 | | | Hoang Ho opens a branch of Kibi's Cafe, the popular Vietnamese restaurant in Walnut Creek, in Theatre Square. Photo Sora O'Doherty | | | | | | Hoang Ho, the owner of the successful Kibi's Café in Walnut Creek, is opening another branch in Orinda. The Vietnamese restaurant replaces Republic of Cake in Theatre Square. Republic of Cake moved to larger premises in Danville last May.
Ho is delighted with the new location, and particularly with the kitchen which enables her to create all of the from-scratch components for her food. The menu will be limited to banh mi sandwiches, summer rolls, noodle salads and drinks, including Vietnamese coffee and Thai iced tea. But Ho hopes to add soups and other items to the menu in time.
Ho, who immigrated from Vietnam in 2015 as a single parent with two children, is passionate about baking, and will be baking her own bread for the sandwiches, as well making as homemade pate, aioli, and pickled vegetables. Both her children graduated from Campolindo High School. Her daughter is now a senior at UC Berkeley with an internship with Microsoft, and her son is a sophomore in engineering at Diablo Valley College. The name, Kibi's Café is composed of her children's nicknames.
The new location is ideal for recreating her family recipes, Ho says. She bases her food on her family experience coupled with available ingredients and the local environment. When she first arrived, she would drive to Oakland for banh mi, but, she says, she was disappointed in the quality available, which led her to open her first restaurant in Walnut Creek just over three years ago. Ho strives to use the highest quality ingredients available in her recipes. |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA