Like the traditional black coffee, weasel coffee and those with sweeten condensed milk that Vietnam is famous for, egg coffee has been one of the must-tries for Hanoi visitors. So, where to try the best egg coffee in Hanoi?
Well, this post will take you to the bottom of that question. But, let us firstly cover an important information that we are often asked by our travelers, we want to talk about what’s in egg coffee before telling you where to try one.
What’s in the Egg Coffee
Brought to Vietnam from 1857 by the French, most of the coffee beans grown in the country are the strong and bitter Robusta beans. Hence, the Vietnamese coffee drinkers rely on a steady stream of sweeten condensed milk to balance out the strong French-press Robusta coffee.
What happens when the milk runs out? Nguyen Vang Giang, a former bartender at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel, faced that question in 1946 when a milk shortage was caused by the French War (also known as the First Indochina War 1946 – 1954).
The remaining breakfast staples, raw egg yolks and coffee, were then called upon for this wartime invention. Raw egg yolks in coffee sounds weird, even a decadent blend. But Giang whisked in egg as a much-needed substitute, and made a surprisingly delicious egg coffee resembling a frothy cup of liquefied tiramisu.
We don’t know if Giang knew his egg coffee would become a modern-day favorite, but his signature drink became such a hit that he opened Café Giang in the wake of its success.
Café Giang & Café Dinh – The Original Egg Coffee
Mr. Giang passed away, leaving the coffee shop for his son – Nguyen Chi Hoa to serve the legendary egg coffee. While Giang’s first daughter, Bich, also opened Café Dinh, on another Hanoi street, to retain her family tradition.
Hoa, the current owner of Café Giang, once said that the egg coffee recipe created by their father remains the same today: there are raw chicken egg yolk, Vietnamese Robusta coffee, sweetened condensed milk, butter, and some cow cheese. The coffee is firstly brewed in a cup before adding the well-whisked mixture of the egg yolk and those ingredients.
The clever hack in wartime dairy shortages created a coffee with such a lavish appearance, and it’s become a Hanoi specialty. Egg coffee is now served in many Hanoi coffee shops, and its influence stretches far beyond Northern Vietnam.
That said, Giang’s children claims that their secret recipe allows them to keep making the best egg coffee. So, if you want to try the best and the original, their coffee shops (listed below) are where you should go.
1. Café Giang
- Address: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 7h00 to 22h00
- Tel: 098 989 22 98
2. Café Dinh
- Address: 13 Dinh Tien Hoan Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 7h00 to 21h30
- Phone: 024 3824 2960
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