Cafe Giảng
Coffee shop · Hanoi ·
Originator of legendary Vietnamese egg coffee, a rich dessert-like drink
Originator of legendary Vietnamese egg coffee, a rich dessert-like drink
"Stepping through the narrow entrance feels like bringing Hanoi's chaotic streets indoors, opening into a larger upper-floor space with low stools clustered around wooden tables and mismatched artwork on the walls. This is where Nguyen Giang, who once worked as a bartender at what is now the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, turned wartime milk shortages during the 1946 Anti-French Resistance War into an opportunity by using egg yolk to replicate the creaminess of café au lait, discovering it paired well with condensed milk and creating what is now known as egg coffee. The hot egg coffee here might look a bit murky, but it is very sweet and creamy, with a layer of coffee at the bottom that still delivers a strong hit at the end even after a good stir." - Arundhati Hazra
"Down a narrow Old Quarter alley, the original purveyor of ca phe trung still whips up its secret egg-coffee recipe into a rich, frothy, almost dessert-like drink." - Scott Campbell
"Egg coffee (ca phe trung or cà phê trứng) emerges as a beacon of innovation amidst wartime scarcity. In the 1940s, as sugar and milk prices soared, Mr. Giang, the founder of Giang Cafe in Hanoi, turned to egg yolks, inspired by his experiences at the Metropole Hotel (presently Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi) and the allure of cappuccino." - Lana Tran
"Cafe Giang, named after Nguyen Van Giang, offers ca phe trung, a coffee drink he invented at Hotel Metropole by substituting eggs for milk, giving it a thick, eggnog-like texture." - MICHELIN Guide Thailand
"In Hanoi, Cà Phê Giảng (Giang Café) claims to have originated Vietnamese egg coffee in 1946 when founder Nguyen Van Giang, having run out of milk, improvised by using chicken egg yolk as a thickener; the recipe mixes egg yolk, coffee powder, condensed milk and optionally cheese, is often served inside a bowl of hot water, and—according to his son Nguyen Van Dao—the egg foams and enriches the coffee much as milk would. I also note a richer Vietnamese variation, sinh tố cà phê chuối bơ, which blends coffee and egg with banana and avocado into a smoothie-like drink." - Paolo Bicchieri