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Contra Costa Marketplace - Nov 2015

Hornbill Restaurant: Burmese Cuisine Comes to West County! When the “Coming Soon” signs went up for the Hornbill Burmese Cuisine restaurant, I remember wondering what kind of food this would be. Of course, I’d heard of Burma, but had never had eaten Burmese food. In anticipation of my visit to Hornbill, I did a bit of research about Burma, and learned that it is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos, and Thailand. Burma is officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and it is divided into seven states and seven regions. Considering the geography of Burma, it is not surprising that traditional Burmese food has been influenced by the cuisine from some of its neighboring countries, particularly India and Thailand. Hornbill owner, Ngun Hlawn, purchased the business formerly known as Champa Restaurant, located in Sobrante Plaza on San Pablo Dam Road in El Sobrante. Ngun has always been a business 34 MARKETPLACEcontracosta.com november 2015 woman, and currently owns and manages a Sushi business at the Safeway store in El Cerrito. Although she’d never previously owned or operated a restaurant, she recognized that Burmese restaurants are highly popular in the Bay Area; however, the closest venues are in Alameda and San Francisco counties. Hornbill was opened as a result of Ngun’s desire to introduce Burmese cuisine to the local Contra Costa community. Hornbill Burmese Cuisine opened in early July with assistance mostly from Ngun’s family members who currently make up the majority of the staff. I had the pleasure of meeting with and interviewing Ngun’s niece, Far Sung, and her husband, Tha Bawi, to learn more about the business and Burmese cuisine. Far explained that the family is from the Chin State in Burma, which is geographically close to the Indian border. The Great Hornbill is the state bird of the Chin State—hence, the restaurant’s name. The restaurant review 3550 SAN PABLO DAM ROAD, SUITE J IN EL SOBRANTE | (510) 964-4293 hornbillburmese.com by vickie lewis RIBEyE PHO SESAME CHICkEN AND GARLIC STRING BEANS


Contra Costa Marketplace - Nov 2015
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