Thursday night at Annalien

I couldn’t even think of eating breakfast this morning, so full was I from last night’s dinner at Annalien*. Testament to the deliciousness at Annalien or evidence of my own gluttony? You decide. (I dare you to sit down at the table and delicately nibble, turning away opportunities for a taste of this or that. Can’t be done.)

We were celebrating the ever-mysterious Natasha’s birthday, and we ordered plenty of food, sharing everything: spring rolls, broiled eggplant (so savory and perfect!), ginger chicken dumpling soup, bass in a banana leaf and spicy vegetable curry with tofu. Stuffed.

Anna made an appearance, of course. More than that, she sat down to chat (Robin is a long-time patron of Annalien) and upon discovering that we were dining in honor of Natasha’s birthday, she brought out a bottle of bubbly and joined us in toast after toast. Every other sentence was punctuated with the clinking of glasses—mostly for no other reason than to hear the festive sound. I tell you, it felt like New Year’s Eve.

Not a turnip or a radish but a scrumptious sorbet!

Later, Amira appeared with this lovely mango/raspberry/passion fruit sorbet in white chocolate—also on the house. Honestly, we hadn’t even considered dessert and I could barely summon the willpower to heft my spoon and take a bite. But I managed and didn’t bear a moment’s regret.

Is the fare at Annalien truly Vietnamese? There’s much debate about this on dining review sites. My expectation for the meal was to enjoy good, savory food with my good friends—are these low expectations or the very highest?—and I wasn’t disappointed. I am not an authority on Vietnamese cuisine, but my hunch is that the restaurant and food are as distinctive as Anna herself. (And, sure, I could be romanticizing the notion—I am still quite taken with the memory of the meal.)

So take a friend or three to Annalien (invite me, if you need another), order a good bottle of wine and I think you will be hard-pressed not to have a delicious time!

(Photo courtesy my iPhone)

*I’ll own up: I’ve been pronouncing Annalien wrong. It’s ANNA-LEEN–three simple syllables, as in “See Annalien against a tree.” Spread the word, because I know I’m not the only one mispronouncing the name.