Would You Be Brave Enough To Try A Vietnamese Egg Coffee?

If you’ve seen some of our other travel blog posts, you’d know that we love our coffee. But none of this instant coffee crap for us though!

So when we were walking down Bui Vien Walking Street in Ho Chi Minh City… it was shocking for us to see this sign!

Now, this was one Vietnamese coffee we hadn’t tried before. Yet from the description it didn’t sound appetizing. So we didn’t end up trying a Vietnamese egg coffee.

Then, as we were staying in West Lake Hanoi, an expat had recommended we try a Vietnamese egg coffee. He said that it actually tasted delicious and that we should give it a go.

So apparently the best Vietnamese coffee shop to try one was in the Hanoi Old Quarter… and the place is Giang Café.

If you blink, you’ll miss it as it’s down a small alley way. So here is another photo from the outside, across the road…

This place is a coffee institution, and loved amongst the locals as well as tourists. While Giang Café does serve a variety of coffees, and other drinks… people flock here for the ca phe trung (Vietnamese egg coffee).

Now, the story behind Giang Café is that it was established in 1946, by Nguyen Giang… a bartender at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel.

And he created this special Vietnamese coffee blend with egg yolk, as a substitute for milk when it was scarce. The other ingredients in this Vietnamese egg coffee include… condensed milk, butter and cheese. Cheese? WOW!

So by whisking the egg yolk with these ingredients… it results in a lush, soft fluffy texture as you’ll see soon.

Inside Giang Café

Once we saw the sign for Giang Café, we had to walk down a narrow alleyway for several meters.

Then, on the ground floor it was a modest interior with several tiny tables and chairs.

I love the tiny Vietnamese chair set ups, but not so great for Paul as he’s like around 5’11’’. Yet, he’s used to them now as we’ve been to Vietnam many times.

Downstairs was completely chock full of people when we got here. So we saw a small counter, where the young staff member motioned for us to go upstairs…

And even up here it was very busy!

We had to share a table with other people but that was fine. Upstairs here the tables and chairs are miniature, yet it was all about the Vietnamese egg coffee!

They did have air conditioners blasting and fans to help keep the place cool. Yet, with the hot and humid Hanoi weather it was better than nothing.

The service was quick and efficient, because after we sat down, about 1 minute later a staff member gave us a menu.

We already knew what we wanted and ordered hot Vietnamese egg coffee. Yet, it was interesting to see the other coffee and drink options…

The Giang Café Vietnamese Egg Coffee Taste Test

We didn’t wait long either before our coffee was ready…

We didn’t know that the coffee would be resting on a bed of water. So we found out that the reason why the coffee cup is placed in a small bowl of hot water… is to keep its temperature.

Look at that thick, creamy, layer on top! So we tasted the layer first and it was divine. OMG, just give me that to have all day… LOL!

And then when we mixed it all together it was a damn fine coffee.

We did see other cafes which had egg coffee on their menus. Yet, if you want to try a few, maybe leave Giang Café’s Vietnamese egg coffee at the end. Because as the saying goes, “Save the best until last.”

Back in Ho Chi Minh City we thought it’d be weird and disgusting to try an egg coffee. Yet, we’re glad we did with the original in Hanoi. So get that gross feeling out of your mind and give the Vietnamese egg coffee a try!

You can find Giang Café at 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, in the Hanoi Old Quarter.

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Note: All of our reviews and comments are our opinions and no-one else’s. Even if we receive complimentary goods or services we share our opinions honestly.