Discover the hidden beauty and charm of Ho Chi Minh City's Cafe Apartments, a nine-storey block filled with kitsch coffee houses and shops. From fashion boutiques to vinyl records, this unremarkable structure offers a day of exploration and caffeination.
My first impression of Ho Chi Minh City ’s famed Cafe Apartments , a nine-storey, Rubik’s Cube-like block known for its proliferation of kitsch coffee houses and shops, is, shall we say … underwhelming. A bookstore, modern and sterile, fills the bottom two floors of the complex.
But what we broadly dub “Vietnamese coffee” – an invention of the South – is just one of a throng of regional specialties.“When you try egg coffee, you will see it clearly; North and South Vietnam,” says 35-year-old Quynh Tran, founder and host of “Vietnam Coffee Journey: What Locals Drink”, a coffee masterclass based out of his private coffee lab on the building’s ninth floor. The man knows his beans, having previously run The Workshop, one of the city’s leading specialty coffee venues.
Vietnam’s coffee evolution traces a turbulent timeline: the arrival of French colonies in the 1900s sprouting the first bean plantations; the introduction of condensed milk in the South by way of American soldiers; the Communist Party’s cessation of Western trade in 1975, causing annual coffee production to plummet – 80,000 metric tons to 18,000, almost overnight.
It’s an approach both North and South can agree on, at least. In fact, Hanoians even have a slogan that roughly translates to “in Hanoi, don’t hurry”. This ethos certainly applied when Nguyen Van Giang, a barista at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, invented egg coffee in 1946. He wanted to share this posh French style of coffee with his community and, in the face of a milk shortage, he whisked in egg yolk as a substitute to achieve the same creamy consistency.
When I return to the bar, it’s the egg coffee martini – topped with a singed “brulee” egg cream – that calls to me. But my heart quickens at the mere thought; yep, I’ve hit my limit.Jetstar flies between Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne four times a week, and Sydney three times a week. It’s the only Australian carrier operating direct flights between Australia and Vietnam. See
Ho Chi Minh City Cafe Apartments Kitsch Coffee Houses Shops Fashion Boutiques Vinyl Records Exploration Caffeination
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