Cong Cafe near Turtle Lake @ Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

When the Great Kon pointed towards the direction of a popular cafe, the only thing that popped out in my mind when I looked towards the direction were the many signboards for Vietjet Air.

Brought to the entrance, which was somewhat at the back of the building, within an alley, I was hesitant. It seemed as though I would be trespassing someone's house.

No lift; I was more excited that this might turn out to be an exploration of an apartment with paranormal activity. On second thought; likely not since I am the only one, out of the four, who enjoys such abnormal stuff. 

This old school, wooden frame gate did bring on some haunting vibe doesn't it?! However, I did notice the operating hours on the side; 7am to 10 pm. We only had about 20 minutes in the cafe! 

Two words came across my mind when I strolled in; army green! Not an easy color to play with if you ask me and given the war history of Vietnam; I am wondering if this was also a kind of celebration for the eventual unification in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

In Singapore, we all know Starbucks, Coffee Bean etc and in Vietnam, there are a few equivalents; one of which would be Cong Cafe, which has 17 branches in Ho Chi Minh and 26 branches in Hanoi. 

By right we should have Vietnamese coffee; by left, it was almost bed time and my friends opted for one of Cong Cafe signatures; coconut green rice! Vietnamese coffee for another time bah.

At 59,000 Vietnamese dong (about S$3.40), it was a great tasting, ice blended beverage that was similar to mango sticky rice, without the mango! Only grouch from me; the ice was not blended well enough.

For this particular branch, it also overlooked Turtle Lake; as you can see, many locals were seated there and enjoying the company of their family and friends. This elevated location would be nice for a time-lapsed video; pity I didn't mange to return on another day during daytime. Next time!

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Address

08 BIS Công Trường Quốc Tế, Phường 6, 

Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam