Whether fortuitous timing or a nod from a higher power, Tuesday’s downpour paused for a brief spell just as the drums started to thrum and the Lunar New Year lions snaked their way around QUA in Fountain Valley. What a way to start the year.
Viet Nguyen’s newest restaurant, celebrated for its Chinese cooking viewed through a Vietnamese lens, proved a fitting stage for the festivities, kicking off the Year of the Horse for both the Chinese and Vietnamese communities.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, QUA hosted an afternoon festival celebrating the Lunar New year — Tết Nguyên Đán, or Tết for short — drawing a whopping 150 reservations for the day alone. Residents from Orange County’s Vietnamese community and beyond arrived in style, decked out in ao dai in lucky reds and yellows and other celebratory threads in vibrant hues, while two lions from the Ane Thanh Lion Dance team entertained the crowd under a steady beat.
Guests supped from QUA’s ever-evolving menu, including Lunar New Year dishes like coral-colored crispy rice shrimp rolls and plush pork belly sticky rice with salted egg yolk (note: these will only be available through Friday, Feb. 20.), as well as standard menu items like braised beef noodle soup or the cold truffle chicken.
The Fountain Valley restaurant takes its inspiration from Chợ Lớn, Saigon’s historic Chinatown, where Nguyen grew up and where immigrants from numerous Chinese regions helped shape the local culinary landscape. Even the name “Qua” carries a double meaning: It serves as a nod to the English “Quarter” (as in the Chinese Quarter) and a Vietnamese word that roughly translates to “passing through” or “overcoming.”
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“All the details at the restaurant show us a lot of traditional Chinese and Vietnamese details,” from the food to the decor, said Ivy Ha, co-founder of Kei Concepts, the restaurant group behind QUA, Vox Kitchen, Nep Cafe and Sup Noodle Bar. “It’s why I think celebrating here is so important for us”
Though Nguyen, a James Beard Award semifinalist, was in Vietnam for work, his presence was still felt throughout the space. His parents, who recently moved to the country, remained at the heart of the event, mingling with guests, Kei Concepts employees and celebrating the new year.
Orange County lays claim to the largest Vietnamese community in the United States, specifically within the multicity Little Saigon area (Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster), while San Jose boasts the largest Vietnamese population of any one city outside of Vietnam.