The Coffee House

The Coffee House Vietnam

One of the favorite hang-out places of the local Vietnamese would be the Coffee House Vietnam. The shop has a very different approach to creating a coffee experience. It makes use of well-thought coffee concepts printed on the walls, provision of long tables for big groups,  and request for feedback among customers. They serve local and western coffee at very reasonable prices and very attractive cakes and pastries. They also offer a pair of caphe sua dua and bahn mi at 49,000vnd.

I saw several outlets of The Coffee House. I had the chance to visit the branch at the runabout of  Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa in Ben Thanh. It was a time well spent as I was caught by the rain. Many Vietnamese in small and big groups were very comfortable in this place.

The shop also plays very contemporary American slow pop music. Me, I had a good time reading and observing, my people-watching kind of afternoon.

Morning Coffee

Typically, coffee in Vietnam makes use of a coffee filter and hot water. It is served with a jigger of condensed milk, poured with the pure, strong shot of the filtered coffee, stirred and then filled with cubes of ice. This makes for a perfect iced coffee or ca phe sua dua as it is called in Vietnamese.

Filterning my own coffee, the brewing style in Saigon

 

So while I stay now in Saigon, I also filter my own coffee (equivalent to brewing), and preserve the strong filtered coffee in my refrigerator. In the morning, I just pour a shot of the coffee in my cup, pour hot water, I now have my cafe americano.

On other days that I am in a hurry, I get it from the mobile coffee vendor, ca phe sua dua style at 12,000Vnd.

 

 

 

Tous les Jours for Fresh Bread and Coffee

For some people like me, strong coffee in the morning is ideal but not the cold, iced coffee. I still prefer the hot, freshly brewed or dripped black coffee. It makes me warm and really perked up.

Almost all Vietnamese would have iced coffee in the morning. Hence, most of the coffee shops would also serve iced coffee. A few would have hot americano, cafe latte or cappucino but very pricey and usually, it is for dining customers.

So one very nice alternative is Tous les Jours. There are many branches including in Vincom Center. But at the corner of Le Thanh Ton and Thai Van Lung, a Tous les Jours bakery opens early in the morning with very fresh baked breads– from soft rolls to muffins,  with bean or custard filling, with bacon or sausages, all good-smelling and inviting.

In this coffee shop, they also serve fruit smoothies, iced tea, and their taro bubble tea is divine. They serve iced coffee and dripped hot americano at 40,000 Vnd, a lot cheaper from all the American coffee shops around. Just make sure when you order, tell the service crew you are getting the “hot coffee” or the “hot americano“.