The Gossiping Gourmet:

New on the scene and dramatically set is AnQi, the latest production from the An family, most notably the owners of Crustacean in Beverly Hills. It’s situated just across from Charlie Palmer’s, making a dynamic dining duo in South Coast Plaza.

The owner-designed interior can only be described as stunning, with the architectural fusion of the décor matching the culinary fusion of the menu.

We were first dazzled by the towering back-lit, glass-brick wall of bottles of booze behind the bar. We then took in the enormity of the high-ceilinged space divided into three main dining areas: one exclusively for dining, one with its fireplace for lounging and dining and the third, with its additional bar, for drinking and dining while watching the gigantic wall TV.

Elements of wood, concrete and stone create a modern interpretation of Pan-Asian influences. Rivers of shiny black rocks imply the flowing water element in a Japanese garden. Screens divide the rooms, and red is the accent color. We could go on and on, but let’s get to the food.

Once again, fusion is the order of the day, with influences from Vietnam, Japan and China as well as the U.S., Mexico and Italy (and maybe a few others we missed).

A good portion of the menu consists of hot and cold small plates, which are big enough to share. Our waitress encouraged us to try lots of different tastes, which is just what we like to do. We requested our dishes be served individually rather than all at once so we could savor each one, and they came out at a perfect pace.

Our first dish was the smallest, the big-eye tuna tacos — four little two-bite boquitas, served on rounds of fried wonton skin, topped with shredded green papaya and slices of seared tuna, then finished with jewel-like bits of sweet glazed tomato. The plate was drizzled with pureed tomatillo sauce for extra zing. All in all, it was a very tasty tidbit — spicy, crunchy, sweet and tart.

Salt-and-pepper calamari is their take on the classic Chinese salt-and-pepper shrimp. Deep fried in batter and then refried in salt and pepper in the Chinese way, they were very tasty but too greasy. Shreds of red, green and jalapeno pepper added nice texture. Accompanying the calamari was a really delicious, spicy sun-dried tomato aioli for dipping.