be able to separate bills for us, and it took them\u00a0a long time to have the bills\u00a0settled. Was’t sure if it was their system or it was the server who didn’t know how to use the system properly. Also they told JT that she would get a free scoop of ice cream for her birthday, but the ice cream still ended up on the bill. Although they tried to correct it and presented a new bill for her, \u00a0somehow the server still punched the amount on the old bill in the interact machine. It was a bit of a mess. But I really hope they would look into this so that they’d\u00a0be better prepared for bigger parties.<\/p>\n

Overall<\/h3>\n

The food was divine. Although we didn’t have any of the typical pho or rice dishes, the family style dishes really rocked our senses. The presentation was breathtaking, the taste was superb, and the whole eating experience was quite pleasurable. The price is\u00a0on the expensive side here compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, but like going to any other hip and unique restaurant or bar in the city, you pay for an exquisite dining experience. Considering most of their dishes are under 20 bucks, you would probably only get a starter for $20 and have to spend over $30 for a main dish at one of those upscale places. And if you are craving a good bowl of pho under $10, I’m sure there are many other places to choose from. \u00a0I truly appreciate the fact that, as Pho Hoang was the pioneer of Vietnamese cuisine in Vancouver, their next generation has just started a whole new genre of Vietnamese finer dining. This is all very exciting.<\/p>\n

I’m truly looking forwards to my next visit to Anh + Chi.<\/p>\n

\"Anh<\/a>
Anh Chi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Website:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/anhandchi.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Menu:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/anhandchi.com\/menu-spring-summer\/<\/a><\/p>\n

More reviews:<\/p>\n

\"Anh<\/a><\/p>\n

Location:<\/p>\n