Just a few days ago, we had our last milk tea at our favourite cha chaan teng.
Now, 3 days into our vacation in Vietnam, we’ve already racked up about 8 Vietnamese iced coffees between the two of us.
I am not a coffee drinker, but Vietnamese iced coffee is a delicious exception. The dark roasted coffee is traditionally brewed in a small metal French drip filter, mixed with condensed milk and poured over a glass of ice.
The result is a strong, creamy, just slightly bitter drink that is decadent and truly addicting. At under $0.60 CAD a glass, it’s a dangerously affordable addiction.
We had our first glass with our phô breakfast on Monday and our second glass later that day.
We drank them both in under a minute- because they’re that good and because as cooks, we’ve been conditioned to eat and drink everything with urgency.
Yesterday we took a walk around the neighbourhood, picked a café and took a seat on the plastic stools. We had a couple of hours before boarding on a bus that would take us to Chợ Mới.
We ordered two cà phê sữa đá, and sat back.
My uncle’s street had not changed significantly since the last time I visited. We sat back and pulled the long metal spoons in and out of our cups, allowing every drop of coffee to make contact with the ice.
We watched the motorbikes go by. Carts of produce being pulled to the market, vendors and people going about their day. An old, weary man passed by, pushing a trolly filled with household items for sale. Adjacent to us on the corner is a lady selling sticky rice. Motorbikes are constantly honking, though surprisingly, there is no such thing as road rage here.
For the first time, we sipped our coffees, instead of just downing them.
It tasted different. The ice had melted just enough to mellow out the coffee without watering it down. It tasted even better.
We nursed our coffee for a record half hour, enjoying each sip while watching the activities of the neighbourhood. A family of four passed by on a motorbike, the young children are sandwiched between their parents.
It occurred to us that we were a long way from the luxury cars that made up traffic in Hong Kong.
The mega malls and 5 Star hotels of HK were a world away and here, life moves at a different pace.
avec chantilly 