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I have heard more than one person say that they only started drinking coffee when they come to Vietnam, not by the meaning of living here but as a tourist. It is just this simple, in Vietnam, coffee is a way of life. Learn more: Hanoi tours
There is certainly a lot more to the local stuff than the usual flat whites, cappuccinos, or long black. We could find a warm cup of coffee at 4 am in a street, a tiny local café, or at an upmarket setup. The typical choices for a Vietnamese would be “cà phê sữa đá” or “cà phê đen” which are known as coffee with condensed milk and a black coffee respectively.
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How coffee is made could be varied from north to south of Vietnam but we are here to guide you to the signature of Hanoi – Cà phê trứng- Egg coffee. It was created in the early 1950s and inspired by the traditional cappuccino. A standard hot cup of egg coffee possesses a thick and creamy yellow egg layer on top harmoniously marriage with a solid Robusta flavor on the bottom. With a creamy soft, meringue-like egg white foam perched on dense Vietnamese coffee, Ca Phe Trung is more like a dessert than a typical coffee, and it is surely a family secret.
Where to find the best egg coffee in town?
Cà Phê Phố Cổ- Old Quarter Cafe
Let’s first head to Ca Phe Pho Co which is located in Hàng Gai, right next to Hoan Kiem Lake and Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. The entrance is hidden behind a tiny clothing store. Once entering through the alley, a whole new world of a 100-year-old house stacked with paintings, and antique collections appeared on the first floor, keep climbing up through the old time-colored ladder, and you will get to an open-air sitting area looking over Hoan Kiem Lake where The New York Times once gives “a sweeping view over thousands of motorbikes on their circumambulation around Hoàn Kiếm Lake”.
Address: 11 Hang Gai, Hang Trong Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Opening hours: 8:00- 23:00 Monday to Sunday
Price: 35,000 VND
Cafe Đinh- Dinh coffee
Located in Dinh Tien Hoang street, Dinh café is also a local’s favorite. The egg coffee here is a little different from the one in Ca Phe Pho Co in terms of the bitter coffee taste and its appearance. However, this hidden coffee shop attracts many people for its friendly, casual, and street-style look.
Address: 2nd Floor, 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hang Bac Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Opening hours: 7:00- 22:30 Monday to Sunday
Price: 25,000 VND
Café Giảng- Giang Café
Tucked away in a small alley at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street is a bustling café that will impress you with the appearance of Vietnam in the middle of the last century and an old Hanoi with antique vases, fans, and paintings. Besides the incredibly delicious taste of egg coffee, Giang Cafe is also well-known for its long history of being the first place to serve egg coffee in Vietnam. Giang is named after the inventor of egg coffee when he used to work as a bartender at 5-start Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel.
It might be a challenge finding the place for a person visiting Hanoi for the first time but it is well worth the effort.
Address: Alley 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Opening hours: 7:00- 22:30 Monday to Sunday
Price: 30,000 VND