Vietnam is a country that runs on coffee. There are lots of cafe on just about every block in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and mostly packed with locals leisurely sipping their cuppa, sitting on their low miniature chairs and table while enjoying the day. and others grabbing a take out cup on their way to wherever they’re going.
(Hanoi) Trying the Ca Phe Sua Da and a slice of corn cake in Cafe Runam
Coffee is brewed differently in Vietnam. It’s sort of a combination of the French press and pour over methods and despite producing great coffee, it’s surprisingly low tech. You won’t see any fancy looking apparatus for the brew but only with a little metal filter called a “phin”. Grounds go in, hot water goes in, and strong coffee comes out. Tadaa! It’s quite simple actually but the resulting coffee is very thick and flavourful.
This is how Phin filter looks like.
The brewing time takes about 6 - 7 minutes to finish depending on the grind size and how hard you temper the coffee ground. But bear in mind not to press it real hard if you use the fine ground otherwise you won't see any coffee flowing through the filter. The recommended size should be medium-coarse grind.
From this filter you can easily make different types of coffee drinks; Ca Phe Sua (hot milk coffee), Ca Phe Den (hot black coffee), and Ca Phe Trung (egg coffee). If you want it cold, just put "Da" which means ice at the back of each name e.g; Ca Phe Sua Da.
(Cong Ca Phe) Ice Coconut Coffee & Ca Phe Sua Da
(Highlands Coffee) Ca Phe Den Da & Ca Phe Sua Da
When i was in Hanoi, a Vietnamese friend of mine that I knew during my studies in South Korea recommended me to try their famous Ca Phe Trung which is actually a signature drink of Vietnam. I was quite hesitant though. You know, raw egg, Salmonella bla bla bla. But at the same time, I was really curious of it's taste.
Voila! I gave it a go and to my surprise, the coffee tasted really good! The egg part is surprisingly light-tasting and you can't even smell the egg smells at all though it is certainly sweet. To be honest, sweetened coffee ain't my thing really but I rather enjoy it as a treat once in a blue moon.
(Hanoi) Ca Phe Trung from Helio Cafe
C O F F E E C H A I N I N V I E T N A M
Did you know that competitions are real between domestic and international coffee chain in Vietnam? As for the domestic ones, they are hundreds of it across the country and they are actually competing well against international coffee chain like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
1. Cong Ca Phe (Kong Cafe). Apparently this cafe is famous among Koreans that they even opened one branch earlier this year in Seoul. Perhaps it's because of their signature drink; Coconut Coffee which can't be found easily there plus the signature was surprisingly delicious. I went to different branches in Danang and HCMC and yet the customers were mostly Koreans.
(Ho Chi Minh City) Cong Ca Phe 's military-look uniform is actually their trademark.
(Da Nang) Cong Ca Phe was fully packed with Koreans tourists.
(Da Nang) Ice Coconut Coffee, Signature Drink of Cong Ca Phe
2. Phuc Long (Pook Long). The first time I heard Phuc Long I was like hmmm hahaha. The name sounds a bit weird for Bruneians especially if you don't know the right pronunciation. It's "pook long" peeps! Not "puch long". Good thing that they served Vietnamese style americano coffee which is preferable for me compared to those dessert-y coffee.
(Da Nang) I had too much Ca Phe Den Da from Phuc Long.
3. Highlands Coffee is also one of the coffee chains that you can find everywhere across Vietnam. But it's my least favourite as the coffee quality is not as good as those two chains somehow. Different people have different taste anyway. So it's better for you to try it yourself to find out which one you prefer more if you were to be in Vietnam.
(Hanoi) Highland Coffee's open air cafe near Hanoi Opera House
(Hanoi) Different branch of Highland Coffee. Located near Hoan Kiem Lake.
So if you are in Vietnam, you better forget you favorite lattes or your beloved international coffee chain. But to try and enjoy local coffee as much as you could as how the locals enjoy drinking their coffee throughout the day!