QUA Contemporary Chinese Cuisine
HBA’s design of QUA Contemporary Chinese Cuisine in Fountain Valley, California, artfully blends modern hospitality with rich cultural narratives, celebrating heritage through evocative spaces that foster connection and conviviality.
HBA Los Angeles has completed the design of QUA Contemporary Chinese Cuisine, the newest restaurant from Kei Concepts founder and chef Viet Nguyen. Located in Fountain Valley, Calif., within Orange County’s Little Saigon, QUA marks a return to roots for the restaurateur – a tribute to family, memory, and the flavors of home.
Envisioned as a spatial love letter to Nguyen’s Vietnamese-Chinese heritage, QUA’s interiors transform over 9,000 square feet of space, seating nearly 190 guests, into an evocative expression of layered identity, migration, and modern conviviality. HBA Los Angeles designers sought to honor the resilience of Nguyen’s grandmother, Vũ Thị Lan, and the rich cultural tapestry of Chợ Lớn, Saigon’s historic Chinatown, where she built a life from scratch for her 10 children after fleeing North Vietnam.
Soaring 15-foot ceilings set the stage for atmospheric illumination and a palette of rich jewel tones and botanical textures. At the restaurant’s heart, a four-sided bar serves as both a social hub and a focal point. A luminous canopy floats overhead; its curved form bathed in a golden glow, reflecting softly onto mirrored surfaces to imbue the space with a dynamic sense of energy. This interplay transforms the bar into a beacon of connection visible from every table. An adjacent mural of tropical flora brings Saigon’s verdant landscape indoors, recalling the hand-painted wallcoverings of early Indochina realized in a modern interpretation.
Anchoring the back wall, a custom hand-painted mural tells a story of migration and the traditions carried across generations that shaped QUA. The composition captures the spirit of Chợ Lớn through glowing lanterns, narrow shophouses, and the familiar presence of a noodle cart. Throughout the 20th century, these humble carts served mì and hủ tiếu, nourishing passersby with comforting bowls born from the blend of Chinese techniques and Vietnamese flavors. A portrait of Grandma Vũ pays tribute to her legacy and influence, which thread directly into the creation of QUA.
Clean-lined millwork in deep green lacquer establishes a dialogue between the time-honored and the contemporary. Banquettes upholstered in rich, golden leather introduce a refined counterpoint to the space, while cane-back dining chairs add tactile warmth and visual lightness. Brick walls and woven screening elements provide complementary contrast to polished stone, concrete, and brass accents, echoing the dualities found in QUA’s menus of Vietnamese-Chinese cuisine.
Antique mirrors framed in arched portals and deep green wooden shutters pay homage to Vietnam’s architectural vernacular, linking the past and present through rhythmic repetition in modern compositions. Private dining enclaves and flexible seating arrangements foster the shared, familial dining culture intrinsic to Vietnamese and Chinese banquets, while vintage family photographs from Nguyen’s own archive lend intimacy and authenticity to the visual vocabulary.
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