Have you ever tried drinking coffee with some eggs? If you don’t, you can have that experience in Hanoi. Just by walking around streets in any corner of Hanoi, it is easy for you to smell the sweet flavor of coffee somewhere. It is Egg Coffee that brings Hanoi locals’ breath.
Flashback to Hanoi about 1940, Caffe in our city had a lot of changes. At that time, because of the price, only artists or intellectuals enjoyed it regularly. There was a Vietnamese Chef in the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel named Nguyễn Văn Giảng, he came up with the idea of using eggs as a special ingredient to drink with coffee. (His coffee shop is still opens at 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân in the Old Quarter of Hanoi). From then, it became more and more popular among local people and now, drinking Egg Coffee is considered one of the first things you must do when you visit Hanoi.
It is not quite complicated for you to make a cup of Egg Coffee. The first step is beating the yolk of some eggs until they are fluffy then putting a bit of sugar in while making your coffee hot. Now we use egg beaters to save time and energy but in the past, the Chef did it with chopsticks. Then, divide the mixture into cups and pour hot coffee into them. In modern versions, we add other ingredients such as coconut, milk, or soda. Coffee in Vietnam includes more caffeine than in other countries so for foreign visitors, it may give you a special impression that will make you remember for a long time.
Unlike the local people in Sài Gòn who usually drink coffee in the morning, in Hanoi, you can see us enjoying Egg Coffee in any session on a day like after lunch or in the afternoon after a busy day from work. Now, drinking Egg Coffee is a special part of life for local people. For the older generation, it’s their memories, for young and adults, it’s a routine and enjoyment and it’s a “Hanoi experience” for visitors.