It is the Saigon described by Marguerite Duras, with baguettes and pho on the street, a simple but beautiful city

Before coming to Ho Chi Minh City, my impression of this place was Saigon (the old name of Ho Chi Minh City) described by Marguerite Duras, a shabby but beautiful city in the splashing water of the ships on the Mekong River, and baguettes and fragrant pho on the street.

I went to Da Nang in Vietnam five years ago. I remember it was very clean, the weather was good, and the seafood was very cheap. It felt like a city similar to Qingdao and Dalian. I didn't know Ho Chi Minh City at all. I heard many people say that because it was once a French colony, some French genes were left, and it has a French style, but most places are full of "speeding gangs" who snatch mobile phones, which is very unsafe.

When I was preparing to fly to Ho Chi Minh City in Kuala Lumpur, I accidentally heard a few Chinese young people chatting on the airport bus. One of the boys said: "Ho Chi Minh City, is that a place for people to stay? It's still a little Paris, it's just dirty and messy!" I was shocked after hearing this. Changing the plan is of course impossible, but after all, I have never been there, so I still have some expectations and curiosity. I want to see what this little Paris in Asia, which has received mixed reviews, is like.



In Vietnam, you rarely hear the cumbersome "Ho Chi Minh City". Vietnamese people prefer to call it "Saigon". The tongue touches the upper teeth lightly, and the mouth resonates and sounds, like an old movie playing slowly.

Ho Chi Minh City does have a very "dirty and messy" side. The first thing is crossing the road, which is a very difficult thing in Ho Chi Minh City. The motorcycles running rampant on the streets don't look at the traffic lights at all, nor do they avoid pedestrians. The traffic lights are just a decoration. Sometimes you have to wait for several rounds before you have the opportunity to move forward a few steps. Every time you cross the road is an adventure. Except for the city center, the streets in most places are not clean. Many places don't even have sidewalks. Walking along the curb on the roadside is scary.



Of course, Saigon also has its elegant and charming side. Most of the buildings in the old city are beautiful European-style villas; Wi-Fi is also very popular, and any roadside stall will post the Wi-Fi password on the wall; the food is also delicious, and among the countless meals in Ho Chi Minh, I think none of them are bad; now the CBD area is also full of high-rise buildings and very modern.




However, what surprised me the most were the countless coffee shops.

The habit of drinking coffee was probably brought by the French during the colonial period. Vietnam is now the world's second largest coffee exporter. The small city of Ho Chi Minh City has more than 6,000 coffee shops, which is simply a mini and huge coffee planet. Most of the Vietnamese coffee I bought here comes with a simple drip pot. I heard that every family in Vietnam has one.

This is an aluminum coffee brewer with a small hole at the bottom. The coffee drips into a coffee cup with ice and condensed milk through the small hole, which becomes the famous Vietnamese drip coffee. The production process and taste are very attractive.

On the streets of Saigon, you can often see canvas awnings and parasols on the roadside, and below are lounge chairs or hammocks or even small benches facing the road. People sit, lie or cross their legs, sipping iced coffee and talking and laughing.



In the more than half a month here, I went to a coffee shop every day, found a seat by the window, drank coffee, looked at the green trees and pedestrians outside the window, wrote things, and worked. After sipping the coffee and looking at the street view, an afternoon was spent. Most of the coffee shops I went to were different, but I would go to the coffee shops I liked several times.

The coffee shops here are mostly young people. Most of them work or study quietly with a computer in their hands. Few people make loud noises. No matter how long you sit in the store, no one will drive you away, and there will be no various types of minimum consumption. In this regard, it is really "European".

The coffee map compiled here is the store I have been to more than twice. If you have the opportunity to go to Ho Chi Minh City, follow this map and enjoy Vietnamese coffee.



Coffee shop: Den Da Coffee
Address: 96 HÀM NGHI, BẾN NGHÉ, QUẬN 1, HỒ CHÍ MINH

A very retro coffee shop, near the old town, next to barber shops and small restaurants, I almost missed this hidden good shop. The shop has a bit of industrial style and a bit of retro. I like its red Saigon logo, which is as charming as a lover; I also like its small balcony, full of greenery.



Basically, I would try Vietnamese coffee first in every store I visit. Vietnamese coffee is divided into black coffee and white coffee. White coffee is also divided into fresh milk and condensed milk. I like the fresh milk version. Basically, I can tell the overall coffee quality of a store by just one sip. In addition to the unique environment and suitable for taking photos, Den Da's coffee quality is also very high. It is so delicious that I went there two days in a row.



Coffee shop: 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 western-style building, with small balconies on the second and third floors, full of flowers and plants, and wind chimes. I went there the day before Christmas Eve, and there were many Christmas decorations, and the festive atmosphere was very strong.



The black coffee tasted good, and I was impressed that the ice inside was also made of coffee, so even if the ice melted, it would not affect the taste. But when I ordered a cup of oolong milk tea, I specifically asked for less sugar, but I didn't expect it to be so bad when I got it. Fortunately, the store manager was very friendly and made me a new cup without saying anything.



There were few people in the store on weekday afternoons, so I ran to the balcony and sat there for a long time, staring blankly and watching the wind chimes blown by the wind until it gradually darkened.



Coffee shop: Cong Cafe
Address: 274 Hai Bà Trưng, ​​Tân Định, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh

Cong Cafe is a chain coffee shop. The most famous one is opposite the famous pink church. You can see the pink Catholic church by sitting by the window and opening the curtains. It looks pretty good in the sun, which is why it is so popular.

Of course, their shop is often packed with Tourists, and you have to wait for several rounds before you can get a seat; the staff are also used to tourists. When taking orders, they will take the initiative to ask whether you are Chinese, Korean or Japanese, and provide menus in the corresponding language.



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



I also ordered a plate of chickpeas to go with my coffee. I ate while looking at the church outside the window. A passing Taiwanese tourist mistook me for a local: "Wow, are they locals? Look, they all drink chickpeas with their coffee!"



Coffee shop: KhómCoffee
Address: 5 Trần Qúy Khoách Ho Chi Minh City

Once I was walking along the river by accident and unexpectedly entered a coffee street. The whole street was full of coffee shops of all sizes, which was enough to show the love of Saigon people for coffee. Because it was a weekend, most of the shops were crowded, so I just randomly chose this one in the alley that was not very good and not very eye-catching, but I was quite surprised. The store is quite large, the sense of space is good, and there are many seats. It was close to Christmas, and the big Christmas tree in the store was particularly beautiful. For a moment, I really thought I was in Paris.



After asking, I found out that this shop was newly opened not long ago, and there were not many coffee choices. As usual, we chose Vietnamese coffee, one white and one black (white coffee with milk and black coffee without milk). We drank coffee and typed on the computer. It was a very relaxing afternoon.



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

The Cafe Apartment is one of the most worthwhile landmarks in Ho Chi Minh. It was originally a 10-story old apartment in the city center, built in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s, it was also a dormitory and office for the US military. In 2015, the apartment was completely renovated and dozens of cafes of different styles moved in one after another, from Japanese, Italian, hand-poured, Nanyang white coffee to various dessert online celebrity shops. More than 50 cafes of different styles are gathered in a small building, so this building is called The Cafe Apartment.



We chose a coffee shop called DOSH, which is ranked very high in the building. The shop is on the third floor. I didn't expect that the elevator of this apartment building is also a tourist attraction and requires admission, so we just climbed the stairs. The decoration style of DOSH is more like that of an internet celebrity. 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 popular, but they tasted pretty good. After thinking about it, it seems that most of the popular shops I visited in Vietnam also tasted pretty good, which is a plus. I especially recommend the passion fruit flavored donuts, which are refreshing and not greasy.



Because of coffee, I have a better impression of Ho Chi Minh City. I don't feel it is as dirty and messy as most people say. The more places I go, the more I feel that every city has its own uniqueness. Especially cities with history, there will be beautiful sides, and perhaps also unbearable sides. As a passer-by, keeping an open mind to welcome and feel the good and bad of this city that is different from your own is the most important purpose of living here.