# Saigon Street Cafe, London



## Anthorn (Sep 14, 2013)

Not exactly a coffee shop but a market stall serving traditional Vietnamese Ca Phe Sua, Cafe Sua Da and Banh Mi. Basically it's Saigon street food in London. You can also buy the ground coffee to make at home either on the stall or online. Saturdays at Saigon Street Cafe, Benjamin Close, Broadway Market, Hackney. In 2008 recommended as one of 100 best coffee shops in London in Time Out magazine.

Overall the Ca Phe Sua by British standards is more warm than hot but by Vietnamese standards it's pretty hot. Vietnamese coffee really comes into its own in the summer iced as a Ca Phe Sua Da. I've tried a fair number of Vietnamese coffees both packed in the U.K. and direct from Vietnam and Ca Phe Vietnam's is without doubt the best so far. The Banh Mi is a baguette filled with a variety of vegetables, salad, meat or fish. Very tasty and filling and in itself worth a visit.

I bought the coffee and a Phin drip filter and in my house it's fast replacing our usual medium and dark roast from a moka pot or drip. We try to replicate the Banh Mi and we get close but we can't get that taste and texture. Maybe it's the bread or the sauce.

Love it or hate it, it's certainly an experience for anyone who hasn't tried Vietnamese street food. They're friendly too whether staff or customers and the few Vietnamese customers were probably the friendliest I've ever met.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I've never had Pho or Banh Mi quite as good as Vietnam in the UK









Will be sure to check this out though, thanks for the tip!


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

The Vietnamese coffee I've had (quite a lot, spent a couple of months there a long time ago) was industrial grade caffeine and sugar (in the form of condensed milk). Really liked it, but would never drink it over here.

I once made the mistake of having an after-dinner coffee in a very nice restaurant in Hanoi. I didn't get to sleep until 5am.

The stall sounds great. Vietnamese food is brilliant


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## Anthorn (Sep 14, 2013)

Expobarista said:


> The Vietnamese coffee I've had (quite a lot, spent a couple of months there a long time ago) was industrial grade caffeine and sugar (in the form of condensed milk). Really liked it, but would never drink it over here.
> 
> I once made the mistake of having an after-dinner coffee in a very nice restaurant in Hanoi. I didn't get to sleep until 5am.
> 
> The stall sounds great. Vietnamese food is brilliant


Apparently the Vietnamese drink their strong coffee at all times of the day and evening and it doesn't affect them. Never been to Vietnam but it's an option for our holidays. So far it looks very expensive - one tour company recommends a daily 35 USD for a tip pool plus 25 USD for personal tips!

Sugar isn't only in the condensed milk because condensed milk isn't always used: For example take a look at the Vietnamese blend from Algerian Coffee Stores: http://www.algcoffee.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=vietnamese&product_id=2192


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