I have been a fan of Vietnamese food and drink long before my trip to Vietnam earlier this year. One Vietnamese delicacy is their coffee. The perfect cup of Vietnamese coffee is a rich, sweet drink made from chicory coffee and sweetened condensed milk. When the coffee is made with a high quality coffee and just the right amount of condensed milk, you are in for a treat. The drink takes on an almost chocolate quality. The coffee is often made with a small metal drip-style steeper that sits on top of the cup. It can be served hot or over ice. Both are delicious.
While traveling in Vietnam, my wife and I had coffee frequently. Our hotel usually offered the Vietnamese style coffee at breakfast, we ordered it at several restaurants, and we stopped in for a cup at various cafes we came across on our journey. We even tried the coffee from a couple of chain coffee shops in Vietnam. The two that I recall were Phuc Long and Highlands Coffee. Trung Nguyen is also a very popular coffee brand that also has coffee shops. I thought Highlands Coffee was pretty good. But the best cup of coffee I had in Vietnam was in Hue:
Du Lich Hue, also known as Hue Travel Cafe was located just across the street from our hotel in Hue. The address is 22 Nguyen Hue, Hue 530000, Vietnam. The coffee shop is a quiet place that looks more like a bar than a coffee shop at first glance. The owner greeted us himself and talked to us about his venture. Our server was very attentive, bringing us green tea with our coffee orders. Ice made from ice makers is generally safe in Vietnam, so we used the large ice cubes to cool our coffee as it was hot during our visit. The coffee was amazing. The coffee is made espresso style rather than using the traditional dripper. But that really didn't matter to me. The flavor of the coffee was spot on. Some of the patrons were enjoying a game, piped in to televisions mounted inside the cafe.
Another great thing about this small cafe was the price. As you can see from my photo, the prices are very reasonable. While you might easily pay two dollars or more for coffee at a chain or restaurant, the coffee at Hue Travel Cafe is less than a dollar. Generally between 8000 and 14000 dong. Which works out to just over half a dollar at the high end. Our server did not want to accept a tip, but the owner told her it was okay. We felt obligated for the great service and super cheap price for an exceptional cup of coffee. The cafe also offers free wifi for visitors, so we were able to chill out, do some people watching, sip some excellent coffee and catch up on email. The seats face the street to make things more interesting. You can watch people zip by as you relax and rest your feet (we did a lot of walking...so this was a welcome break. If you happen to be in Hue, stop by this hidden gem. If you aren't looking for it, you will likely breeze right past. That will be your loss.
The cafe has a facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/huetravelcafe