Cafe Hopping – Ho Chi Minh
Posted: July 5, 2017 Filed under: ART, TRAVEL | Tags: alternative art area, art arcade, cafe, cafe apartment, cafe hopping, coffee, coffee culture, dong khoi street, ho chi minh, kujuz 3son, l'usine, le loi street, saigon, Travel, vietnam, vietnamese coffee Leave a comment
The coffee culture in Ho Chi Minh is exciting, vibrant and trendy. Whether it’s a commercial cafe chain, a stylish 3rd wave coffee shop or a humble street stall, the coffee will be delightful and the experience, unique.
I was overwhelmed with all the options and wanted to have coffee at almost every cafe I saw while walking around the city. I’d make a metal note to come back to a particular coffee shop, expecting I’ll like the next one I see even more. At one point it was frustrating because I obviously can’t visit all these cafes (and consume so much caffeine) during my one week trip. I decided that I’ll leave it up to exploring and some research to get the best cafe experiences I can.
Here are the cafe hopping highlights.
CAFE APARTMENT
Along Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Cafe Apartment houses 9 floors of cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. I did some research and came across a blog post by Vietnam Oracle (http://vietnamcoracle.com/) describing it as “a ‘chocolate box’ of independent coffee shops”. Of course I had to check the place out and it did not disappoint.
L’USINE
L’Usine – Dong Khoi
L’Usine has two branches and I made it a point to visit both. I recently found out that there is a third at Le Thanh Ton street. I cannot express how much I looked forward to visiting this cafe, specifically this branch in Dong Khoi. It is definitely the highlight of my cafe tour.
It’s more of a complex than just a cafe.
Dong Khoi street has been at the center of life in Saigon since French colonial times. Today, it is home to many of Saigon’s memorable French colonial era buildings. It’s no surprise that this chic cafe is located in an area with so much character and history.
Sunday brunch
Art Arcade
To get to the cafe, you enter the building through the Art Arcade. An assortment of trendy cafes, restaurants and bars are housed in the building as well. There’s even a gallery above L’Usine!
L’Usine – Le Loi
Day #7: I felt that enjoying a cup of coffee at my favorite cafe is the perfect way to say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh city.
ALTERNATIVE ART AREA
Kujuz 3son, Alternative Art Area
I am drawn to any creative space and as the name suggests, the Alternative Art Area is exactly that.
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