Makati has been a go-to place for my family and I to grab a meal or sometimes just to have a cup of coffee. Though, really, it’s mostly just us visiting our favorite spots. Recently, my mom went out of town so it was just my dad and I who went out for dinner.
We were thinking at first, why not try something new? We thought about visiting a place we didn’t frequent, but funnily, we still ended up in Makati. We did try something new though!
I first saw Hà Nội Phố through Google Maps. It was listed as a Vietnamese coffee shop on the app, so it really got me intrigued. By the time we visited it, we already had coffee but some reviews showed that it had food options so we decided to have dinner there.
It’s kinda easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Situated along J.P. Rizal, and a few steps away from Makati-Mandaluyong bridge was a cozy looking house-turned cafe without any signs showing the name of the cafe. If the guard didn’t ask us what we were looking for, we might’ve missed it.
Coming in, what struck out was that it was a legit Vietnamese restaurant, for sure! There was a group of Vietnamese dining and taking pictures around the place when we arrived. And not only that, most of the staff (during that time at least) were also Vietnamese.
Since we arrived at the place pretty late at night, only one of the food items was available, and so that’s what we got.
Beef Stew with Banhmi (bánh mì bò sốt vang) .
It was a feast.
Not just for the eyes but also for its taste and serving portions. The beef stew was served in a basket with the bread and additional vegetable garnishes on the side, really photogenic! The beef chunks were really soft and the broth had a great balance of herbs that were complemented by the garnishes. I tasted hints of mint and coriander which were both my favorites haha. While the serving was meant for one person, having the stew and bread was much more filling that I thought it would be.
Hot Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)
Although we did have coffee prior to dinner, I couldn’t resist ordering a cup of coffee since we generally enjoy Vietnamese coffee. If you’re like me and didn’t mix the drink well, you can feel how frothy the egg on top was. But getting past the frothed egg, I was greeted with a strong but not overpowering coffee. I usually don’t like my coffee strong, or if I do I usually have it with milk. In this case, the frothed (sweeted) egg was a great compliment to the coffee they used.
It was a great experience trying out their food and coffee overall and I hope to try their other items soon!
Written by Isabel Santiago
Hà Nội Phố
925 Dr Jose P. Rizal Avenue
Poblacion, Makati City