Ca Phe Da Experience at District 1

Going to Vietnam is not complete if you haven't had a bowl of pho, a slice of bahn mi, or a cup of coffee. In our case, its a glass of iced coffee.


We wanted to experience having coffee on the sidewalk so we chose this coffee-shop (Coffee 197 near Behn Thahn Market) that sets-up tables along the sidewalk during nighttime. In the morning, you can only buy take-out (or delivery) from them. What's amazing though is that as soon as a table is vacated and there's no waiting customers, they quickly fold the table and chairs, then hide it back inside the shop.


There were several locals and foreigners already seated when we arrived so the lady who manages the shop brought out a small table and chairs for us. It was past 9 in the evening and unlike other cities, Ho Chi Mihn sleeps early (with the exception of the night market and some coffee shops/bars). During daytime, that empty street is bustling with traffic, lots and lots of motorcycles, bicycles, and a handful of cars.

So my friend and I both got Ca Phe Sua Da (iced milk coffee) and its super good. I think it costs us less than VND 100,000 for a glass. And it tasted heavenly, by the way. A perfect mix of bitter coffee and sweet milk.


Here's us while waiting for our ca phe sua da. It was a nice experience to sip coffee on the sidewalk. Another memorable experience while sipping our coffee was watching the endless sports car (BMWs, Mercedes Benz', Jaguar, Porsche, etc) that seems to race each other on the now empty street. I mean, they can't do that during day time that's why.