Vietnamese Egg Coffee: Hanoi's Liquid Velvet

What Is Vietnamese Egg Coffee?

Vietnamese egg coffee, or cà phê trứng, is strong Vietnamese coffee topped with egg yolk that has been whipped with sugar and sweetened condensed milk into a thick, pale foam. It was created in Hanoi in 1946, is usually served hot, and drinks more like a coffee dessert than an ordinary cup.

In Hanoi it usually arrives as a small cup standing in a bowl of hot water, with a spoon beside it and a layer of foam on top. It looks more like a dessert than a coffee, and that is the point.

The name says it plainly: cà phê means coffee and trứng means egg. The yolk does the job that milk does in a latte, adding body and sweetness, and the coffee underneath is strong enough to cut through it. In Hanoi you will usually see it on the menu next to cà phê đen (black coffee) and cà phê nâu (milk coffee), often in a hot and an iced version.

What Is Vietnamese Egg Coffee Made Of?

Vietnamese egg coffee is made of four basic ingredients: egg yolk, sugar, sweetened condensed milk and strong coffee, usually dark-roasted Vietnamese robusta brewed in a phin filter. The yolk, sugar and condensed milk are whipped into a foam and spooned over the coffee, often finished with cocoa or cinnamon.

You may read that the original recipe also contains butter or cheese. Some accounts of the recipe at Café Giang mention them, but the family keeps the exact formula to itself, so treat that as unconfirmed. Some bartenders today have also tried adding butter and cheese to the foam, and it can work as a substitute that comes close to the original flavor. What you will taste in most Hanoi cafes is the simpler mix above, with small changes from one cafe to the next: a little honey or vanilla in the foam, more or less condensed milk, or a spoonful of condensed milk in the coffee itself.

What Does Egg Coffee Taste Like?

Egg coffee tastes sweet, rich and creamy: a warm, custard-like foam sitting on top of bitter, dark coffee. Most people compare it to liquid tiramisu or a coffee custard. When it is whipped properly it should not taste or smell of raw egg, although a badly made cup can.

The bowl of hot water keeps the hot version warm while you work through the foam. The topping is so thick that you may wonder whether to eat it or drink it, and the honest answer is a bit of both. The iced version is served in a glass and eaten with a spoon, which makes it even closer to a dessert.

My own view is that egg coffee is a treat rather than a daily coffee. It is very sweet, and one cup is filling. If you usually drink your coffee black, share a cup first, or ask for less sugar (ít đường).

Why Do Vietnamese Put Eggs in Coffee? The History of Egg Coffee

Vietnamese put eggs in coffee because milk was scarce. According to the family of Nguyen Van Giang, he was a bartender at Hanoi's Metropole hotel in 1946, during the war against French rule, and whipped egg yolk with sugar as a substitute for milk. Guests liked it, and the drink became a Hanoi specialty.

Nguyen Van Giang was working at what is now the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi when the hotel ran short of fresh milk. His answer was egg yolk whipped until it was light enough to float on coffee, and it worked well with the strong local robusta. The drink was popular enough that he left the hotel and began selling it himself. The family cafe, Café Giang, now sits at the end of a narrow passage off Nguyen Huu Huan Street in the Old Quarter, and in 1987 his daughter, Mrs Bich, opened Café Dinh beside Hoan Kiem Lake.

Egg coffee shows how a shortage can turn into a specialty. Milk was hard to find in 1946, a bartender made do with eggs, and the drink outlasted the shortage by decades. For a long time it was mostly a Hanoi drink. It has since spread to cafes around Vietnam and abroad, where the iced version is often the one people order first.

Do Locals Drink Egg Coffee?

Some do, but not every day. Most Hanoians start the day with cà phê đen or cà phê nâu and treat egg coffee as something to order now and then, or to share with friends visiting from elsewhere. Part of the reason is practical: the foam takes several minutes of whisking per cup, which is hard work for a busy street stall. Locals I hear from also say quality varies a lot, so the cafes that have made it for decades are a safer bet than the newest place on your street.

Discover more local things to do in Hanoi!!!

How Are You Supposed to Drink Vietnamese Egg Coffee?

Drink Vietnamese egg coffee slowly with the small spoon it comes with. Eat a few spoonfuls of the foam first, then gently stir the rest into the coffee so each sip has both layers. Leave the cup in its bowl of hot water while you drink, because the coffee cools quickly.

There is no strict rule, and cafes will not mind how you do it. Some people leave the foam on top and drink through it like a cappuccino, others fold it in completely. Stirring hard at the start is the one thing to avoid, because the foam disappears into the coffee and you lose the contrast between the two layers. Toppings are part of the fun: cocoa is common, and many cafes will add cinnamon if you ask.

Vietnamese coffee is strong, and egg coffee is rich, so one cup is usually enough. If you are sensitive to caffeine, have it earlier in the day.

Is Vietnamese Egg Coffee Safe to Drink?

Vietnamese egg coffee is fine for most healthy travelers, but the yolk is usually raw or only lightly warmed, so there is a small risk of Salmonella. Pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk and should skip it or choose a version made with cooked egg.

US food safety guidance notes that even clean, uncracked eggs can occasionally contain Salmonella, and that egg dishes are safe once they reach 71°C (160°F). Standing the cup in hot water keeps the drink warm, but it does not cook the yolk. Most travelers who try egg coffee have no trouble, and a few do get an upset stomach, so it makes sense to lower the odds.

Does Egg Coffee Have Any Health Benefits?

Coffee in general is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, liver disease and kidney stones in large observational studies, but those studies looked at plain coffee, not egg coffee. Egg coffee also adds sugar and condensed milk, so treat it as a treat rather than a health drink.

A large review of studies published in 2017 found these links at moderate intake, around three to four cups of coffee a day, and its authors note that observational studies cannot prove cause and effect. The same review makes an exception for pregnancy. A small cup of egg coffee is far from three or four cups, and the sugar in the foam is a reason to enjoy it now and then rather than every day.

Where to Try Egg Coffee in Hanoi

The best-known places to try egg coffee in Hanoi are Café Giang at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, the family cafe of the drink's creator, Café Dinh at 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, run by the founder's daughter, and Cafe Pho Co at 11 Hang Gai. A cup costs about 30,000 to 45,000 VND (US$1.15 to US$1.75).

Prices are 2026 listings and change; US dollar figures use about 26,000 VND to US$1. Opening hours can change too, so check before you go.

The three cafes feel quite different, so the choice comes down to what you want from the visit: the original recipe, a lake view from an old family room, or a rooftop.

Café Giang, 39 Nguyen Huu Huan

This is the cafe the Giang family opened, and the address most people mean when they talk about the original egg coffee. Look for the narrow passage off Nguyen Huu Huan Street and walk to the end, where you find a simple room of wooden tables and chairs. Check that you are at number 39 before you sit down. It is often packed, and you may wait for a seat at busy times. The family now also runs branches at 57 Trang Tien and in Lotte Mall West Lake, which are easier when the Old Quarter shop is full.

Café Dinh, 13 Dinh Tien Hoang

Café Dinh was opened in 1987 by Mrs Bich, Giang's daughter, and serves egg coffee made in the family way. It is easy to miss: you go in from the street and climb a narrow staircase to an old room with traditional wooden doors, a family altar and antique furniture. From the balcony and window seats you look over Dinh Tien Hoang Street to Hoan Kiem Lake.

Cafe Pho Co, 11 Hang Gai

Cafe Pho Co is part of the fun of getting there. You walk in through a silk shop on Hang Gai and climb narrow stairs past small open terraces to the upper floors and rooftop, which look out over Hoan Kiem Lake. The menu covers most Vietnamese coffees, egg coffee included, and it is a good choice if the view matters as much as the cup.

Café Lam, 60 Nguyen Huu Huan

Café Lam is on the same street as Café Giang, at number 60, and it is known more for its atmosphere than for egg coffee. It opened in the early 1950s, and sketches by Hanoi artists, Bui Xuan Phai among them, decorate its walls. Its owner, Nguyen Van Lam, reportedly let painters settle their debts with paintings during the lean years. Egg coffee on its menu is not confirmed, so ask before you order, or come for the old Hanoi setting and have a black or milk coffee.

For more cafes, from old-style coffee houses to specialty roasters, see our guide to the best cafes in Hanoi. If your trip ends in the south, our guide to coffee in Saigon covers where to find egg coffee there.

Egg Coffee and Other Vietnamese Coffees

Egg coffee is one of several sweet, rich coffees you will meet in Vietnam. This table shows how it compares with the others you are most likely to see on a menu.

For the beans behind all of these and how Vietnamese coffee is grown, see our guide to Vietnamese coffee, and for juices, teas and other local drinks, our guide to Vietnamese drinks.

Frequently Asked Questions About Vietnamese Egg Coffee

Does Vietnamese egg coffee taste like egg?

Not when it is made well. Long whipping with sugar and condensed milk turns the yolk into a sweet foam that tastes closer to custard or tiramisu than egg. A cup that is under-whipped, or made with eggs that are not fresh, can taste eggy, which is one reason quality varies between cafes.

Can you get Vietnamese egg coffee iced?

Yes. Ask for cà phê trứng đá. The egg foam is spooned over coffee and ice in a glass, and many people eat it with a spoon, a little like coffee ice cream. Hanoi cafes still serve the hot version as the classic, and it suits the city's cooler months from about November to March.

Can you find egg coffee outside Hanoi?

Yes. Egg coffee began in Hanoi, but cafes across Vietnam now serve it, including several in Ho Chi Minh City, and it appears on menus abroad as well. Recipes vary more outside Hanoi, so if you want the original style, try it at one of the family cafes in the Old Quarter first.

A cup of egg coffee is one of the easiest ways to spend half an hour in Hanoi's Old Quarter, and it costs less than two dollars. If you would like a local guide to fit a coffee stop into a private day in Hanoi, tell us about your trip.

▶️ Planning more time in Hanoi? See our guide to things to do in the city: