Overview | Restaurant group House of An lead by restauranteur Elizabeth An, her sisters, and their mother/head chef Helen An have been California residents and in the restaurant biz for over 40 years now and their story and what they continue to create in the kitchen is truly inspiring. Crustacean has been a Beverly Hills fine dining staple for some time now and with the recent success and launch of a unique intimant dining experience they’ve dubbed GourMonday at sister restaurant AnQi in Orange County, Angelenos will have such opportunity as well.
GourMonday is a program geared towards the ultra foodies and gourmands of the world seeking unique, special, and one-of-a-kind fine dining experiences. In this particular instance GourMonday will allow Chef Helen An, Chef Ron Lee, chef Tony Nguyen, and a variety of guest chefs to let their creativity and imaginations run wild. The pre-sold dinners will be held at Crustacean on the last Monday of every month, tickets per person will range from $120 – $180 (and sometimes more depending on the ingredients), and only be 18-20 seats available per evening. GourMonday has been a huge success at AnQi and is consistently waitlisted and after my personal investigation and first sneak peek, I can see why.
I had the pleasure of tasting what will be the first GourMonday meal on June 29th which will feature the meal that was presented at the prestigious (for the record I’m on my 4th attempt at spelling that) James Beard Foundation in NYC, also fondly referred to as the “Carnegie Hall of Cuisine” – just to put that into perspective. The meal consisted of amuse-bouches, a five-course meal, and wine pairings for each selected by in house sommeliers Alice Hama and Diane Clemenhagen. If you are a lover of completely original, classy, and deliciously fine dining all for the sake of incredible cuisine, this is a dinner party you shan’t miss. Check back in with Crustacean each month to find out what they’ve got in store for each new GourMonday – it’s already been announced that July’s GourMonday dinner will be Korea Town themed and if I had another $180, you bet your ass I’d be there.
Favorite Drink | What ever the sommelier is pourin’.
Must Order | Anything with An’s famous garlic noodles.
Perfect Spot For | GourMonday – a one-of-a-kind culinary adventure.
Pro Tip | Book ahead! Judging by GourMonday’s instant success in Orange County it’s only a matter of time that LA gets their own waitlist going!
Fun Fact | House of An is known for their “secret kitchens” located in each of the An restaurants. In order to protect family recipes that have made the An House the sensational success it is today, Helen “Mama” An and her most trusted family members are the only ones allowed inside. Not even ME or OPRAH were allowed in! I’ll also have you know that Mama is almost 80 years old and is still kicking serious butt in all of her respective kitchens – secret or not.
Crustacean | 9646 South Santa Monica Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90210 | (310) 205-8990
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