From Hue, with a modern flourish

Snaking across the back of the new Quan Hy’s dining room, an undulating polished wood bar heightens the luxe look of a space made stylish with Vietnamese antiques against soft gray walls, natural stone accents and bamboo that grows through the lofty ceiling. A small bridge leads across a trickling stream into the restaurant.

Symbolically, at least, the bridge links Little Saigon’s two worlds: the traditional one that persists in many of Westminster’s shops and cafes and the upbeat, very now-generation Vietnamese scene inside Quan Hy.

Music-loving co-owner Bao Ton, who’s responsible for the jazz and samba music that floats through the handsome dining room, manages the Quan Hy with the help of several family members. Ton came to this country at age 5 with an aunt and uncle and didn’t see his parents or six brothers and sisters again for more than a decade. When the family finally reunited, they scraped together the funds to open a tiny cafe, speculating that the meticulous Hue-style cooking of his mother, Kim Toa Tran, could draw a following.

The cafe was a success, allowing the Tons to open the first Quan Hy three years ago in a more upscale part of Little Saigon on Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove. In July they unveiled this second, much larger Quan Hy about a mile away in the splashy new Today Plaza.

The up-to-date look of the latest Quan Hy is accented by a reminder of the Ton family’s heritage: a huge photograph of a palace in Hue, the ancient royal city of central Vietnam, known for the refined cuisine of Vietnam’s imperial court. Hue’s food emphasizes sophisticated cooking techniques. Kim Toa Tran carries tradition a step further with her own flourishes.

One dish after another is presented so beautifully that customers are tempted to over-order when they see what’s arriving at tables around them. Her Hue-style banh beo, steamed-rice flour pancakes the size of a silver dollar, are as sheer as lingerie. Each pancake is presented in its own tiny dish topped with pale pink chopped shrimp, and the eight little dishes are arranged dramatically on a square tray with a dainty bowl of seasoning sauce.

A dish called banh it ram consists of three plump sticky-rice dumplings stuffed with slivered mushrooms, chopped shrimp and lean pork, each served on a crunchy fried-rice cake. The combination delivers a magical mix of textures and flavors.

Instead of the usual Vietnamese fried spring rolls (cha gio), Kim Toa Tran offers much plumper rolls of crab and shrimp enveloped in a crisp, airy rice paper covering reminiscent of filo pastry. There is a vegetarian menu, and both banh beo and banh it ram are available in meatless versions.

There is no better way to follow up these appetizers than with goi mit. This stunning salad of shredded green jackfruit tossed with plump shrimp, strips of pork and a profusion of fresh herbs, comes lightly anointed with a barely sweet, garlicky dressing. Surrounded by crunchy rice and sesame seed crackers used as edible spoons, it has as much flavor and visual punch as innovations created by chefs in much more expensive restaurants.

Another fascinating salad is sliced banana flowers (they taste something like hearts of palm) and chopped Manila clams. You might follow this up with “shredded” chicken, a grilled chicken breast that’s not really shredded but deeply scored before cooking and glazed with a slightly caramelized reduction.

Noodles in various sizes, shapes, colors and ingredients show up in almost every menu category. For the most part, Kim Toa Tran honors her roots by staying with Central-style noodle specialties. Bun bo Hue, her region’s equivalent of the favorite Vietnamese beef soup pho, is a flavorful russet-colored broth, heady with a light sting of chiles.

With its garnish of dainty, diamond-shaped patties of chopped shrimp and ground pork, the No. 10 is the most refined of her several Hue-style noodle soups. But even the more robust house special, the No. 9, with the addition of sliced pork and beef, is far daintier than the usual versions.

For dessert there are warm puddings based on taro or sweet corn kernels, or a rich icy drink of creamy coconut milk with red beans. To the uninitiated these desserts may seem like experimental fusion dishes. In fact, they are longtime favorites on the other side of Quan Hy’s bridge.

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Quan Hy Central Vietnamese Restaurant

Location: 9727 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, (714) 775-7179.

Price: Appetizers and rice cakes, $4.75 to $6.75; main dishes, $5.75 to $7.95; desserts, $2 to $3.

Best dishes: Goi mit, banh beo, banh it ram, shredded chicken with fried sweet rice.

Details: Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. No alcohol. Visa and MasterCard.