Little HaNoi Egg Coffee

Little HaNoi is a café on Yersin Street in District 1 that brings a taste of the capital to the south. Its speciality is egg coffee, the Hanoi drink in which whipped egg yolk is spooned over strong drip coffee to create a rich, custard-like topping, and it also serves other traditional Vietnamese coffees and a good breakfast. The Rusty Compass guide describes the space as fabulous and the neighbourhood as characterful.

The interior recreates the feel of old Hanoi, with dark wood furniture and old photographs, and Vietnam Airlines' city guide notes that the egg coffee comes in a ceramic cup. Vietnam Airlines lists it among the city's best cafés for cultural immersion, as a way to experience northern flavours in Saigon. The breakfast menu makes it a useful first stop of the day.

The café suits couples, solo travellers and anyone interested in Vietnamese food culture. Groups may find it easier to visit outside busy weekend mornings.

Egg coffee is rich, so many visitors share one or order it as a dessert after breakfast. If you prefer something lighter, the café's other traditional coffees are a good alternative, and the breakfast menu means you can make a full morning of it. Allow 45 minutes to an hour, and come in the morning if you want breakfast, since that is when the café is at its most useful for visitors planning a full day of sightseeing. The vintage interior is also popular with people taking photographs, so be considerate of other customers when doing so.

A few practical points apply to most independent cafés in the city. Opening hours are not always published and can change, so check the café's social media before making a special trip. Payment by card or QR code is increasingly common, but carrying some small notes in Vietnamese dong is sensible. Air conditioning, Wi-Fi and seating vary from place to place, and the quietest times are usually mid-morning and mid-afternoon on weekdays, outside the lunch hour and the after-work rush.

The café is in District 1 and easy to reach by taxi or ride-hailing from the address, and Vietnam Airlines lists its opening as from early morning into the evening, which suits an early start.