Iced milk coffee, the drink Saigon runs on: dark, bitter robusta dripped slowly through a metal phin filter over a layer of sweetened condensed milk, then stirred and poured over a glass of ice. Thick, sweet, intensely caffeinated and built for the heat.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
When the French brought coffee to Vietnam in the 19th century they also created a supply problem: fresh milk was scarce and did not keep in the tropics, so sweetened condensed milk stood in for it. The result, dripped through the individual metal phin filter the French also introduced, became ca phe sua. Add ice, essential in Saigon's climate, and it becomes ca phe sua da. Vietnam grows mostly robusta, which is harsher and more caffeinated than arabica, and the slow phin drip and heavy sweetening are what tame it. It is sold on every corner, from plastic-stool stalls to old cafes like Cheo Leo.
Common allergens: Milk
Tip from the editors. Use a proper phin and a coarse dark robusta; the slow drip is what gives the coffee its syrupy body.
Why locals love it: One of Saigon's oldest cafes, open since the late 1930s and still brewing robusta over charcoal in cloth filters, tucked down an alley off Nguyen Thien Thuat that tourists miss.
Tip: Order the charcoal-brewed ca phe sua da and sit on a low stool; this is a coffee ritual, not a laptop cafe.
The Workshop was among the first cafes to take specialty coffee seriously in Saigon, a light-filled heritage loft up a staircase off Dong Khoi.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Order: A single-origin pour-over from the brew bar.
Tip: It is up a rickety staircase off Dong Khoi; the big windows make it a fine spot to work.
Runam is a lavish multi-storey cafe in a French-style mansion facing the cathedral, pouring Vietnamese egg coffee and hot drip alongside a full breakfast.
Signature drink: Egg coffee
Order: Egg coffee, Saigon style, with a banh mi to follow.
Tip: It faces Notre Dame Cathedral; the upstairs rooms are quieter for a slow breakfast.
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