Editor’s note: Nosh covers food and restaurant news across the East Bay, and each week we publish one article covering all the restaurant openings and one article covering closings. Have a tip for Nosh? Submit it here.
HL Peninsula
Any guesses where the largest dim sum restaurant in the country is located? If you said Castro Valley, you’d be correct. HL Peninsula, a local purveyor of Cantonese cuisine with locations in Burlingame, Milpitas and South San Francisco, opened its behemoth East Bay location last month, boasting an occupancy of 846 across ten dining rooms and 28,000 square feet. You’ll find a menu equally as expansive, with generous dim sum offerings as well as dinner entrees and set menus best for birthdays and banquets. Steamed soup dumplings, sautéed lobster with peanuts, pan-seared pork bao and rice noodle rolls all make an appearance alongside decadent tea offerings. HL Peninsula, 3868 Castro Valley Blvd. (at Marshall St.), Castro Valley
Kopi Bar
Kopi Bar, Walnut Creek’s highly popular Indonesian-Californian café, left a hole in the hearts of avocado coffee lovers when it shuttered alongside sister restaurant SanDai earlier this year. But the good news is that the café is back, this time within the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and yes — creamy avocado coffees and coconut cappuccinos are still on the menu. You’ll also find pastries and savory dishes like Indonesian fried rice, lemongrass butternut squash soup and mushroom congee. Check out Nosh’s exclusive first look at Kopi Bar for more details. Kopi Bar, 2155 Center St., Berkeley
