Quan Hop: Where There’s A Will, There’s a Hue

Vietnamese Restaurant Orange County

Quan Hop expands on the Ton family’s central Vietnamese heritage.

This stylish Vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the Ton family, which also owns Quan Hy nearby. Quan Hop is further from the epicenter of Little Saigon, so it’s a less hectic way to enjoy matriarch Kim Toa Tran’s Hue-style dishes. According to our waiter, the name means, “people from Hue who come to be happy and eat.” Turns out you don’t have to be from Hue to enjoy Quan Hop.


Vietnamese Restaurant Orange County

Quan Hop is situated in a horseshoe-shaped strip mall. The sleek space features plenty of decorative bamboo, wood floors, a curved wood bar, yellow walls and modern track lighting.

Vietnamese Restaurant Orange County

A backlit water wall showcasing the restaurant’s name connects to a well-populated fish tank, which included a poor man’s Nemo (fewer stripes) and a standard-issue Dory (the movie’s blue co-star).

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Five of us split three appetizers. Goi Cuon Nem Nuong Lui (2 for $6) – charbroiled shrimp ball spring rolls – featured meatloaf-like shrimp slabs wrapped in rice paper with rice vermicelli and scallions. The light rolls came with a dish of chile-flecked peanut dipping sauce.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Banh uot cuon thit bo nuong ($7.50) were especially luscious, grilled beef wrapped in steamed rice paper with scallions. The appetizer was served with soybean sauce studded with sesame seeds.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Bánh ít ram ($5.50) are glutinous “potstickers” stuffed with crumbled pork and shrimp, scallions and black tree ear mushroom slivers. They appear on crunchy fried rice cakes and come topped with sweet fried onions and scallions.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Com ca sea bass hap gung ($12) was a light but flavorful entrée centering on steamed sea bass chunks served in a peppery broth. The square “bowl” also contained julienned ginger, okra, cherry tomatoes, red and green peppers and bitter greens.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Bún Chá Hà nôi ($8.50) is a Ha Noi classic pairing grilled pork and pork patties, topped with caramelized onion bits and strands of pickled carrot and daikon, for crunch. They serve the pork with bowls of rice vermicelli, fresh herbs and a tangy amber-hued vinegar sauce floating with pickled radish slices.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Grilled pork arrived with a dome of white rice that’s blanketed with finely minced shrimp.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

Two people ordered a rice vermicelli and meat combo. Bun Tom Nem Nuong Lui ($8.50) featured grilled shrimp, sliced shrimp balls, lettuce, pickled vegetables, sprouts, scallions and peanuts. Another person got a similar dish with grilled pork instead of the shrimp balls.

Vietnamese Food Orange County

The terrific Iced Mint Tea ($3.50) incorporated fresh mint leaves, sliced oranges and plenty of sugar.

Other people bought the Café Sua Da Lanh ($2.50) – Iced Coffee with condensed milk.

I’ve had plenty of success at Quan Hy, but Quan Hop offered a better dining experience. It’s less crowded, the dishes are just as affordable and half a notch more interesting.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

black mint tea…

Tea Chef…

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Vietnamese-Cafe » CDCR STAR - Corrections Clips

[…] quan hop – westminster, ca – sunday, june 29, 2008this stylish vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the ton family, which also owns quan hy nearby. quan hop is further from the epicenter of little saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch kim toa tran’s hue-style … […]

[…] quan hop – westminster, ca – sunday, june 29, 2008this stylish vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the ton family, which also owns quan hy nearby. quan hop is further from the epicenter of little saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch kim toa tran’s hue-style … […]

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[…] Quan Hop – Westminster, CA – Sunday, June 29, 2008This stylish Vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the Ton family, which also owns Quan Hy nearby. Quan Hop is further from the epicenter of Little Saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch Kim Toa Tran’s Hue-style … […]

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Vietnamese-Cafe » Quan Hop - Westminster, CA - Sunday, June 29, 2008

[…] Quan Hop – Westminster, CA – Sunday, June 29, 2008This stylish Vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the Ton family, which also owns Quan Hy nearby. Quan Hop is further from the epicenter of Little Saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch Kim Toa Tran’s Hue-style … […]

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[…] Quan Hop – Westminster, CA – Sunday, June 29, 2008This stylish Vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the Ton family, which also owns Quan Hy nearby. Quan Hop is further from the epicenter of Little Saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch Kim Toa Tran’s Hue-style … […]

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[…] Quan Hop – Westminster, CA – Sunday, June 29, 2008This stylish Vietnamese café debuted in 2006 courtesy of the Ton family, which also owns Quan Hy nearby. Quan Hop is further from the epicenter of Little Saigon, so it’sa less hectic way to enjoy matriarch Kim Toa Tran’s Hue-style … […]

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