Vietnamese egg coffee is a Hanoi street food in which a creamy soft, meringue-like egg white foam and black coffee in the bottom. Wall down any street in Vietnam, visitors can catch up with the image of people who sit on low plastic stools on the sidewalk and enjoy a cup of coffee. So, what makes egg coffee so popular? Let’s find it out with Hanoi local food tour. Perhaps, egg coffee is going to be one of your new favorite dessert.
Giang Café History
Egg coffee was invented in 1946 by the owner of Café Giang. The story goes that, back in the 1940’s when he was working as a bartender for the famous five-star Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel. One night, Mr. Giang ran out of milk to serve with the coffee. At that days, fresh milk was scare in Vietnam. So, he used a concoction of chicken egg yolks to replace milk, what is known today in Vietnam as Ca Phe Trung or Egg Coffee. From a success of Egg Coffee, Mr. Giang decided to leave the hotel to start selling egg coffee and create his own brand. So that, egg coffee become a part of Hanoi culinary.
Hidden on a small lane on Nguyen Huu Huan street in the Hanoi old quarter, Café Giang is may difficult to find for tourists of Vietnam food tours, but it is well worth the effort to try a new concept of caffeine fix. Many people come here to enjoy a tasty cup of coffee while gossiping with their friends and family members.
The egg flavor is really fat, the coffee flavor is really both fragrant and bold. However, the most significant element that makes Giang Café unique and different from other cafeterias is the formula how to measure exactly the fixed amount of eggs and coffee and the way to mix them perfectly that will decrease maximum the egg sickliness.
How to make egg coffee?
The ingredients of egg coffee consist of egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and Vietnamese robusta coffee, that you will find them so amazing and unforgettable.
Firstly, the egg coffee makers crack an egg and discard the whites. Put the yolk and condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until its frothy and fluffy. After that, add a tablespoon of the brewed coffee and whisk it in. Pour in the brewed coffee in a clear coffee cup, then add the fluffy egg mixture on top.
After being poured over the cream made from eggs, the coffee at the bottom of the cup brings in a richer but elegant taste. There are hot and cold versions. However, it is formerly served as a yellow concoction in a small glass. The hot version comes resting in a small bowl of hot water to maintain its temperature. A teaspoon is also provided to eat the cream foam before drinking the coffee at the bottom.
Although there are other numerous savory drinks in Vietnam coffee culture, egg coffee can be called as the best one and become the best choice for a food tour in Hanoi.
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