Vietnamese Egg Coffee: Hanoi's Liquid Velvet

Have you ever taken Vietnamese Egg Coffee, an egg-yolk-flavored coffee, along with butter and cheese? Egg coffee – the special drink in the capital city of Vietnam. Vietnam is not just known for the quality of the beans it produces but also for the way it serves them. Join us to explore this legendary drink from Hanoi and the greatest places to have this extraordinary beverage.

Written by Oliver PHUNG (Local expert)Updated on 17-12-2024

Comments

What Is Vietnamese Egg Coffee?

Egg coffee is literally named "cà phê trứng" in Vietnamese. As the name suggests, it uses sweetened milk, cheese, and butter over the robusta coffee of Vietnam, especially egg yolks. A mixture may not sound so enticing, but paradoxically, egg yolk gives the coffee a flavor profile of a sweet, creamy meringue while providing little smell.

To be more precise, in order to have a good cup of egg coffee, first, it is important to whip the yolks with sugar, condensed milk, and cheese, plus butter to hype up the aroma of the beverage. The next step is to get a creamy and smooth consistency. And finally, fill half of the cup with robusta coffee and the rest with this "egg cream."

Normally, the preparation of this cup of coffee uses very creamy foam, topped with slight cocoa powder, and then served in a bowl of warm water to keep it warm. It would look something like pudding, but with a topping so thick, fluffy, and aromatic that it would ask you, "Do I eat it or drink it?" When this same drink is served iced in a small glass, then it is consumed with a spoon and has almost the flavor of coffee ice cream, or maybe liquid tiramisu, or is more of a dessert than coffee.

Well-known, everyone knows Hanoi egg coffee primarily because of its strange taste. And you probably don't know that drinking a cup of egg coffee could offer health benefits. Indeed, coffee, if taken in the right amount and regularly, can boost the metabolism so that one has energy and even help prevent certain diseases, for example, kidney stones, diabetes, liver cancer, and so on. The yolk is also of value since it contains, besides other vital substances, vitamins A, D, and K, which have an impact on improved heart health, metabolism, memory, and cognitive function.

The History of Egg Coffee: How This Legendary Drink Was Born

Nguyen Van Giang, the founder and creator of the much-praised Giang Coffee, witnessed how most of the customers at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel turned away during the Vietnam War; he was working as a waiter there when, due to severe war conditions, the hotel ran out of milk and cream products. Giang came up with a solution to the problem by replacing them with eggs.

When the young coffee was first tasted by hotel staff, it made an immediate impression on them, which motivated Giang to leave his job at the hotel and open a coffee shop where he could serve coffee with egg. Café Giang, modestly situated in a small alley off Nguyen Huu Huan, right in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter, can be considered the birthplace of Hanoians' egg coffee culture.

Thus, till now, Cà phê trứng of Giang Coffee is the quintessential drink to be relished when visiting the capital of Vietnam. In fact, while a number of new coffee shops in Hanoi brew coffee with eggs, Giang's is the most famous and distinctive, serving egg coffee with the original recipe known only to the Giang family themselves. Apart from the first establishment at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, the taste of coffee from the Giang family can also be savored at their second establishment at 106B Yen Phu.

>>> You may be interested in: Discover the history and tradition of Vietnamese coffee

Famous Coffee Shops to Enjoy Egg Coffee

Like how everyone has their own recipe, apart from Giang Coffee, some coffee shops not only sell coffee with egg; they also offer coffee and other drinks that let you have a very interesting experience in taste.

Check out these coffee shops: they will also endear you to the natives.

• Café Lam - Nguyen Huu Huan St., 60

Café Lam is one of the oldest cafes in Hanoi that serves egg coffee, the best iced latte, and black coffee. You can view dozens of artistic masterpieces from decades ago while sipping your coffee — including glazed paintings, watercolor paintings, calligraphy, and landscape paintings from Vietnam. These art pieces were donated by their artists, former students at the Indochina School of Fine Arts, in exchange for coffee that they liked.

• Dinh Cafe - 13 Dinh Tien Hoang

To know something important and unforgettable about this hidden place, one needs to find out about going through a local shop, followed by clambering up a narrow wooden stairway to arrive at a cafe that opens onto the stunning view of Hoan Kiem Lake. The building is an old colonial house, and visitors are greeted inside by traditional wooden doors, a historic family altar, and charming antique décor in various corners depicting the daily life of the locals.

• Cafe Pho Co - 11 Hang Gai 

This is among the narrow, cobbled streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter, and you will finally get to find the Cafe Pho Co: this café supplies its customers with all sorts of Vietnamese coffee; the egg coffee has its place among them. The freshest coffee beans are brewed into excellent cups with a rather strong, delicious aroma. Looking from the rooftop of Cafe Pho Co, you will be treated to a picturesque view of Hoan Kiem Lake.

So at last, a unique and tasty cup of egg coffee is an experience a visitor to Hanoi should include on the voyage list. These strange and bitter Vietnamese coffees with rich egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk will surely be one of the pinnacle experiences for you while exploring the capital of Vietnam.

▶️Check out our guide to fully explore it: