Egg coffee, a Vietnamese invention of whipped egg yolk and condensed milk beaten into a thick, sweet meringue-like custard and floated on a cup of strong hot coffee, drunk by spooning through the foam. A Hanoi creation now poured across Saigon.
Egg coffee was invented in 1946 Hanoi by Nguyen Van Giang, a bartender at the Metropole hotel who, short of milk, whipped egg yolk with sweetened condensed milk to cap his coffee. The idea spread south, and Saigon cafes now serve their own versions hot and cold. The yolk is beaten with condensed milk until it turns pale, thick and mousse-like, then spooned over strong phin coffee so you drink the bitter coffee through a sweet custard cap. Cafes like Runam and a wave of specialty rooms have made it a fixture of the Saigon coffee menu.
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