Café Culture in Ho Chi Minh City: Part 3
Of course, you’ve already read my Café Culture in Ho Chi Minh City, chronicles Part 1, here and Part 2, here, detailing not just Vietnam’s obsession with cafés and coffee shops….. but er, mine too!
As I’ve mentioned before, there’s not a lot for expats to actually do in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), so, part from eating the sublime street food, the former Saigon’s brilliant and unique batch of cafés and coffee shops have been an absolute Godsend - my ultimate way of frittering away the time here. Not only do they serve inexpensive great coffees, especially my #1 preferred, iced coconut coffee (cà phê cot dừa, an increasingly popular drink in sweltering Saigon) but make wonderful bolt-holes to escape the monsoonal rains, reflect on life, scroll through messages (if you must) and diffuse from the urban noise and chaos. Even during a global pandemic, life carries on as normal in these café’s and coffee houses..... all squashed in together and no social distancing here!
Amazingly, after a total of seven years-plus living in HCMC, the weeks I spent here intermittently between 1998 and 2001 and when I dipped south while living in Hanoi, 2002 to 2006, I’m still managing to find even more cafés…..sheesh, I‘m already on Chronicle #3! True, new cafés continue to open, but in most cases, it’s accidentally stumbling upon beloved local haunts I’m astounded I never knew existed. Although a creature of habit with my die-hard favourites, in the name of research, I’ve gone out and discovered five more café / coffee house gems across town. And soooo glad I did, as these are equally divine and as per usual, locally-run and boutique, infused with inventive, individual character and intriguing background stories (either from them, or me). Hopefully, along with the rest of my previous recommendations, you’ll sample some of them during your time in HCMC !
1/ She Café
It’s more than likely you wouldn’t find She Café under your own steam. True, it’s located off Pasteur Street, a wonderfully atmospheric and historic street that skewers through the heart of the city and no coincidence, the address of three cafés featured in this chronicle. But in the best traditions of many Saigonese cafes, this one is secluded down a tiny alley and accessed via yet another uninviting, grotty looking stairwell – a small wooden sign hanging above is the only indication of She Café’s existence.
But as usual, worth the undignified ascent (well for an Empress), as upon reaching the first floor, you’ll find a typically sweet little hideaway, a world away from the mayhem below. Enter via the slender garden balcony, with table immersed amongst the greenery and pot plants.
The drinks list focuses on fragrant teas brewed in delicate tea pots, but I opted for my usual ca phe sua da, Saigon’s iconic iced coffee with condensed milk, here, served in a generous-sized glass with an eco-friendly metal straw (well done them!)
She Café’s big draw card however, are the insanely comfy, individual sofa chairs made from heavy drill cotton (not the most hygienic seats in these Covid-19 days, but meh!) and squidgy enough to sink-in all day, perhaps only getting-up to take Instagram images, or visit the bathroom!
I’ve noticed some Saigonese spend so long in cafés, even during weekdays, that they’re in danger of taking root for the duration. In She Café, this habit is elevated to an art form – folk stay here for hours, especially if it's pouring outside. As there are only a limited number of sofa seats, the remainder being less than enticing wooden chairs, maybe that’s another reason patrons tend not to budge. I was pre-warned online that I would find teens curled-up asleep, but on this rainy day, it wasn’t just teens, but new dads with babies sleeping on their chests and middle-aged mums nodding off, such is the super-comfy-ness of these seats. And such is the chilled vibe and sweetness of staff, no one hints at you to drink-up and move on, like some other big brand establishments.
BTW, I have no idea why it’s called She Café.
#158D Pasteur (1st floor),
District One, www.facebook.com/shecafe/
2/ Ca Phe Trung 3T
This wasn’t on my 'go-to-investigates' list; I’d never heard of Ca Phe Trung 3T (3T Egg Coffee Café) and was actually looking for another café along Tôn Đức Thang, an incredibly noisy and busy main artery running parallel to the Saigon River. So I found this delightful gem by accident and in the most unlikely of localities, totally mismatched to its downtown surroundings.
This one-level, solitary building stands ironically juxta-positioned on Tôn Đức Thang, where heavy and pollutant-emitting freight lorries hurtle along at all hours and in the shadow of an imperiously elevated statue of Tran Hung Dao, one of Vietnam’s greatest national heroes. In the 13th century, General Tran Hung Dao thwarted marauding Mongolian forces and their invading boats by planting wooden poles in the Bach Dang Estuary.
What memories the sight of Tran Hung Dao jogged, stopping me in my tracks while strolling around Saigon’s streets for the first time in 1998: his stern gaze and threatening stance with finger pointing out across the Saigon River appeared to boom, “Keep out, all you foreigners!” Today, this legendary war lord, is now symbolically framed by a 21st century invasion, that of international high-rises, but good to see him standing his ground amid all the seismic development.
(Tran Hung Dao has a temple dedicated to him on Vo Thi Sau Street in District One and takes the same imposing stance centrally placed in the front courtyard....)
Opt for the half-mezzanine level that voyeuristically surveys the café floor below.....
the wooden counter alongside windows facing the riverside promenade, or the Oriental-style, raised dark wood platform, traditionally used for tea ceremonies – the latter so popular, alas, it’s continually occupied......
Fabulous attention to detail extends to every nooks and cranny; hand-picked vintage décor and bric-a-brac from art deco ceiling lights and gilt mirrors, to an old-school typewriter
and artful design, from the industrial warehouse-style ceiling to the ‘Staff Only’ entrance.
I wonder if the Saigonese youth who congregate here appreciate any of this; mostly, heads down glancing at their Smartphones ( “The youth is wasted on the youth,” Oscar Wilde once ruefully reflected).
As the café name implies, cà phê trứng, hot egg coffee, is the signature drink here, one of Vietnam’s most celebrated coffees, served with a dollop of frothy egg on top.
Originating in Hanoi, this is arguably where you’ll find the superior version: in fact, during my many fabulous years in the capital, I frequented several egg coffee places as they tended to exude a more traditional ambiance, like infamous hole-in-wall, Café Giang, pictured here from many years ago.......
Cà phê trứng was created more out of necessity rather than a local take on Italian cappuccino. Legend has it, after the Vietnam War, when milk and other foodstuffs were in short supply, locals still craved something creamy to take the bitter edge off domestically-grown coffee. Hence, why readily available egg yolks developed as the perfect alternative. Even when milk became plentiful again and the nation prospered, too late, Hanoians were already hooked on cà phê trứng, especially during those northern chilly winter months.
I can’t confirm if this southern egg
coffee version is better than the north’s, as, even for you, dear reader, I cannot stomach drinking egg, nor their other signatures,
egg cacao and durian coffee – the latter, for reasons I hardly need explaining.
All three, not quite my cup of tea (or rather, coffee), but luckily, plenty of other
drink options abound, including the decent caramel coffee shake and oolong passion
fruit and peach tea.
If you’re holed-up in one of the towering five-star hotels fronting the river (Le Meridien, Lotte Legend Hotel, Renaissance Riverside, etc, etc) and tire of the high-life, literally, come back down to earth at Ca Phe Trung 3T and experience an alternative side to the modern-era glut of slick lobbies and refined restaurants. That is, if they don’t tear this building down, evidently what happened to the café I was originally looking for, nearby.
BTW, there’s another branch in my local neighbourhood (which, you can read all about here); this time, beside a scenic canal and not the bustling Saigon River. And fittingly, like the signature drink, there’s more of a traditional Hanoian flavour here.
#1A Tôn Đức Thang, District One // #355 Hoang Sa, Tan Dinh, District One www.facebook.com/3TEggCoffeeSG/
3/ [a] Coffee Roasters
Another great new find coffee house; in this case, tucked down a side-street sandwiched between Dien Bien Phu and Vo Thi Sau streets, a block east of Hai Ba Trung. Sweet and unassuming, [a] Coffee Roasters is ideal for sleepy Sundays, rainy afternoons, or if you’re in the neighbourhood (which I frequently am), visiting the Jade Emperor Pagoda, as detailed in full here, or exercising in Le Van Tam Park – both nearby.
As the name suggests, however, coffee bean aficionados will also find this café of special interest; apparently, [a] Coffee Roasters serves some of the city’s best artisan brews and speciality coffees (espresso, V60, cold brews, aero-press, sypho, etc, etc), no mean feat with a city increasingly bursting with accomplished competitors). Besides the name, the coffee paraphernalia and jars, packets and hessian sacks brimming with aromatic beans from Laos, Vietnam, Kenya and more, alludes this place means business......
However, it's all a bit more
laid-back here and lacks some of the pretentiousness that you may find in a few downtown establishments. Again, I was the only foreigner here, but everyone, including the amiable
staff, were quite welcoming and as with a lot of local, small establishments,
you pay the bill when you leave, a nice gesture. Despite all the sophisticated brew
options, I plumped for my usual ca phe sua da served in a midi-glass. All
good.
Interiors are both cool and cosy, with exposed brickwork and faux terracotta Cham and Buddha statues, combined with homely touches that extend to bookshelves, potted orchids, framed photographs and stacks of well-thumbed magazines. The low-ceilinged space is so narrow, the main seating is one long communal wooden table with individual stools, so you’ll inevitably get familiar with your fellow patrons (who, again, look like they’ve taken root, feverishly tapping on their laptops). If you seek more of a chill-out vibe, head upstairs for the cute mezzanine den with cushioned seats and indoor garden.
Alternatively, there’s a street-side table out-front, perfect for smokers, or when it gets packed inside.
Apparently, if you turn-up here early morning, you may catch a mobile food cart selling one of Saigon’s finest takes on bánh mì (beloved street food of mini-baguette stuffed with sliced pork belly and pork floss, pickled veggies, mayo and French pate) that parks outside.
#15 Huynh Khuong
Ninh Street, Dakao Ward, District One, www.facebook.com/acafein
4/The Old Compass Café
Okay, so turn into a reed-thin hem (alley) mid-way down Pasteur Street; immediately on your right, you’ll find a 1960’s apartment block that has seen better days and a striking red sign, heralding, The Old Compass Café...........
Similar to She Café, again, you’ll be faced with a dodgy looking stairwell; in this case, stone stairs that sends you spiralling for three floors past residents’ living quarters . You ask yourself, where am I going? Aren’t there easier ways to get a caffeine fix? Why isn’t there a lift? But then, as usual, all is forgiven, entering a vortex of a lovely artsy-style café and welcomed with a warm-as-toast vibe from staff.
The intimate, sunlight-filled space resembles someone’s modern-meets-vintage living room, with repurposed tiled and wooden floors, comfy sofas and long tables with sit-up stools, all tastefully decorated with vases of Birds of Paradise flowers, pot plants, candles and stacks
of books that have passed through many hands....
And for furtive smokers, or those wishing to gossip in privacy, the stick-thin balcony at the rear will suffice........
Seems everyone knew
about this place, except this Jade(d) Empress. Even though this isn’t my usual café haunt, The Old Compass Café was always on my radar.
But alas, I left it too late: yep, it’s still standing (unlike others), but by the time I get here, there’s
a pandemic going down and the dynamics have all changed. With Vietnam’s borders
shut for months, there are no tourists about and even though a reduced number
of expats still remain in town, early afternoon on a weekday, it was surprising
empty (hmmmm, maybe they’re elsewhere at a new-kid-on-the-block venue?). Perhaps
it is still relatively buzzing night-time,
but unless I push myself out post-dusk to socialise downtown, I’ll never know!
Even deserted, I can still see The Old Compass Café's buzzy, potential and claim of, “We’ve a lovely place to chill, chat over a drink day or night” for what we now wearingly call ‘normal times’ – it’s like the hosts have simply slipped away on holidays. Ho-hum, looks like I missed out, but any excuse to return and see what really goes on here, once this dratted pandemic has moved on.
3rd Floor, #63/11 Pasteur Street (next to Liberty City Point Hotel), District One, www.oldcompasscafe.com/
5/ Chinatown Saigon Café
Whooaaaaaa!! Looks like the former Heritage Café got a new owner, apt new name and got revamped and rethemed. Not quite what I expected, as reading-up about what was Heritage Café, it sounds like it had a different vibe, clientele and décor.
But I loooooove this new version!
At the southernmost, less frequented end of Pasteur Street, Chinatown Saigon Café is like stepping off the streets of Saigon and onto a dated, Hong Kong film set.
Gorgeously evocative of the former British-Chinese colony (and I should know, as I travelled there back in 1989!), I half-expected cheong sam-attired Suzy Wong’s to burst through the staff only door at the rear and Jackie Chan to break out into an almighty Kung Fu fight. As it goes, this miniscule café appears to be gathering point for some of the city’s Viet-Chinese community (the main Chinatown, Cholon, is way west of here) – as the name implies.
The scene is set with a black and white photograph of Bruce Lee as you enter, a select menu of authentic Hong Kong dishes and garish green and red neon Chinese characters on the walls. Staff prepare drinks behind a gorgeously decorated service zone, a vintage trolley with intricately painted mirrors, red lanterns, red gladioli and an oversized dim sum steamer, backed with vintage luggage piled up high.......
The retro vibe continues with leather banquette seats, overhung with whirring ceiling fans and tables set with 1950s-era clunky table telephones and art deco table lights.
Another draw card is the outrageous iced coconut coffees. By now, you know how much this Jade(d) Empress is obsessed with cà phê cot dừa, one of the things I’ll miss most when I leave town; a cocktail-like concoction of traditional drip Vietnamese coffee, blended with coconut milk, fresh milk and condensed milk, poured into a glass stacked with ice. Sooooo Saigonese!
Yum! Life is too short to worry about muffin top waistlines.
Chinatown Saigon Café also operates 24/7, so you can snap Instagram shots and wolf down noodles after a night out on the tiles; this joint is so dimly-lit, with one small street window, you’d never know if it’s day or night anyway. Along from the iced coconut coffees, I’ll be back, at any hour, to sample the Hong Kong-nese food and wait for Jackie Chan to make an appearance.
#10 Pasteur Street, District One
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