| Address | Why go | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Café Giang, 39 Nguyen Huu Huan | the original house, open since the 1940s | open about 7:00 to 22:30 |
| Café Dinh, 13 Dinh Tien Hoang | authentic recipe, above Hoan Kiem Lake | unpretentious setting |
| Note Coffee | modern version, walls covered in notes | cited by guides for its egg coffee |
| Café Lam | one of the city's oldest cafés | cited among the oldest cafés |
Where does it come from?
Several sources credit the invention to Nguyen Van Giang, a bartender at the Sofitel Legend Metropole: in the middle of a milk shortage he is said to have replaced cream with egg yolk. Dates vary (the 1940s; 1946 when he opened his own café). Café Giang still exists; Café Dinh was opened by a family member (one source says his daughter, another his eldest son).
How to order it
- Hot or cold: ask for "cà phê trứng nóng" (hot); the hot one comes in a bowl of hot water that keeps the cream warm.
- The taste: sweet, rich, closer to a dessert than to a coffee; pour or stir with the spoon.
- How to avoid the tourist trap: check the menu price first, and favour the known houses over street cafés that quote a "tourist special" price.
Learning to make it
Short classes are offered: a class of about 1 hour in an Old Quarter café (around 17 AUD on a booking site), or a class combined with a street food walk (from 36 USD, 3 to 4 hours with several dishes tasted). A good souvenir idea if you like to cook: see also the cooking class in Hanoi and the street food tour.
What to do around
Both addresses are in the Old Quarter and near the lake: combine with Hoan Kiem Lake and the French Quarter. For the other dishes to taste: Vietnamese dishes not to miss.
