We fell in love with Vietnamese egg coffee on our second day in Hanoi. Watch our video to find out why egg coffee Hanoi style is our new guilty pleasure. We also share our pick for the best egg coffee in Hanoi.
We never even heard of Vietnamese egg coffee before our trip to Hanoi, and we would have walked right by Café Giang if not for the advice of Philly friend Marie Buendia Woytowich of gooddayphoto and the intrepid Mai Nguyen from Hanoi food blog Tho Loves Food.
They both told us to try egg coffee, also known as orcà phê trứng, at the popular hidden Hanoi café near our Old Quarter hotel. Thanks to their sage advice, our lives (or at least our taste buds) are forever changed.
They’re not alone in their egg coffee love. Tasha from Backpackers Wanderlust agrees that egg coffee in Hanoi is the bomb. All of this enthusiasm intrigued us.
To the uninitiated, egg coffee, Hanoi style, sounds kind of weird. That’s what we thought before we tried the popular Vietnamese food that comes in a cup, but we fell in love with Giang Café’s version after just one sip.
The Best Egg Coffee in Hanoi
Created by his father Nguyen Giang in the 1940s when fresh milk was scarce, Tri Hoa Nguyen makes egg coffee the original way by brewing cups of strong coffee and then adding a sweet topping of whisked chicken egg yolk, Vietnamese coffee powder, sweetened condensed milk, butter and cheese.
The result is a decadently rich concoction that’s both a coffee drink and a dessert. This is one of the Vietnamese food favorites that you don’t want to miss!
Read our Hanoi food guide.
Café Giang is located at 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Egg Coffee Hanoi Video
Watch our YouTube video to get the skinny on Vietnamese egg coffee. Be aware that the video won’t actually make you skinny, though it will make you want to hop on a plane to Hanoi for a jolt of liquid pleasure.
Hungry for More in Hanoi?
Check out our Hanoi Food Guide for great food and drink options in Hanoi.
About the Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.
Original Publication Date: August 29, 2016
Paula Morgan
Wednesday 31st of August 2016
Well that certainly sounds odd but I would try it :-)
Hannah
Tuesday 30th of August 2016
We went there on our Hanoi food tour!
Corinne
Tuesday 30th of August 2016
Daryl and Mindi, You guys look like you are having so much fun! I didn't try egg coffee when I was in Hanoi, and now I'm going to have to go back. It looks too decadent for words!
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Tuesday 30th of August 2016
Hey Corrine! Great hearing from you! Hanoi has so many fun places that are hidden in alleyways, waiting to be discovered.
Bernadette
Tuesday 30th of August 2016
I checked for online recipes and found that in Scandinavia they have egg coffee too. It appears to be different though. The Vietnamese looks much better. Thanks for the educational food tours. I have been learning a lot.
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Tuesday 30th of August 2016
There are Vietnamese recipes out there too, but even with the videos we watched, those recipes didn't look quite correct. I would just separate some eggs yolks, pour over some sweetened condensed milk, add a little vanilla and blend it with a hand mixer. After that pour some coffee over the mix in a cup. (I think La Coloumbe Corsica would do the trick - it's bitter and burnt tasting. Not my preference for coffee beans normally but the kind of flavor that works in Vietnam.) Serve the Coffee in a cup over a bowl of hot water (to keep the egg mixture viscous.)
Tho Loves Food
Monday 29th of August 2016
I feel guilty if I don't take a sip of egg coffee this week after reading this post. P.S: glad that you like it ;) *slurp*