Coffee map of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Let’s go to Saigon for coffee together

Before coming to Ho Chi Minh City, my impression of this place was Saigon (the former name of Ho Chi Minh City) written by Marguerite Duras, a dilapidated but beautiful city amidst the boats on the Mekong River, the splash of water, and the streets. baguette and fragrant pho.
  
I visited Da Nang in Vietnam five years ago. I remember it was very clean, the weather was very good, and the seafood was very cheap. It felt like a city somewhat similar to Dalian, Qingdao. I don’t understand Ho Chi Minh City at all. I heard many people say that because it was a French colony, some French genes have been left behind, and it has a French style. However, in most places, "speeding gangs" who grab mobile phones are prevalent, making it very unsafe.
  
While preparing to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City, I overheard a few young Chinese chatting on the airport bus. One of the boys said: "Ho Chi Minh City, is that a place where people live? It's still a small Paris, it's just dirty and messy!" After hearing this, I was shocked. It is naturally impossible to change the plan, but after all, I have never been there, and I still have a little expectation and curiosity to see what this little Asian Paris, which has mixed reviews, is like.
  


In Vietnam, you rarely hear the cumbersome word "Ho Chi Minh City". The Vietnamese prefer to call it "Saigon". The tongue touches the upper teeth lightly and the mouth resonates to make the sound, like It's an old movie that plays slowly.
  
Ho Chi Minh City does have a very "dirty" side. The first one is crossing the street, which is a very difficult task in Ho Chi Minh City. Motorcycles ramming all over the street don’t even look at the traffic lights, nor do they give way to pedestrians. The traffic lights are just a decoration. Sometimes they have to wait for several rounds before they have a chance to take a few steps forward. Every time they cross the road, it’s an adventure. Except for the city center, the streets in most places are not clean. Many places don't even have sidewalks. It's scary to walk along the curbs on the roadside.
  


Of course, Saigon also has its elegant and charming side. Most of the buildings in the old town are beautiful small European-style buildings; WiFi is also very popular, and any roadside stall will post the WiFi password on the wall; the food is also delicious, and among countless meals in Ho Chi Minh, there is no such thing as This meal was not delicious to me; now the CBD area is also full of high-rise buildings and very modern.
  



However, what surprises me the most is the countless cafes.
  
The habit of drinking coffee was most likely brought by the French during the colonial period. Vietnam is now the second largest coffee exporter in the world. The small Ho Chi Minh City has more than 6,000 cafes, which is simply a mini and huge coffee planet. Most of the Vietnamese coffee I buy here comes with a simple drip filter pot. I heard that every household in Vietnam has one.
  
This is an aluminum coffee brewer with a small hole at the bottom. The coffee drips through the small hole into a coffee cup with ice cubes and condensed milk. It becomes the famous Vietnamese drip coffee. The production process and taste are very different. very attractive.
  
On the streets of Saigon, you can often see canvas tents and parasols on the roadside, with deck chairs, hammocks or even small benches facing the road underneath. People are sitting, lying or crossing their legs, sipping iced coffee and talking and laughing.
  

People who drink coffee

For more than half a month here, I go to a coffee shop every day, find a seat by the window, drink coffee and look at the greenery outside the window. Trees and people, writing, working. After sipping the coffee and looking at the street view, the whole afternoon was wasted. Most of the coffee shops I go to are not the same, but if I particularly like a coffee shop, I will go there several times.
  
There are mostly young people in the coffee shops here. Most of them work or study quietly with a computer. Few people make loud noises. No matter how long you sit in the shop, no one will chase you away and there will be no people. types of low consumption. In this regard, it’s really quite “European”.
  
The coffee map compiled here is the store I have been to more than twice. If you also have the opportunity to go to Ho Chi Minh City, just follow this map and enjoy Vietnamese coffee.
  


Den Da Coffee

Address:96 HÀM NGHI, BẾN NGHÉ, QUẬN 1, HỒ CHÍ MINH
Very retro A coffee shop, located near the old town, surrounded by barber shops and small restaurants. I almost missed this hidden store.
The store has a bit of an industrial feel, but also a bit of a retro vibe. I like its red Saigon logo, which is as charming as a lover; I also like its small balcony, which is full of greenery.
  


Basically every store I go to will try Vietnamese coffee first. Vietnamese coffee is divided into black coffee and white coffee. White coffee can also be added with fresh milk or concentrated milk. I like to add fresh milk. For the milk version, you can basically tell the overall coffee level of a store after just one sip. In addition to the unique environment and suitable for taking pictures, the coffee at Den Da is also of a very high standard. It tasted so good that I went there for two days in a row.
  


The Dome Kaffe

Address:16 Đoàn Thị Điểm, Phường 1, Phú Nhuận, Hồ Chí Minh
This is A very Japanese coffee shop, hidden in a small alley, not easy to find. A three-story small foreign-style building, with small balconies on the second and third floors, full of flowers and plants, and hanging wind chimes. I went there the day before Christmas Eve. There were many Christmas decorations and the festival atmosphere was very strong.
  


The black coffee tastes pretty good. What’s impressive is that the ice inside is also made of coffee. Even if the ice melts, it will not affect the taste.
  
But when I ordered a cup of oolong milk tea, I specifically asked for less sugar. I didn’t expect that I was still disappointed when I got it. Fortunately, the store manager was very kind and made a new cup without saying anything.
  


There were very few people in the store on weekday afternoons. I went to the balcony and sat there for a long time, in a daze, watching the wind chimes blowing around in the wind until the sky gradually darkened.
  




Cong Cafe

Address:274 Hai Bà Trưng, ​​Tân Định, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh

Cong Cafe is a chain of coffee shops. The most famous one is opposite the famous pink church. When you sit by the window and open the curtains, you can see the pink Catholic church. It is quite beautiful in the sun. This is also the reason for its high popularity.
  
Of course, their house is often crowded with tourists, and they have to wait several rounds before they can get a seat; the clerks are also used to tourists, and when ordering, they will proactively ask whether they are Chinese, Korean or Japanese, and provide Language-specific menu.
  

The pink church outside the window

I didn’t want to drink too sweet coffee, so I didn’t order the store’s signature coconut coffee. The clerk recommended ginger coffee to me. I don't particularly like the taste of ginger, so I tried it with a skeptical attitude. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. The ginger flavor is not too strong and paired with a thin layer of cream, it has just the right balance.
  


I also ordered a plate of chickpeas as a snack to go with my coffee. While eating, I looked at the church outside the window. The Taiwanese tourists passing by were mistaken for locals: "Wow, they Are you local? Look, they all use chickpeas with coffee! ”



KhómCoffee

Address:5 Trần Qúy Khoách Ho Chi Minh City

One time I was walking by the river by mistake, and unexpectedly I entered a coffee street. The whole street was full of large and small coffee shops, which is enough to show the Saigon people's love for coffee.
  
Because it was a weekend, most of the stores were crowded, so I randomly chose this one in the alley, which was not in a good location and was not very eye-catching, but I was quite pleasantly surprised.
  
The store is quite large, with a good sense of space and many locations. It was approaching Christmas, and the big Christmas tree in the store was so beautiful that I thought I was in Paris.



After asking, I found out that this store was newly opened and there were not many coffee choices. As usual, we chose Vietnamese coffee, one white and one black (white coffee with milk and white coffee without milk). Black coffee with milk), drinking coffee and looking at the computer to code, it was a very relaxing afternoon.
  


The Cafe Apartment

Address:42 Nguyễn Huệ, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh

The Cafe Apartment can be regarded as one of the most worthy landmarks in Ho Chi Minh. . This was originally a 10-story old apartment in the city center. It was first built in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s, it was also a dormitory and office for the US military. In 2015, this apartment was completely renovated, and dozens of cafes of different styles were successively opened, ranging from Japanese, Italian, hand-brewed coffee, Nanyang white coffee to various dessert Internet celebrity shops, gathered in a small building There are more than 50 cafes of different styles, so this building is called The Cafe Apartment.
  


We chose a coffee shop that ranked highly in the building, called DOSH. The store is on the third floor. Unexpectedly, the elevator in this apartment building is also an attraction and requires admission, so we just climbed the stairs.
  
DOSH's store decoration style is more Internet celebrity style, the pink color is very girly, suitable for girls who like to take pictures, and also suitable for chatting with girlfriends.
  


I didn’t expect much from the coffee and desserts because they were too internet-famous, but I didn’t expect them to taste pretty good. After thinking about it, it seems that most of the Internet celebrity restaurants I went to in Vietnam are not bad in taste, which is a plus.
  
The passion fruit flavored donuts are especially recommended, they are refreshing and not too sweet.
  


Because of coffee, I have a great impression of Ho Chi Minh City, and I don’t feel like most people It was so dirty and messy that people said it was unbearable. The more places I travel, the more I realize that every city has something unique about it. Especially cities with history will have both beautiful and ugly sides. As a passer-by, the most important purpose of traveling is to keep an open heart and welcome and experience the good and bad things that are different from your own city.