Savoring Vietnamese coffee

To say that I love Vietnamese coffee is really an understatement. I am crazy over Vietnamese coffee more aptly describes my attachment to it. I have a collection of stainless steel coffee filters in different sizes and I only grind, brew and drink Vietnamese arabica-robusta at home. Whether one goes to an upscale coffee shop like Highlands or a roadside stall, real Vietnamese coffee is best brewed the traditional way - coffee grounds are placed on an aluminum filter that sits on top of a cup. The cup is laced with about a tablespoon or more of sweetened condensed milk. Hot water is then poured over the grounds and the coffee drips slowly. It takes about 10 minutes or so of waiting for the dripping to be done. Whether you drink it hot ice cold, it is so good.



















In most Saigon coffee shops, an order of coffee comes with a free glass of iced lotus tea. The tea is light and does not drown the coffee taste. This kindness is most appreciated especially on a warm day. I used to go to Trung Nguyen coffee shop which has several branches around th city until a Vietnamese friend took me to AQ coffee shop. AQ uses its own NP brand coffee beans. The coffee shop that I go to is on Mac Din Chi St. in district 1. It is a quaint old wooden house and a starfruit tree in the yard provides shade. Bossa music in the background gives it a nostalgic feel. But just as I was getting addicted to AQ coffee, I discovered a more superior blend of robusta-arabica coffee beans sold by Tan Thanh coffee and tea store at My Tho market in Tien Giang province. Price per kilo of coffee beans is 80,000 dong or PHP 224.


















Recently, Trung Nguyen has reinvented itself by establishing new coffee shops around Saigon with contemporary interiors and wifi access. A cup of traditional coffee with milk (hot or with ice) costs 21,000 dong or about PHP59. As in most places in the city, smoking is tolerated even in air conditioned establishments like in Trung Nguyen coffee shop, which can drive out customers who don't want to inhale second-hand smoke.

Falling in love with Saigon

My first trip to Vietnam was in 1990 on a consultancy to work with a team to put together a proposal for Vietnam. The trip started in Hanoi and ended in Saigon. That year, Saigon was dark as shops closed early. Nguyen Hue Boulevard was dim and the little souvenir shops in the center of the road didn't seem well lighted. The major mean of transport were an occasional taxi but mostly it was the cyclo (three wheeled bicycle taxi) that the tourists took to navigate around. Then, the Saigon Floating Hotel, Majestic, Continental, Caravelle and Rex were the better known hotels.

That first trip was followed by many more trips. With an average of four to six trips a year, I must have made more than 50 trips to Vietnam. Everyone who has frequented Vietnam would agree that urban development in Saigon has been quite rapid so that over time, Saigon has reclaimed its old decadent self. The city has seen a steady rise of new hotels, bars, great restaurants, shops, cars and motorbikes.

I have close friends in Vietnam and I find that the Vietnamese are very much like other Asians -- hospitable, sensitive, caring, kind, and sincere. Like other Asians, they also give presents to friends and they are so lavish with gifts, a trait they perhaps imbibed from the Chinese. But I tell my friends that all that disappear when they ride their motorbike. A Vietnamese on a motorbike becomes a completely different person: he/she is aggressive. Perhaps it is a survival rule in motorbiking in Vietnam that scares the tourist trying to cross a busy city street.