app etite the bu z z Coffee is ubiquitous in Saigon, whether it’s served in a plastic cup or at a unique café
at a glance
Cà Phê Society Starbucks has finally arrived in Vietnam but Connla Stokes prefers to stick with homegrown contenders in Ho Chi Minh City
y
ears from now,
original “coffee to go”
when coffee
Even before Starbucks came
historians chart
on the scene, Ho Chi Minh
the bitter bean’s
City’s main business hub was
journey through Vietnam,
already peppered with Western
1 February of this year is sure
coffeehouse franchises, from
to come under scrutiny. On this
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to
day, Starbucks officially opened
Gloria Jean’s. So the arrival of
its doors in Ho Chi Minh City.
the industry’s top dog probably
Is this the beginning of the end for traditional Vietnamese
isn’t a
The most idyllic place for cà phê bêt is Reunification Park
cafés… or the
changer. Nor are any of these super-
start of a beautiful friendship?
brands likely to challenge the
Time will tell.
city’s most popular purveyors of
Certainly, not everyone has been braving the crosstown photography: Quinn Ryan Mattingly
game-
“coffee to go” anytime soon. On any given day, locals
traffic for a skinny latte. Dang Le
can be seen sipping iced
Nguyen Vu, the founder and CEO
coffee purchased for pocket
of Trung Nguyen – Vietnam’s
change from mobile vendors.
biggest homegrown coffee chain
The practice of consuming
– had sniped that Starbucks sold
beverages bought at venues
nothing but “coffee-flavoured
without seating is known as cà
water”. In what could only be
phê bêt (literally, “coffee on the
described as an audacious
ground”). The most idyllic place
counter-offensive, his company
for cà phê bêt is Reunification
subsequently unveiled plans to
Park, near Notre Dame
open stores in Seattle,
Cathedral in District 1.
m ay-j u n t i g e r t a l e s
19
app etite the bu z z where: l Up Cafe 269 Nguyen Trong Tuyen St, Phu Nhuan District l Thi Tran Ba Cay Choi 141 Phan Xich Long St, Phu Nhuan District l Nostalgie Club 54 Nguyen Thai Binh St, District 1 l CÀ phÊ bÊt On a bench of your choice, Reunification Park, District 1
21 Up Cafe and Nostalgie Club (right) are just two of the city’s singular venues for getting your caffeine fix
Through the roof
An otherworldly café
hand-paint wooden toys, make
An old-fashioned jolt
Ho Chi Minh City is also home
Cash in your dong. To pay your
dolls or screen films while
Another establishment feeding
to thousands of independent
way around Thi Tran Ba Cay
hanging out with customers in a
the hunger for escapism is
coffeehouses and some are
Choi (Three Broomsticks Town),
quasi-Medieval castle.
Nostalgie Club. It’s housed in an
truly distinctive. The theme of
you’ll need a wad of ky bo (this
“The desire to return to
old villa that once belonged to a
Up Cafe, which opened in 2011,
fantasyland’s native currency) .
childhood and act stupidly is
property mogul by the name of
strong,” Tuong Anh assures me.
Jean Baptiste Hui Bon Hoa,
is “upside-down”. Its proprietor,
“It’s a town, not a café,” says
Ly Bao Vinh, had been waiting to
owner Bui Tuong Anh, who
In fact, it seems to be so strong
who is said to have owned as
fulfill this upturned fantasy since
abandoned a successful career
that she plans to open another
many as 20,000 houses here at
reading about an upside-down house in Finland as a kid. From the street, Up Cafe does photography: Quinn Ryan Mattingly
appear to pull off an outrageous balancing act, with mirrored
the turn of the 20th century.
it takes a wad of cash to pay your way around three broomsticks town – “It’s a town, not a café”
panels to the left and right of
The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, located right next door, was “Uncle Hoa’s” main abode. Nostalgie Club was merely an adjoining villa in
the faux roof. Inside, the music
an extravagant complex.
is mellow and the atmosphere
in the corporate sector to create
township – four times the size of
is chilled. There’s a slightly
this Harry Potter/Lord of the
the original – in May that’s set to
historic motifs or gimmicks.
spooky feel to some of the
Rings-inspired establishment.
feature a pirate-flavoured pub
On a recent visit, a waiter
called the Licking Skull.
informed guests hoping
décor hanging from the ceiling
She’s right. It’s not a café
The interior remains free of
– particularly the candlelit table
– though you can come for a
for two – and even though she’s
brew (bonus: you’ll be served by
be served there,” says Tuong
pick-me-up that only
upside down, Mona Lisa’s eyes
an elf). This is an imaginarium
Anh. “Unless you’re a very
Vietnamese coffee would be
still follow you across the room.
where “citizens” bake cakes,
experienced pirate, that is!”
served. Amen to that.
“Nothing too strong will
for an espresso-fuelled
m ay-j u n t i g e r t a l e s