"More pigs in the pen means more fertilizer for the fields," proclaims one propaganda poster. The caption of another says, "Cho Dai Dot Dung Den Dat Nuoc Nay (It would be folly to attack this country. Do so at your peril)." A woman warrier is brandishing a rifle in the latter. Black and white war-era photographs are pinned to canvas. Old army kitbags hang on the white washed walls. Soiled white T-shirts are strung starkly against one wall painted army green. The light is coming down framed in tin petrol funnels, ingeniously refashioned as light fittings.
Sturdy wooden antique chairs and tables furnish the shiny concrete floor. On shelves up high, dusty Vietnamese translations of works by Lenin are juxtaposed alongside the flashing green lights of modems and wifi routers bringing in the philosophies of the world. French realist writer Balzac is also represented. Mao Zedong is there too, on the wall, taking his people along on the Great Leap Forward. The Rolling Stones' album Aftermath is softly filtering through the speakers. The fans are whirring and the staff are slumped, slightly aloof, dreaming.
The bitter dark chocolate of the coffee, sourced from Buon Ma Thuot and "made according to specifications by Cong Caphe", is more complex than the standard Hanoi brew and the avocado fruit blend is thick and viscous up the straw. Both are expensive.
And the staff know and I know that ambience in a coffee shop sometimes comes at a handsome price.
Cafe den da (iced black), bo sinh to (avocado fruit blend) - 50,000VND (USD$2.65, AUD$2.90)
Cong Caphe
152b Trieu Viet Vuong
Hai Ba Trung District
Hanoi
Expensive? Last time I had a coffee there it was 15,000. Expensive only compared to the most basic cafes surely.
I used to work around the corner so occasionally coffeed in a couple of places on that strip and the price seemed fairly constant.
It's actually half decent as a bar too and I've been back for beers in the evening.
There's a very decent egg sarnie lady next door - and a cafe sua da and sandwich is a pretty decent breakfast for under 30,000.
Or in the evening there's a sushi place just a couple of doors down that'll bring your food around.
One of my favourite cafes on one of my favourite streets.
Posted by: Steve Jackson | 16 May 2010 at 05:17 PM
I think Sticky may have gone for the Cong Caphe Signature Blend, as last time I was there I remember a den da was 15k VND as well. Awesome coffee, incredibly friendly staff, highly reccommended.
Oh, and you can even buy packets of their specially roasted coffee to take home. Absolutely delicious.
Posted by: Matt Martin | 16 May 2010 at 06:14 PM
Guys, honestly, didn't order anything out of the ordinary, no special blend, no gold skinned avocados...just compared to the places I normally go, it's on the expensive side. I don't have the breakdown, but assumed the coffee was 20,000 and sinh to was 30,000.
Anyway, whatever, it's an uber-cool place and I have been more than once and will go back.
Will go back at night, I fancy having a beer there, Steve. And, Matt, I forgot to mention the coffee is available packaged: 0.25kg - 45,000, 0.5kg - 85,000, 1kg - 155,000. Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: Sticky | 16 May 2010 at 09:19 PM
Have to vouch for Sticky on the prices... unless I was getting the Tây menu.. Check out http://wp.me/p2uuak-1M.
Posted by: Caphehanoi.wordpress.com | 12 June 2012 at 08:55 PM