Who’s the chef at new SLO Vietnamese restaurant? He’s cooked for U.S. presidents

Conduct a Google search for “San Luis Obispo places to eat,” and you’ll find that the city is largely defined by its grills, barbeques, pizza parlors and Japanese cuisine.

In June 2020, a new Vietnamese fusion restaurant stepped into the local dining arena. With it came a seasoned chef of a five-star hotel who’s prepared meals for multiple U.S.presidents.

According to its website, @Bites serves up “Vietnamese cuisine with a Western fusion touch.”

That translates to dishes that are low in sugar, naturally gluten-free and made with fresh ingredients, with minimal use of dairy and oil and a reliance on herbs and vegetables.

The restaurant at 195 North Santa Rosa St. boasts a modern design and touch screens for ordering food.

@Bites chef Ly Ngoc Chi has ventured from kitchen to kitchen for the last 37 years.

His culinary quest began as a dishwasher in his home country of Vietnam. He moved up the ranks quickly and soon traveled to Switzerland to further his understanding of global cookery.

“I loved the cooking,” said Chi, adding that he enjoys creating delicious food that’s also healthy.

After becoming versed in western cooking traditions Chi, returned to Vietnam and continued working for hotel kitchens.

Chi was heading the kitchen at New World Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh in 2000 when then-President Bill Clinton visited. Chi said he collaborated with the hotel board of directors for more than a year to prepare for the president’s stay.

Six years later, the hotel received a visit from then-President George W. Bush.

It was in the kitchen that Chi met his wife, Loan Ngo. They worked together for 25 years after Chi hired his wife as one of the nearly 150 staff members who reported to him in his role as executive chef.

Chi said that his wife is a specialist when it comes to cooking Chinese meals.

“She is very good at cooking, but still under me. You go into the hotel, I control her, but when I go home, she controls me,” Chi joked.

After the birth of their first child, Jenifer, the couple decided it was time to leave their home country and move closer to Chi’s father-in-law, who had immigrated to the United States shortly after the Vietnam War.

But the family faced a variety of complications that delayed their immigration for nearly 15 years.

When Chi and his family began the process of immigrating to the United States, his daughter was 8 years old. By the time their paperwork was fully processed, his daughter was over the age of 21, which further complicated things, he said.

American immigration officials wanted to separate the family, leaving Chi’s daughter in Vietnam.

After getting help from a friend of his father-in-law, the family, including Chi’s daughter and son, Nghiep, were able to formally immigrate to the United States in 2010.

They lived in Texas, continuing their legacy of working in hotel kitchens.

After nearly 10 years of U.S. citizenship, Chi said his brother contacted him about a new business venture— one where he would be free to run the kitchen however he saw fit.

Chi moved to San Luis Obispo to run and train the staff of @Bites, which his brother owns.

According to Danny Tren, a family friend and part-time @Bites employee, the majority of the staff at the restaurant is directly related to Chi or married into the family.

Chi’s wife and two children remain in Texas, where his daughter works in the service industry and his son is studying at the University of Texas to become a doctor. Chi said that he is considering moving his wife to the Central Coast to take advantage of the mild California climate and hospitable people.

Still, Chi said, he is “very happy” to “work together with my family.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 10:02 AM.