Egg Coffee in Hanoi: The Story Behind Ca Phe Trung and Where to Try It

Hanoi’s egg coffee was created in 1946 by Nguyen Van Giang, who spooned a cream of whisked egg yolk, sugar and condensed milk over strong robusta, and the family cafe he founded, now at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan after two moves, still serves it today. The first taste is closer to a warm dessert than a coffee, and the handful of cafes that have poured it for decades sit within an easy walk of Hoan Kiem Lake.

What Is Egg Coffee?

Egg coffee, known in Vietnamese as ca phe trung, is built from two distinct layers: a short, strong coffee at the bottom and a thick, sweet egg cream on top. How each layer is made, and how the cup is served, shapes both the flavour and the slow way the drink is meant to be enjoyed.

Egg Yolk, Condensed Milk and a Robusta Base

The base is Vietnamese robusta, brewed slowly through a small metal phin filter into a short, dark and bitter coffee. On top sits a thick cream made by whisking egg yolks with sugar and sweetened condensed milk until the mixture turns pale, glossy and almost stiff enough to hold a spoon.

Robusta is the backbone of Vietnamese coffee. Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee producer after Brazil, and about 95 per cent of its crop is robusta, a bitter, high-caffeine bean that stands up to the sweetness of the egg cream in a way a milder arabica would not.

The result tastes of caramel, vanilla and custard over a strong coffee base, which is why many first-time drinkers compare it to liquid tiramisu. Stirring the two layers together gives a sweeter, rounder cup, while eating the cream with a spoon first keeps the contrast between sweet and bitter.

The iced version, ca phe trung da, pours the coffee over ice in a glass and spoons the same cream on top. The two layers separate more clearly and the drink feels lighter, which is why it is popular through Hanoi’s hot, humid summer months.

Why It Arrives in a Bowl of Hot Water

A traditional hot egg coffee comes in a small cup set inside a bowl of hot water. Cafe Giang, where the drink began, describes serving it this way as one of the rituals the family has kept unchanged. The warm water holds the cream at a silky temperature instead of letting it cool into a heavy skin.

The bowl also sets the pace. An egg coffee is meant to be drunk slowly, a spoonful at a time, and the warm water keeps the cup at drinking temperature while you do, a pace made for a low stool and a view of the street.

The 1946 Story Behind Hanoi’s Egg Coffee

Few drinks have a birthplace as clear as this one, and the family behind it still runs the cafe. The story explains why a few names come up again and again in any list of places to try it.

Nguyen Van Giang and the Milk Shortage

Nguyen Van Giang created the drink at the cafe he founded in 1946, Cafe Giang. According to the cafe’s own account, fresh milk was scarce at the time, so he whisked egg yolk into a delicate cream to accompany traditional Vietnamese coffee in its place.

What began as a workaround became the signature of the house. The cafe still makes the cream by hand and serves each cup in warm water, and it now adds egg to cocoa and matcha as well as coffee, keeping the original method while widening the menu.

The egg cream now carries a range of flavours on Cafe Giang’s own menu. Cinnamon, almond, coconut milk and sesame versions sit alongside the classic, most available hot or iced, and a mixed egg coffee and cocoa cup lets undecided drinkers try both in one glass.

From One Family Cafe to a Hanoi Signature

The Giang family has carried the recipe well beyond its home cafe. Alongside the flagship at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Cafe Giang runs a branch at 57 Trang Tien near the Opera House and another inside Lotte Mall Tay Ho, and in 2018 it opened its first overseas cafe in Yokohama, Japan.

The family line also runs through a second cafe on the lake. Cafe Dinh on Dinh Tien Hoang Street was opened by Mr Giang’s daughter, which is why regulars treat its egg coffee as part of the same tradition rather than an imitation.

Today the drink appears on menus across Vietnam and in Vietnamese cafes abroad, but the egg coffee that Hanoi’s cafes have served for decades remains the reference point, and most visitors who try egg coffee once go looking for the originals.

Where to Try Egg Coffee in Hanoi

The five cafes below have served egg coffee for years or occupy buildings with a story of their own, and all sit within a 15-minute walk of Hoan Kiem Lake. Each fits a different kind of visit.

Cafe Giang – 39 Nguyen Huu Huan

Cafe Giang is run by the family that created egg coffee, and its flagship at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan is reached down a narrow passage off the street. Inside, low stools and small tables fill a compact room that feels more like a neighbourhood living room than a tourist stop.

The hot egg coffee arrives in its bowl of warm water, with a thick cream that sits well above the coffee. The egg cocoa is the choice for anyone who wants the cream without the caffeine, and the cafe’s branch on Trang Tien serves the same menu closer to the French Quarter.

The Trang Tien branch keeps shorter hours than the flagship, from 7:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday and until 21:30 from Friday to Sunday, handy for a cup before or after an evening at the Opera House. The flagship on Nguyen Huu Huan fills quickly by mid-afternoon, and an early visit gives the best chance of a stool near the counter.

Detailed Information:

• Address: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• From the lake’s west shore: About 12 minutes on foot
• Opening hours: 7:00 to 22:00 daily
• Reference price: Around 35,000 to 50,000 VND (about US$1.30 to $1.90) for an egg coffee
• Also at: 57 Trang Tien; Lotte Mall Tay Ho

Cafe Dinh – 13 Dinh Tien Hoang

Cafe Dinh sits on the second floor of a building at 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, on the lake’s east shore, reached by a steep, narrow staircase from the street. The room is small and plain, with worn tables and a few window seats that look out towards Hoan Kiem Lake through the trees.

Opened by Mr Giang’s daughter, Cafe Dinh keeps the family’s style of thick, sweet cream, and prices stay modest. It is a good choice for a slower cup after walking the lake, particularly in the late afternoon when the light over the water softens.

Both hot and iced egg coffee are on the menu, with the hot version served in the traditional bowl of water. Because the room is small, a short wait on the stairs is common at busy times, and it usually moves quickly as tables turn over.

Detailed Information:

• Address: 2nd floor, 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• From the lake’s west shore: About 10 minutes on foot
• Opening hours: 7:00 to about 22:00 daily
• Reference price: Around 25,000 to 50,000 VND (about US$1 to $1.90)
• Good to know: Stairs only, no lift

Cafe Pho Co – 11 Hang Gai

Cafe Pho Co hides behind a shopfront at 11 Hang Gai. Visitors walk through the shop and a narrow passage into a quiet courtyard, order on the ground floor, then climb a steep staircase through an old house to a rooftop terrace with a view over Hoan Kiem Lake.

The view is the reason to come, and prices reflect it: an egg coffee here usually costs more than at the smaller cafes. Arriving in the morning or on a weekday afternoon improves the chance of a seat at the rooftop rail, and the climb makes it a poor fit for anyone with limited mobility.

The house itself is part of the appeal. The staircase winds up through rooms furnished with old wooden furniture and ceramic pots, so the street noise fades with each floor until the roof opens onto the lake.

Detailed Information:

• Address: 11 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi (entrance through the shop)
• From the lake’s west shore: About 5 minutes on foot
• Opening hours: Morning to late evening daily
• Reference price: Around 50,000 VND and up (about US$1.90)
• Good to know: Order downstairs before climbing to the roof

Cafe Lam – 60 Nguyen Huu Huan

Cafe Lam, a few doors up from Cafe Giang at 60 Nguyen Huu Huan, is known as much for its walls as for its coffee. Nguyen Van Lam opened his coffee business in 1949, moved into this house in 1956, and during lean years accepted paintings and sketches from artists who could not pay, among them Bui Xuan Phai, Nguyen Sang and the composer Van Cao.

Works from that era still hang in the dim, narrow room, as reported by Tatler Asia, which turns a cup of egg coffee into a small lesson in 20th-century Hanoi art. Prices sit at the lower end of the range. Confirm the day’s opening hours before making a special trip.

Alongside egg coffee, Cafe Lam serves traditional black and milk coffee brewed in the old way, a good comparison for anyone curious about how Hanoi drank coffee before the egg version spread. The tiny wooden stools and low tables are the same style found in the city’s oldest cafes.

Detailed Information:

• Address: 60 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• From the lake’s west shore: About 12 minutes on foot
• Reference price: Around 25,000 to 35,000 VND (about US$1 to $1.30)
• Good to know: Look up at the walls: the painting collection is the draw

Loading T – 8 Chan Cam

Loading T occupies the second floor of a 1930s villa at 8 Chan Cam, a short walk from St Joseph’s Cathedral. Patterned tile floors, vintage wooden furniture and soft French music give the room a quieter, more lived-in feel than the lake-facing cafes.

Its egg coffee comes with a dusting of cinnamon on the cream, a small change that sets it apart from the older houses, and the menu also includes coconut coffee and yogurt coffee for anyone sharing a table with a non-egg drinker. The cafe keeps shorter hours than most, so plan it for a morning or early afternoon.

Loading T’s building mixes Vietnamese, Chinese and French details, and the second-floor room sits above a quiet lane, away from the traffic. That calm makes it a good fit for reading, working for an hour or talking without raising your voice.

Detailed Information:

• Address: 2nd floor, 8 Chan Cam, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• From the lake’s west shore: About 5 minutes on foot
• Opening hours: 8:00 to 18:00 daily
• Reference price: Around 45,000 to 60,000 VND (about US$1.70 to $2.30)
• Good to know: Near St Joseph’s Cathedral, a natural first stop on a walk from the lake’s west shore

Side by side, the five cafes differ mainly in price, setting and pace. Prices change without notice at small cafes, so treat them as a guide:

Cafe	Reference price per egg coffee	Setting	Lake view	Suits
Cafe Giang	35,000 to 50,000 VND	Family flagship down a passage	No	Tasting egg coffee at the family cafe that created it
Cafe Dinh	25,000 to 50,000 VND	Small upstairs room on the east shore	Partial, from window seats	A quiet, inexpensive cup after a lake walk
Cafe Pho Co	From about 50,000 VND	Old house with a rooftop terrace	Yes, from the roof	Photos and a view over the lake
Cafe Lam	25,000 to 35,000 VND	Narrow room hung with paintings	No	Art and Hanoi history with your coffee
Loading T	45,000 to 60,000 VND	1930s villa near the cathedral	No	A calmer room away from the crowds

An Egg Coffee Walk Around Hoan Kiem Lake

The historic egg coffee cafes cluster close enough to link on foot. The loop below covers about 2.5 km of walking, roughly 40 minutes without stops, works in either direction and slots into day one of our Hanoi itinerary, either as a morning walk or in place of the afternoon coffee stop.

Starting on the West Shore

The west shore of Hoan Kiem Lake, along Le Thai To Street, makes a practical starting point. From there, Loading T on Chan Cam is about five minutes’ walk west, past St Joseph’s Cathedral, and makes an early first cup before the Old Quarter fills up. For something more filling first, the pho and banh cuon shops in our breakfast in Hanoi roundup are already serving by then.

Starting around 8:00 works well, once Loading T and Cafe Pho Co have opened but before the midday heat and the afternoon crowds at Nguyen Huu Huan. In the cooler months from November to March, the walk is comfortable at any hour of the day.

One cup of egg coffee is filling, so three stops is plenty for most people. Choose the stops that suit your pace from the full route:

• Loading T, 8 Chan Cam: about 5 minutes from the lake’s west shore
• Cafe Pho Co, 11 Hang Gai: about 8 minutes north-east of Loading T
• Cafe Giang and Cafe Lam, Nguyen Huu Huan: about 8 minutes east of Hang Gai
• Cafe Dinh, 13 Dinh Tien Hoang: about 5 minutes south of Nguyen Huu Huan, facing the lake

Through Hang Gai to Nguyen Huu Huan

Hang Gai, once the street of silk and hemp traders and still lined with tailors and silk shops, leads north-east along the top of the lake towards Cafe Pho Co. A rooftop stop here works best in the middle of the walk, when the view helps you pick out the route still ahead.

A few steps north of Hang Gai, The Note Coffee at 64 Luong Van Can fills four small floors with notes left by visitors, and an egg coffee costs about 45,000 to 60,000 VND. Come for a quick cup and a note of your own, not a quiet hour.

From Hang Gai, a short walk east across the northern end of the lake brings you to Nguyen Huu Huan, where Cafe Giang and Cafe Lam sit a few doors apart. Choosing one of the two keeps the walk comfortable, or split a single cup at each to compare the founding family’s cream with the painters’ cafe a few doors up the street.

Finishing With a Lake View on Dinh Tien Hoang

Dinh Tien Hoang runs along the lake’s east shore, and Cafe Dinh’s window seats make it a natural last stop. From there, the path around the water leads past Ngoc Son Temple and The Huc Bridge back towards the west shore in about 10 minutes.

Ngoc Son Temple makes an easy detour on the way back. Its gates open at 7:00 and close at 18:00 on weekdays and 21:00 at weekends, and entry is 50,000 VND (about US$1.90); check the price at the ticket window before crossing the bridge.

On Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday, the lakeside roads go car-free from 19:00 on Friday until midnight on Sunday, which makes an evening version of the walk calmer on foot, though the cafes themselves get busier.

Before You Order

Ordering is cheap and simple, but a few practical points make the first cup go more smoothly. Prices, timing and ingredients cover most of the questions visitors ask.

Prices, Opening Hours and the Afternoon Rush

An egg coffee at the historic cafes costs between about 25,000 and 70,000 VND (about US$1 to $2.70), with smaller rooms at the low end and view cafes such as Cafe Pho Co at the top. Prices at small cafes change without notice, so treat these figures as a guide and check the menu board before ordering.

Most of these cafes open around 7:00 or 8:00 and close in the evening, with Loading T closing earlier at 18:00. Early mornings and weekday afternoons are the calmest times, while late afternoons and weekend evenings bring the biggest crowds, especially at small rooms like Cafe Giang where every stool is shared.

Ordering is simple even without Vietnamese. Ask for ca phe trung nong for hot or ca phe trung da for iced, pay in cash where the cafe does not take cards, and expect the drink to arrive a few minutes later, since the cream is whisked for each order.

Raw Egg, Allergies and Dairy

The cream is made from egg yolk whisked with sugar and condensed milk, and it is not cooked the way a custard is. Methods vary between cafes, so anyone who avoids raw or lightly cooked egg, including during pregnancy, should ask how the cream is prepared or choose another drink.

The condensed milk adds dairy too. For an egg-free and dairy-free alternative, black coffee (ca phe den) is served everywhere, and Loading T’s coconut coffee offers a sweet option without egg, though it may still contain dairy.

Flavoured versions add their own allergens. Almond and sesame egg creams appear on some menus, and anyone with a nut or seed allergy should mention it when ordering instead of assuming the classic recipe.

Classes and Other Hanoi Coffees

Hanoi has given Vietnamese coffee culture more than one signature drink. Learning to whisk the cream yourself, or ordering one of the city’s other signatures, rounds out a coffee-focused trip.

Egg Coffee Classes in the Old Quarter

Several small cafes in the Old Quarter run hands-on egg coffee classes, usually lasting one to two hours for groups of up to about eight. An instructor shows how to brew robusta through a phin and how long to whisk the yolk, sugar and condensed milk before it thickens, and most classes add coconut or salt coffee to the lesson.

Prices start from about US$20 per person and rise to around US$40 for longer workshops covering several drinks, with recipes to take home. They make a good rainy-afternoon plan, and a morning slot leaves the rest of the day free for the cafe walk.

Coconut, Yogurt and Salt Coffee

Coconut coffee, ca phe cot dua, pours strong coffee over a slush of coconut cream, condensed milk and ice, and it was popularised by Cong Caphe, the Hanoi chain founded in 2007 with retro, olive-green interiors. Its branch at 27 Nha Tho, facing St Joseph’s Cathedral, sits minutes from the walk above, with drinks from about 29,000 to 65,000 VND.

Yogurt coffee, sua chua ca phe, layers coffee over thick, slightly tart yogurt, and Cafe Duy Tri at 43A Yen Phu, a family cafe open since 1936, is the place Hanoians associate with it; expect to pay around 30,000 to 50,000 VND. Salt coffee, ca phe muoi, came from Hue in central Vietnam and now appears on many Hanoi menus, its salted cream sitting somewhere between egg coffee and salted caramel.

Taking Hanoi Coffee Home

For beans or ground coffee to carry home, Cafe Mai has roasted coffee in Hanoi since 1936 and sells from shops at 96 and 97 Le Van Huu, 52 Nguyen Du and 75 Tran Nhan Tong, south of the lake. Its blends draw on beans from the Central Highlands and Nghe An, and staff will grind to suit a phin.

A phin filter itself is sold cheaply in markets and grocery shops across the Old Quarter, and it packs flat; the whole ritual fits in a suitcase. At home, the same slow drip over a spoonful of condensed milk gives a close match to a Hanoi ca phe sua, with or without the egg cream on top.

Where to Stay for Egg Coffee Mornings by the Lake

The walk is at its easiest from a base on the lake’s west shore, and The Theodore Hanoi, at 22 to 32 Le Thai To Street, puts the whole route on foot from the lobby. Loading T and Cafe Pho Co are each around five minutes away, and Cafe Giang on Nguyen Huu Huan is about a 12-minute walk across the top of the lake, so the first cup can be in hand before most tour groups arrive.

Four in five of the hotel’s rooms and suites look over the water, and that view doubles as a weather and crowd check: from the window you can see whether the shore is still quiet with early walkers or already busy, and time the first cafe stop around it.

For friends travelling together, the Signature Lake View Twin is the natural fit, with two twin beds, 46 m² of space and a direct view of Hoan Kiem Lake. Sixteen rooms in the hotel follow this layout, each sleeping up to two adults and a child, and the separate beds suit two people on different schedules, one out for the first cup at 7:00 and one sleeping in.

The hotel has a coffee culture of its own at La Fournée, its French pâtisserie. It opens at 7:00, the same hour as Cafe Giang’s flagship, and stays open until 23:00, so it works as either the warm-up before the walk or the place to compare notes afterwards.

La Fournée’s Egg Café Brûlée is the hotel’s contemporary take on the city’s signature drink: coffee topped with a layer of egg cream, its name borrowed from the French crème brûlée. At 180,000 VND (about US$6.90) on the opening menu, it costs several times a cup at the historic cafes, and it is best treated as a companion to the originals rather than a substitute for them.

The rest of the list reads best as pairings. Before the walk, a café au lait with a plain croissant is the quick start. Afterwards, the Espresso Tarte de Citron, espresso with lemon cream, cuts through a morning of egg cream, and the Tropical Café, coffee with passion fruit and soda, is made for a hot afternoon.

For a slower stop, a Cocoa and Coffee Paris-Brest keeps the coffee thread going on the plate, and the Misugato, which layers coffee, cacao, mascarpone, basil and vanilla ice cream, works as dessert in a glass. At the end of the day, the Café Gourmand, a coffee with the chef’s petit fours, is the natural full stop after the last cafe on the route.

Coffees on the list start at 180,000 VND and cakes at 140,000 VND, both before VAT and service charge, and the selection changes with the seasons.

Three egg creams in a morning call for something savoury at lunch, and the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Theodore, runs its lunch service between 11:30 and 14:30. A Bruschetta of sourdough, heirloom tomato, ricotta and pesto at 180,000 VND or a sous-vide octopus at 440,000 VND makes a lighter meal, and a Cannoli with vanilla diplomat cream and mascarpone gelato brings the sweetness back for anyone who misses it.

Between cups, the rest of the hotel slows the pace. The heated outdoor pool, warm enough for swimming all year and open between 6:00 and 21:00, makes an easy counterweight to a morning of strong robusta.

The 24-hour Fitness Centre, with state-of-the-art equipment in a bright, contemporary room, and the Yoga Room, set up for guided practice or quiet meditation, suit anyone who likes to move before the first coffee.

When the last cafe on the route has closed, Ô Spa by Amadora is still open until 22:00, with body rituals, restorative facials and immersive heat experiences shaped around each guest. A day that began with a 7:00 cup on Nguyen Huu Huan can end with a treatment after dinner, back on the lake’s west shore where the walk started.

Conclusion

The egg coffee Hanoi’s cafes pour today is still made the way it began: egg yolk whisked with sugar and condensed milk, spooned over strong robusta and served warm in a bowl of hot water. The long-running cafes that pour it sit close enough to Hoan Kiem Lake to link on foot, so two or three unhurried stops, an early start and a lap of the lake are all a first taste needs.

For a base on the lake’s west shore, book a lake-view room at The Theodore Hanoi, where La Fournée’s Egg Café Brûlée offers a contemporary take on the city’s signature drink before you set out for the originals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was egg coffee invented?

Egg coffee was invented in Hanoi in 1946 by Nguyen Van Giang, founder of Cafe Giang, which now serves it at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan. He created the egg cream when fresh milk was scarce.

What does egg coffee taste like?

Egg coffee tastes like a sweet, custard-like cream over strong, slightly bitter robusta coffee, and many people compare it to a liquid tiramisu. Stirring the layers together makes it sweeter, while spooning the cream first keeps the contrast.

Is egg coffee better hot or iced?

The hot version, served in a bowl of warm water, is the original and keeps the cream silky. The iced version is lighter and more refreshing in Hanoi’s hot months.

Is egg coffee strong?

Egg coffee uses a strong robusta base, so it carries a real caffeine kick despite the sweet cream. The cup is small, which keeps the overall dose moderate.

Is there an egg drink without coffee?

Yes. Cafe Giang serves egg cocoa and egg matcha, which use the same whisked egg cream over chocolate or green tea instead of coffee. Both suit children or anyone avoiding caffeine, though they still contain egg.