Traveling to Hanoi, you shouldn’t miss Ca phe trung. Ca phe trung (egg coffee) is a special drink from Hanoi in which creamy soft and meringue-like egg white foam is perched on dense Vietnamese coffee.
It is a Vietnamese drink traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and Robusta coffee. The drink is made by beating egg yolks with sugar and coffee, then extracting the coffee into the half of the cup, followed by a similar amount of “egg cream” - egg yolks which are heated and beaten, or whisked .
The legend goes that fresh milk was in short supply during the post war 1975 because fresh milk and condensed milk are scarce commodities due to the trade embargo and so whisked egg yolk was used as a replacement.
The drink is served in cafes throughout Vietnam, though it originates in Hanoi. The Giang Café in Hanoi is known for serving the drink, which it makes with chicken egg yolk, coffee powder, condensed milk, and, optionally, cheese. The cup is served inside a bowl of hot water to retain its temperature. The son of the café’s founder Nguyen Giang claims that his father developed the recipe for the drink when milk was scarce in Vietnam in the late 1940s, replacing the dairy product with egg yolk .
Ca phe trung has been recommended by CNN as one of five must-try dishes for foreigners visiting Hanoi. “Having had coffee in many places, but the coffee in Hanoi is the most impressive, especially egg coffee. Egg coffee is really a new discovery during the journey to Vietnam,” blogger Jodi Ettenberg once shared on an AFAR travel site.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Ca phe trung can please the pickiest coffee drinkers, given its special look and taste. The coffee has become one of the most sought-after drinks for visitors to Hanoi. Giang cafe, Dinh cafe and Yen cafe are among the most popular places for foreign visitors to have Ca phe trung.
Nguyen Duy Minh, owner of Yen cafe, said that to create a special flavor for ca phe trung, the coffee beans must be heated before mixing it with egg cream to create a harmonious taste.
| Places for trying Ca phe trung in Hanoi: – Yen cafes at No.11A, Tran Quoc Toan street; No. 184, Quan Thanh street and No. 21, alley 42, Giang Van Minh street. – Giang cafes at No. 39, Nguyen Huu Huan street and No.106, Yen Phu street. – Dinh cafe at No. 13, Dinh Tien Hoang street. |
Sapa, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh… also has Ca phe trung but not the same flavor as Hanoi.
Take a tour around Hanoi to feel how amazing this kind of coffee.
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