You can't think about the taste of egg coffee, but everyone loves this cup in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Walking on the streets of Vietnam, you will soon find that the country's love of coffee has reached a crazy level.

People sit on low plastic chairs by the side of the road drinking coffee and chatting with friends, or spend time in the more upscale hippie-style cafes in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Vietnamese can't live without caffeine.

However, customers who come to Hanoi Cafe Giang Cafe are not just for a cup of coffee. They came here to drink a mixed drink called "c à ph ê trun ng" (egg coffee). C à ph ê tr ú ng is a Hanoi feature, with a layer of cream-like egg cream covering the rich Vietnamese coffee.

C à ph ê tr ú ng Egg Coffee

Although the drink is now sold in most cafes in Hanoi, Cafe Giang has long claimed that Egg Coffee was their first.

Egg coffee comes in hot and cold. The cool egg coffee has a bright yellow color and is filled in a small glass. Customers need to use a spoon when tasting it. It tastes like coffee-flavored ice cream. Therefore, it is more like a dessert than a traditional coffee.

Egg coffee comes in hot and cold. Photo Source: Instagram/Karin Hellaby

The hot drink will be placed on a small plate filled with hot water to keep the coffee warm. The strong flavor of the coffee will be passed on to the egg cream on the surface, which is very dense, sweet and not too greasy.

A family secret recipe.

The Cafe Giang Cafe has two floors and is located right in the middle of the building. Nguyen Van Dao, the owner of the cafe, stood at the junction of the two floors, busily recording orders and issuing instructions to other service staff.

The famous Cafe Giang sits in an alley, and you need to walk a dark flight of stairs to reach the cafe on the second floor.

Nguyen Van Dao, the cafe owner, is busy recording orders.

Behind him is a medium-sized open kitchen. In the kitchen, a modern red mixer is constantly making egg cream and other ingredients on the menu.

When asked about Egg Coffee, the most famous drink, Van Dao was full of pride. He said that egg coffee was invented by his father. In 1946, his father, Nguyen Van Giang, worked as a bartender at Sofitel's legendary Jinghua Hotel. At that time, there was no supply of fresh milk in Vietnam, so it had to be replaced with egg cream.

The Egg Coffee brand founded by father Nguyen Van Giang.

"all the foreigners and Vietnamese in the hotel loved the drink," Van Dao said. "so he decided to leave the hotel and start selling egg coffee and starting his own brand."

Why is Cafe Giang's Egg Coffee so good? When it comes to the formula of the drink, Van Dao begins to list the ingredients: "eggs, condensed milk, coffee powder, a little butter, a little cheese." But I can't tell you all, because it's a secret recipe, "he smiled." none of my customers don't like this drink. " "A lot of people want to copy us, but it just tastes different," he said. "

According to Nguyen Van Dao, the owner of the coffee shop, the ingredients of egg coffee include eggs, condensed milk, coffee powder, a little butter and a little cheese.

Mark Lo Watson (Mark Lowerson), the founder and operator of Hanoi Street snacks, promotes delicious Hanoi food to tourists from all over the world. He said he couldn't be wrong in recommending them to try egg coffee.

"most customers say that tasting egg coffee is like discovering a new world," he said. "many people can't help but marvel when they hear the name. When I started describing the drink, they couldn't imagine mixing the two ingredients together. Eggs and coffee, together? People are curious about how to put these two ingredients into one cup. The result is very interesting.

The vast majority of customers say that tasting egg coffee is like discovering a new world.

"I haven't met a customer who doesn't like egg coffee. Many people fell in love with it after a sip and said that as long as they were in Hanoi, they would go for a drink every day. Even those who don't drink coffee often will be impressed by the wonderful taste experience of egg coffee. "

Of course, some people will think that this drink is too greasy to drink.

"I have to say, it is very difficult to create a popular style of coffee that everyone likes, but Egg Coffee has been very successful."

Coffee Culture in Vietnam

Photo Source: Instagram/Donal Skehan

Vietnam has been ruled by China for nearly a thousand years, so Vietnam is traditionally a country that prefers to drink tea.

So what makes coffee drinks so popular in Vietnam? It has been influenced alternately by two cultures in history.

"I can't give a 100% definite answer, but I believe the Vietnamese love of coffee was influenced by French colonists, which also explains why bread and cheese are also so popular in Vietnam," said Will Frith, a professional coffee consultant who works and lives in the central highland city of Dharat.

"the French introduced coffee to Vietnam, mainly to meet the needs of French colonists. Since then, Vietnam has been influenced by other Western forces and European partners-French businessmen from the 1860s to the early 20th century and German businessmen in the mid-1920s-all opened instant coffee factories in Vietnam-coffee began to appear in Vietnamese cities and cities. Since then, ordinary people also increasingly like to drink coffee. "

Nowadays, coffee culture has been closely related to the daily life of Vietnamese to a great extent. "the older generation likes to sit in roadside cafes drinking coffee, smoking and socializing," Frith said. "A lot of people drink coffee all day. On the other hand, young people like cafes with more European style, which is the best place for them to meet friends and kill time. Many cafes for young people look like discos where you can enjoy the most fashionable dance floor music. "

New coffee trends are also emerging in Vietnam, and Frith says there is a growing interest in natural and creative coffee.

Photo Source: Instagram/Kim Wejendorp

Consumers began to pursue pure hand-made goods, shops with elegant interior decoration, and the demand for consumer experience is getting higher and higher. Creative coffee is springing up in Ho Chi Minh City, and there is a trend in other cities, "he said." as long as creative drinks with milk and sugar can attract enthusiastic customers. "

Van Dao, the boss of Cafe Giang, is also well aware of this trend. "I am really honored and happy to have so many tourists come to my store," he said. The Cafe Giang store is packed with locals and tourists from all over the world every day.

☞ interface travel recommendation

Other shops in Hanoi that can taste egg coffee

Dinh Cafe

The landlady is Van Dao's sister, which may be the second best place to taste the authentic c à ph ê tr ú ng, and you can enjoy the scenery of Huanjian Lake there.

Address: 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi; Tel: + 84 (0) 4 3824 2960

Oriberry Coffee

The stores sell "fair trade coffee", which is purchased from farmers across Vietnam in order to provide poor farmers with better working conditions and income. Oriberry Coffee has two branches in Hanoi.

Address: 25 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi; Tel: + 84 (0) 4 6275 8669

Address: 36 Au trieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi; Tel: + 84 (0) 4 6275 8669

Leu Coffee

The decor of the shop is chic, and the cafe offers an avant-garde experience of an underground bar, where most coffee-loving locals have been there, offering first-class coffee and drinks.

Address: 2nd Floor, No.1, Ta Hien Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi; Tel: + 84 (0) 98 453 03 82

Loading T

Located in a luxurious colonial building, Loading T is perhaps one of the most charming cafes in the city.

Address: 2nd Floor,8 Chan Cam, Hang Trong, Hoan Kikm, Hanoi; Tel: + 84 122 786 868

Translation: Han Hong