Everything Random

Every city I go to, I always try to do a coffee run every day. A coffee run is a run around a neighbourhood for good coffee. I visit at least two coffee shops a day, when time permits.

While covering several coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City is easy, even for just a few hours, what with the famous Cafe Aparment, a stack of coffee shops built on top of each other (well, not really an appropriate description because it’s actually several coffee shops housed in the same building). But I choose the harder route. I scour coffee shop reviews and choose those that appeal to me. The following are the worthy to mention.

About Life Coffee Brewers

The place is near my hotel, and so it’s within the vicinity of my daily run or walk, whichever seems appropriate for the day. The plus factor of this coffee shop is that it stays in the same building (and shares the same seating spaces) as my favourite pizza chain in Vietnam, Pizza 4Ps, in Hai Ba Trung. The seating area is comfortable, the coffee is good, and it opens early at 730 AM. So, if you are craving your morning dose with a croissant, this place is one for you.

XLIII Coffee

When I was in Danang, I went to 43 Factory Coffee Roaster, an affiliated company of this place. The interior is amazing – an entrance that gives you the feel of a museum, with very limited seating, a second floor where the coffee is brewed and served, and a third-floor seating area.

This place is dead serious about its coffee. A barista gives you a tour of their offerings, from the least to the most expensive. The coffee is good – you can opt for fruity and tangy, or chocolatey and rustic – but of course, the price is prohibitive. The coffee beans come largely from select farms abroad, and thus, the price. But the service is good, the coffee matches the sophistication of its price, and the place is interestingly decorated.

Cafe Oshima’s

This is probably the most serene coffee shop I have been to – it looks like a Zen place that’s fit for reading a book or meaningful conversations. The crew is very professional and friendly at the same time, and the selection is quite up to standard.

I chose to sit outside, read my book while enjoying a cup of coffee at one point, and a matcha latte at a later stage. The cakes are also quite tasty. It’s tucked in a quiet alley in Ward 5, and I will surely recommend this place for an end-of-day chill.

I visited a few other places, but they are not worth a line here, or the trip/walk to get to them. But these three? Surely worth the dollar and the chore of a visit.