- Egg yolks whisked with sweetened condensed milk
- Strong Vietnamese robusta coffee, served hot underneath
- Served in a small cup nested in hot water to keep it warm
Ca Phe Trung
Ca phe trung (egg coffee) on a Hanoi side street. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Ca phe trung is Hanoi's strangest and most delicious drink: egg yolks whisked with condensed milk into a thick, meringue-like foam, spooned over strong Vietnamese robusta coffee. It tastes like tiramisu you drink.
It was invented in 1946 at Cafe Giang by Nguyen Van Giang, a bartender at the Metropole Hotel, when milk was scarce and egg yolk filled the gap. The family still runs the original alley cafe.
Key ingredients
Where to try it
- Cafe Giang (39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hanoi): the 1946 original.
- Cafe Dinh (13 Dinh Tien Hoang): the Giang family's second branch.
- Old Quarter cafes: most now serve their own version.