Coffee shops: a respite from the daily grind
Minh Thu
Viet Nam News
Publication Date : 10-07-2008



For many of Ha Noi’s younger citizens, enjoying a morning coffee on the street besides Thuyen Quang Lake is a habit they find difficult to give up.

Foreign Trade University student Hoang Anh Phuong lives near the lake and every day relaxes with a cup of coffee on Nguyen Du Street.

"I discovered the coffee shops here years ago when exercising around the lake," said Phuong. "Enjoying a coffee on the pavement has been an integral part of my day for two years now."

Other youngsters also consider the coffee here their favourite.

Nguyen Xuan Duc takes five minutes to drink coffee and read the daily newspaper on Nguyen Du Street every morning.

"It’s hard for me to explain why I’m so fond of drinking coffee here," says Duc. "The coffee isn’t as tasty as in other places, but being in the open-air and enjoying the view of the lake makes me feel relaxed and happy."

"During the recent European football championships, I’d discuss the matches with my friends over a cup of iced-coffee here."

There’s no wireless Internet, air conditioning or music, but young people are still attracted to the plastic seats on Nguyen Du Street because of the view and its atmosphere.

Urban coffee
Several coffee shops next to the lake open from 7am to 11pm, owner Dinh Van Manh said.

"We open the shop throughout the day and always have a large number of customers," said Manh, "not only for coffee but also for drinks like milk and cocoa."

"We serve iced and hot drinks, depending on the season, priced at 8,000 dong (about 50 US cents) each."

Many people wonder whether the coffee shops encourage litter and clog traffic by being open all day. In the evening, the sellers even arrange seats for their customers close to the lake.

Manh claims that the coffee sellers do take responsibility for public hygiene around the lake.

"We clean the pavement regularly and ask our customers not to drop litter," Manh said.

"The pavement is wide enough for both pedestrians and our customers, and we have to follow motorbike parking regulations. If we don’t, the police wouldn’t allow us to trade."

Unlike their peers in Ha Noi, young people in HCM City do without a chair to drink coffee on the pavement - they just sit on the ground. Everyday, over 100 students, journalists and office workers gather to drink coffee around the April-30 Park.

They’re served by a mobile coffee shop car. Most of its customers park their vehicles illegally and hide when the police appear. Unlike Ha Noi’s pavement coffee, these traders, which have been in business for years, never pay government taxes.

It’s said that pavement coffee is a unique cultural feature of Viet Nam’s urban life. Duc said he never forgets the flavour of the coffee, even when he’s far from home.

Ha Noi’s youngsters, myself included, love drinking coffee on Nguyen Du Street and would hate it if the shops disappear.