Entree Kibbles

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Café Giang - Origin of Egg Coffee (Love the Egg Beer) in Vietnam

Vietnam's national dishes are renowned; pho, banh mi etc. How about national beverage? It would definitely be Vietnamese coffee but right here in Hanoi, there's an interesting variant that originated from the capital city; egg coffee!

And today, I am going to bring you to the cafe owned and operated by the second generation of the man who created this egg coffee back in 1946, back when the country was facing a milk shortage. p.s. I was expecting a somewhat grand entrance for Giang Cafe and almost missed the small entrance!

Devoid of queues and down a long, narrow passage that was dimly lighted, I was wondering if I had gone to an imitation store. But Google Map, with over 10,000 reviewers for Giang Cafe, pointed to the correct spot.

Hm..... just a few tables on site and they were not even filled! The risk of coming to an imitation store had heightened; did the GRAB driver purposely bring us here? Can't be since I input the address myself. Noticing a sign that there's more space upstairs, we decided to proceed upwards.

The chatters from customers reached us as we stepped up, allaying our fear that we had come to the wrong store. And the second floor appeared a lot brighter, unlike the gloom on the ground floor.

There were a lot more seating area too. Those with long legs and/or brought a lot of shopping bags etc should consider finding corner seating as the chairs here were the squat-kind that require us to spread our legs further apart.

I was hoping for this balcony seating to take time-lapsed videos but luck wasn't on my side. Oh well, I am not anal about such things; if have, good. If don't have, too bad. Life goes on.

Was handed this and not knowing what the word means. Guess it means menu as the back of it was the list of items available. Do note that the only food listed were sunflower seeds and beef jerky.

Egg Beer - by right, I should have egg coffee but my inaugural experience at Little Hanoi Egg Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City wasn't fantastic and I noted from reviewers on Google that Café Giang had another interesting beverage, which was egg beer!

Everything was transparent; a mug of half filled whisked egg cream mixed in with secret ingredients, and a can of Sapporo Bluecap premium beer! Mug was too small as the bubbly beer resulted in a chemical reaction that warranted housekeeping cleanup!

Frothy with layers, it's a necessity to stir before taking a sip.

Verdict - I absolutely love this! The sweetened egg cream was a perfect compliment to the beer; the beer didn't taste as bitter, the texture was creamy and there wasn't a tinge of cloying egginess. To me, this would be the best representation of the Harry Potter's butter beer; albeit without the butter.

Seeing how this auntie was savoring her egg coffee, I was tempted to get a cup but the egg beer was extremely filling and Alex wasn't keen on getting any egg beverage. p.s. he had normal Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk.

I thought this would be it; my visit to Café Giang would conclude and I wouldn't be back again until the next round, when I would, hopefully, bring my family for a tour in Hanoi.

Returning to Café Giang in mere two days' time, on our second last day in Hanoi! Reason being both the Greatest Kon and Lock didn't visit with us and I shared with them how good the egg beer was! Since we had time on day six, Alex and I revisited!

A lot less crowded on Tuesday afternoon.

Ordering a variety of drinks, including egg beer! To be honest, day six was pretty warm and we had walked quite a bit under the hot sun that day! I think egg beer is best had when weather is cooler as it didn't feel as refreshing on day six.

Egg Coffee - I decided to check out this original version since fate had brought me here again. I took a sip of the egg cream first; sweet, custardy with a strong egg taste. Time to give it a stir.

The egginess was less pronounced and strangely, if I didn't know before, I would have assumed this was a thicker version of our usual coffee with milk. A good cup of coffee although again, I would have gone with the cheaper Vietnamese coffee. Nevertheless, still worth a visit if it's your first time to Hanoi!

Remember to take this token to make payment at the counter on ground floor.

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Address

39 P. Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ,

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Website

https://cafegiang.vn/

Menu

As above.

Additional Information

There's a branch outside of Vietnam and it's not in any of Southeast Asia countries! For those going to Yokohama in Japan, you can scan the QR code as above. :)

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Day Three of My 7-Day Trip to Hanoi - City of Lakes and Capital of Vietnam

<<< Day Two

Detailed Postings for Day Three

Starting the morning with a slightly more filling breakfast at Bonsella Hotel as we would be embarking on our first day tour in Hanoi; to Ninh Binh! We would need to store more energy as I understand there would be plenty of climbing to be done later.

Temperature in the morning; another cool 21 degree celcius! I can totally stay in a place for long term if temperature would hover between 15 and just slightly above 20 degree celcius!

Walking over to meet up with our friends; and chanced upon pretty flowers that were placed in inverted plastic chairs! Ingenious indeed, for better use of existing resources.

Let's kick start our day tour to Ninh Binh; an area known for being one of the smallest provinces in Vietnam yet blessed with beautiful scenery, strong culture and a long history.

Travelling out of the city can be so invigorating; with looming greenery taking over the concrete jungle and the occasional sighting of cemeteries, which have taken, unfortunately, a backseat in this blog. Maybe, I would have a cemetery post for my upcoming trip to Bangkok!

Coach stopped for a toilet break, which also included a visit through the retail arm of a Bamboo Cotton Factory! At least we didn't have to endure any talk or forced purchases.

First official item on the itinerary - Mua Cave! While the name suggests an exploration of a cave, the real activity is much further from the truth as we would be climbing up a hill with two different summits!

Photographs for your reference although you can check out Mua Cave for more of them! Do note that there are two separate summits; one easier, and one difficult . Go for the easier one if you have insufficient time as the summit is taller with better views.

I sure hope I can revisit again and allocating more time to check out the attraction! There's a hotel wing within Mua Cave which I would consider giving the advantage of being able to take both sunrise and sunset at the summits.

Second item on the itinerary - Hoa Lu - Ancient Capital of Vietnam! Just a few temples honoring past kings that died almost a century ago.

Ninh Binh is full of landscapes like the above. Kind of reminded me of my visit to Guizhou in China where such karst limestone formations were aplenty. In Vietnam, Ninh Binh is also known as the land version of Halong Bay.

Complimentary lunch which was provided as part of the tour. Signature was said to be the meat dish made from wild mountain goats that roamed all over Ninh Binh. Click here to read more!

Third item on itinerary - Sampan Boating in Trang An! It was extremely enjoyable, and absolutely relaxing while the "captain" rowed us along the river for close to two hours, and going through a few flooded caves.

It's an experience that both my parents would like.

Fourth item for the trip, although not on the official itinerary. A purpose built Hoa Lu Old Town, including the Silver Pagodas that stood out for its beauty and interesting illumination.

We even climbed up to the Kỳ Lân Pagoda on top of Unicorn Mountain! Kỳ Lân is actually Vietnamese for unicorn and there's actually a legend about the beast. p.s. do note that the unicorn in Oriental context isn't the pure white horse with a single horn on its head.

First thing we did upon disembarking the coach back in Hanoi was to have dinner! Tung's Kitchen was chosen as reviews were rocket high and it was pretty near Hoan Kiem Lake, within walking distance from Bonsella Hotel. For review of our meal, click here!

Trung Nguyên Legend Cafe; I love the 3-in-1 coffee from this brand and was excited to find a wide variety for sale in their cafe. Only issue was the terrible customer service!

Window shopped at this shop opposite Trung Nguyên Legend Cafe that had real nice tee shirts. At my age, my wardrobe had too many tops and I shouldn't purchase more.

Saint Joseph Cathedral at night.

Many streets at Hanoi Old Quarter would be converted into pedestrian-only passages on weekends, starting from Fridays. It's so nice to walk around without the need to look out for motor vehicles! More on the Hanoi Pedestrian Streets in Day 4! :)

My travel companions weren't full after Tung's Kitchen and went another round at this eatery near our hotel. For both Alex and I, we refrained from joining them! For me, it's more like I don't want to eat so late!

>>> Day Four