The CookbookCookbook · 6 dishes

Vietnamese drinks

Coffee is a national art form here — dark robusta over condensed milk, whipped egg-yolk custard in Hanoi, salted foam from Hue. Then there’s the 25-cent fresh beer, pressed sugarcane juice, and avocado smoothies. Here’s what to order, how to ask for it, and where each drink is at its best.

Iced milk coffee — Cà phê sữa đá
Cà phê sữa đá$0.75–2
Iced milk coffee·ka-feh sua da

Dark robusta dripped over sweetened condensed milk, poured over ice. The national fuel.

Nationwide
Egg coffee — Cà phê trứng© David McKelvey from Brisbane, Australia · CC BY 2.0
Cà phê trứng$1.50–3
Egg coffee·ka-feh chung

A Hanoi invention: coffee under a whipped, custard-like meringue of egg yolk and condensed milk.

Northern
Fresh draught beer — Bia hơi© Unknown · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bia hơi$0.25–0.60
Fresh draught beer·bee-a hoy

The world’s cheapest fresh beer, brewed daily and drunk on a street corner at sunset.

Northern
Sugarcane juice — Nước mía© Food Trails · CC BY-SA 2.0
Nước mía$0.40–1
Sugarcane juice·nuok mee-a

Cane pressed to order through a clattering roller — the perfect antidote to the heat.

Nationwide
Fruit smoothie — Sinh tố
Sinh tố$1–2
Fruit smoothie·sin toh

Tropical fruit blended with ice and condensed milk — avocado is the cult favourite.

Nationwide
Salt coffee — Cà phê muối© CNEcija12345 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cà phê muối$1–2
Salt coffee·ka-feh moo-oy

Hue’s invention: a pinch of salt in the milk foam that makes the coffee taste sweeter.

Central