The feeling inside the new QUA contemporary Chinese food in Fountain Valley isn’t unlike the other restaurants in the Kei Concepts portfolio. The 9,000-square-foot restaurant is sleek, modern and bustling with activity, accommodating up to 190 guests in a jewel-toned dining room accented with botanical wallpaper.
A restaurant group based in Orange County’s Little Saigon, Kei Concepts is responsible for successful establishments like Súp Noodle Bar, Nep Cafe, Kei Coffee House, ROL Hand Roll Bar and the recently opened Vox Kitchen at South Coast Plaza.
QUA is different, however. While all of Kei Concepts’ restaurants highlight Asian flavors, the newest addition to the group dials in on a cuisine that’s very personal to Viet Nguyen, the company’s executive chef and founder.
“I grew up in Vietnam, and a lot of my early food memories came from eating at friends’ houses,” he said. “At the time, I wasn’t thinking about what cuisine something belonged to — it was just home cooking and it was good. Later, I learned that many of those meals were Chinese dishes, and that sent me down a path of wanting to understand more.”
In his exploration, Nguyen discovered his own Chinese heritage through his Grandma Vũ, whose family name traces back to Fujian province on China’s southeastern coast. Grandma Vũ’s family, like many other Chinese migrants, settled in Chợ Lớn, Saigon’s historic Chinatown, and the region became home to a community of Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien/Fujian, Hakka and Hainanese immigrants, who influenced the cuisine and popularized family-style meals.
“I started to see how many different clans, regions and styles of Chinese cooking existed. It was much more diverse than I ever realized,” Nguyen said.
The central bar in QUA’s jewel-toned dining room in Fountain Valley.
QUA takes it name from the Vietnamese phrase, “Vượt qua,” meaning “to overcome.” The restaurant features a core menu made up of Vietnamese-Chinese dishes, like Hainanese chicken rice and oyster pancakes, supplemented with a section of dishes inspired by Grandma Vũ’s home cooking.
“Her food was simple but full of flavor, and a lot of it stuck with me,” said Nguyen. “One dish that means the most to me is her stir-fried mustard greens with fried rice. I had never tasted it before she made it.”
Egg fried rice with stir-fried beef and mustard greens is on the menu alongside dim sum classics like “cheung fun” shrimp rice roll in a deep soy sauce. Surf clam is sliced thin like carpaccio and served in Sichuan chili oil, while crab roe rice is presented naked, with rich crab roe sauce, pickled cabbage and marinated wood ear mushrooms on the side to allow diners to build their perfect plate.
“I always tell people to start with whatever speaks to them. If it is something they grew up with, that familiarity can be comforting. If it is something they have never tried before, that can be exciting too,” said Nguyen. “The important thing is to trust your curiosity.”
QUA serves contemporary Chinese cuisine with Vietnamese influences inspired by the owner’s grandmother.
(Courtesy of Kei Concepts)
Some dishes lean into Vietnamese tradition, like the pan-fried oyster pancake, a take on bánh xèo, a crispy egg crepe studded with briny nuggets and stuffed with Chinese chives and fresh cilantro.
Others are like Chinese banquet-style dishes, including the Sichuan bang bang chicken, a heaping plate loaded with chicken, scallion and fried peanuts in Sichuan chili sauce. For dessert, there is mango sago pudding and kayak toast, a milk bread sandwich of coconut jam and Vermont butter that’s toasted and served with a soft-boiled egg for dipping.
The restaurant is in a test-run, soft-open phase for now, during which the team will continue to fine-tune the dining experience, according to Nguyen.
“Things at QUA are always going to change. We’ll definitely have a core group of dishes that people love, but we also want the restaurant to stay dynamic,” he added.
One thing that won’t change is the personal intention behind the concept.
“QUA reflects what I grew up eating, what I learned later on and what I want to share with our guests,” Nguyen said.
Qua is located at 16121 Brookhurst St. in Fountain Valley. Current hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For reservations visit quadining.com