The coffee
Cà phê muối, and why salt works
Salt coffee came out of Huế a decade ago and is now across Saigon. What the salt does, and how to tell a made one from a poured one.
The journal
Travel & café stories.
What is worth walking to from the door, what goes in the cup, and how this corner of District 1 came to look the way it does.
Also on this site:every walk, measuredcoffee near your hotelthe full menu
The coffee, explained
- The coffee
Cà phê sữa, and where the milk goes
The two drinks people confuse, and the one thing separating them. Condensed milk is not a shortcut here — it is why the drink tastes as it does.
- The coffee
What is bạc xỉu?
The name is Cantonese and means roughly a cup of white milk with a little coffee. It came out of Chợ Lớn in the 1950s. The drink, told straight.
The ward, on foot
- The ward
Coffee near Bến Thành Market
Which gate to leave Bến Thành Market by, when to go at all, and why the nearest café to the market is rarely the one you want.
- The ward
Coffee near the Fine Arts Museum
The Museum of Fine Arts is about 116 metres from our door, roughly 2 minutes on foot — nearer than anything else we list.
- The ward
Somewhere to work in Bến Thành Ward
Air conditioning, free Wi-Fi and a room that stays quiet. What we can promise in Bến Thành Ward, and what we cannot promise yet.
- The ward
The banking ward, and its old name
On 1 July 2025 Vietnam abolished the district level. Old Nguyễn Thái Bình ward was split, not merged, and local addresses have not caught up.
- The ward
A first day, in walking order
Six places worth walking to from the door fall into two groups with a gap between. Which to take before the heat, and which to save for the afternoon.
- The ward
Up the stairs at Bến Thành
Line 1 ends underneath Quách Thị Trang Square. What to do in the first ten minutes above ground, and how to cross the square without waiting for a gap.
