Helene An has an amazing restaurant, and an amazing story to match it. Forced to leave her native home in Hanoi, Vietnam, with barely an hour's notice, she fled with her family to San Francisco in the wake of the Vietnam War. There, they ran Thanh Long, a 20-seat deli that they transformed into a 170-seat restaurant that was San Francisco's first Vietnamese eatery. After its success, she spread her culinary wings and opened Crustacean nearby in 1991. By 1995, one of her five daughters, Elizabeth, had found a property in Los Angeles. It was in Beverly Hills, to be exact, and it was the perfect spot to locate a second Crustacean. Chef An opened the restaurant, the design of which she based on her grandparents' lavish country estate in the outskirts of Hanoi, to much fanfare in 1997. With an underfoot aquarium that spans into the two-story main dining room, complete with working ceiling fans, it's the ultimate in Vietnamese elegance. And that doesn't even take into account the food, which comes from Chef An's "Secret Kitchen." A private kitchen open only to family members, it's where she prepares the family's secret recipes, which she plans to leave her children as part of their inheritance. While dining at Crustacean, it's strongly recommended that you try one of these secret family dishes, which are paired with many other items on Crustacean's elaborate Euro-Asian menu. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll want to come back for more. In particular, we suggest you try Chef An's famous garlic noodles; they are simply the best we've ever had. Of course, the recipe is under lock and key in the Secret Kitchen, so you'll have to have Chef An adopt you in order to find out the special ingredients!