On Thursday night, Will headed to a dinner with some of his co-workers and some folks in town for a speech conference. Cindy, a Nuance-er who I had met in Grand Cayman in January, was sweet enough to remember my foodie-ness and extended the invitation to me...how could I refuse? The destination was Ana Mandara, a French-Vietnamese restaurant close to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square.
I had been wanting to try Ana Mandara for quite sometime, but to be honest, I've always had a hard time bringing myself to hang out in Fisherman's Wharf. But this was a perfect time to try it, so I was psyched.
Ana Mandara is infamously known as "Don Johnson's restaurant', and the kitchen is under the helm of Executive Chef Khai Duong, a pioneer of modern Vietnamese cuisine. We had an early reservation at 6 pm. The room is beautiful, a multi-tiered room with lush greenery, great ambiance and lighting, and beautiful accents (specifically representing cranes and turtles).
There were 11 folks at dinner, a nice large party, and starters were ordered for the table. I love it when other people take the lead in ordering food for a group, in this case, it was Cindy. I tend to favor certain types of food, and when someone else orders, I get to try dishes that I might never order. Very exciting! The servers were fantastic and the appetizer order gave enough portions for everyone and was served individually.
On my plate above:
- "Whispering Waves" - Crispy lobster ravioli with mango and coconut sauce
- "Delightful Dewdrops" - Vietnamese steamed dumplings with shrimp and chicken
- "Smoky Wonders" - Mesquite-grilled baby spare ribs with five-spiced honey bbq sauce
These bites were really nice, and were easily split individually. The crispy lobster ravioli was my favorite on this plate. I usually gravitate to spare ribs, and they were good, but nothing compared to the other starters.
Another feature appetizer that was ordered was the Kobe beef tartare with some kind of potato cake on the bottom and truffle oil sprinkled on the plate. I looovvee beef tartare, and don't always order it. This tartare was really nice because the egg was not over-powering and the meat tasted fresh and rich...mmm...meat...
The last starter was the "Voyage Into Sunshine", which was a ceviche of striped bass, cucumber, shallots and red chili oil. I'm used to typical ceviche which includes diced or cut chunks of raw fish that taste relatively "cooked' after the marinade process. This preparation was delightfully different, as the bass was marinated as a thin fillet and was presented more sashimi style. By far the best appetizer of the bunch.
Cindy also ordered the table small bowls of Ana Mandara's trademark crab soup called the "Dreams of Sea and Fire", which included sweet Dungeness crab and house-made hand-cut noodles. Wonderful, wonderful soup.
As most of you know, I usually only blog about what Will and I eat, but folks were excited to share what they were eating too, so here are some of the other entree dishes that were sampled during the dinner...
Steve had the "Tales from the West Sea", which was a whole New Zealand Snapper with a green mango sauce. Steve was so taken by this dish that he declared it one of the best fish dishes he had ever had. What was so great about this dish was the green mango sauce, which had a perfect balance of zippy spice with the flavorful mango to complement the snapper.
Cindy, Shine and Mark had the "Ebony & Ivory", the Seared Day Boat Scallops with sweet black rice, light kumqut marmalade sauce, and asparagus. All three enjoyed their scallops and commented on how satisfying the dish was.
Will had the "Storm Clouds Brewing", the Roasted Rare Duck Breast with daikon cake, Shanghai baby bok choy and caffe latte sauce. The duck was perfectly cooked, with the just-right amount of sauce that did not overwhelm the duck, and wonderfully cooked asparagus.
Ah yes, and I had the "Memories of Nha Trang", the Maine Lobster with sweet and sour lobster roe sauce and sticky black rice and green beans. It's no secret that I love lobster, and this dish was good, but it was the roe sauce and the green beans that I couldn't ge enough of. I've noticed that lately, a dish will really win me over if the sides and accompaniements bowl me over.
Meyer Lemon Mousse in a fresh orange cup. This was very light and I always love the fresh taste of anything made with Meyer lemons.
Ginger creme brulee with candied ginger. Creme brulee used to be my favorite dessert, but that has changed in the past couple years. I rarely order it now, tending to not order dessert at all and try others', or order something like sorbet. This creme brulee was good, but nothing to write home about. The ginger was subtle, but there's nothing like the classic.
Roasted Banana Boat with caramel-walnut sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. This was Will's pick, a great dessert, especially if you might happen to like a tasty banana with a rich caramel sauce.
Coconut black rice pudding with vanilla ice cream and guava sauce. I had a little taster of this, which was fine, but also nothing to write home about.Maybe I was a little full from the epic eating, but the starters and the entrees definitely outshone the desserts for me. Ana Mandara has such an extensive menu that includes an easy-to-please wine, cocktail, aperatif and after-dinner drink list, that there's plenty to come back for. I was surprised to find that the beautiful dining room wasn't very busy this evening.
The night was fantastic and I was so happy to check another one off my list. Thanks to Cindy for an amazing dining experience!
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