Visiting the 'Special Forces Coffee Shop' in Ho Chi Minh City

The 'Biet Dong Coffee Shop' at 113A Dang Dung, District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City) was a 'Secret Mailbox - Floating Bunker' from the Mau Than Offensive in 1968 to the victorious Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975.

The special coffee shop at 113A Dang Dung Street, District 1 ( Ho Chi Minh City) is one of three houses in Ho Chi Minh City that Mr. Tran Van Lai (aka Nam Lai, Mai Hong Que, Nam U.SOM, born in 1920, Saigon special forces soldier, Hero of the People's Armed Forces) used as a revolutionary base during the 1968 Mau Than Campaign and the 1975 Southern Liberation Campaign. Over the years, Mr. Tran Vu Binh (Mr. Lai's son) has bought these three houses, restored them, painstakingly searched for original artifacts, and then opened them as a restaurant selling rice and coffee as relics with the desire to preserve history, especially history related to the Saigon special forces.

The coffee shop at 113A Dang Dung used to be the "Secret Mailbox - Floating Bunker" of the Saigon Special Forces from the Mau Than year of 1968 to the victorious Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975. This shop is the most special of the three shops above because it existed right next to the house of Lieutenant General of the Republic of Vietnam Ngo Quang Truong and opposite the Korean Building at that time. Perhaps it was also this particularly dangerous location that the enemy could not have suspected that it was a revolutionary base. After 1968, a series of Saigon Special Forces' bases in the inner city were exposed, but the house at 113A Dang Dung was still safe and continued to operate until the country's reunification in 1975.

This place is named "Do Phu Cafe - Dai Han Broken Rice". However, because the house was once a base for Saigon commandos during the war and displays many related artifacts, over time people have come to call it "Commando Cafe".

The Biet Dong Cafe has 2 floors, displaying more than 400 artifacts. All of them are kept intact until now. In the photo: The secret basement on the 2nd floor of the cafe. History records that this is where the special forces soldiers would go inside when there was a disturbance, lock the door, flip the bottom board to escape through a secret route to Tran Quang Khai, Nguyen Van Nguyen and Hai Ba Trung streets.

Each artifact in the Biet Dong cafe is associated with a small story, a contribution to the revolution, preserved and told by the children, grandchildren, and later generations of the "Saigon Special Forces" soldiers. This helps everyone who comes here to understand and be more proud of the contributions of the Special Forces soldiers of the past to the revolution. Therefore, history has never been forgotten.

Household items from urban areas in the 1960s and 70s are preserved and displayed on wooden cabinets hanging on the walls of the shop.

This place also displays old cassette players...

...old-fashioned irons

Thermos flasks, coffee grinders, milk cans, and sugar containers from the old days are collected in their original condition and displayed at the Biệt Động (Commando) Cafe.

And also old cameras and camcorders.

Some articles from the war against America.

Even the roof of this unique cafe displays old lamps and ceiling fans from a bygone era.

The café at 113A Dang Dung Street dedicates a prominent corner on the first floor to displaying books about President Ho Chi Minh, memoirs of Saigon during the war, and recollections of soldiers...

This special café has hosted many leaders of the Party, State, and Ho Chi Minh City, who came to visit and leave their autographs, including the late General Vo Nguyen Giap and the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong...

In the guestbook of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong displayed at the Biet Dong cafe, there is a passage: "Witnessing the artifacts at the Relic, I am extremely admiring and moved by the spirit of patriotism, intelligence, bravery, and selflessness for the country of the Saigon - Cho Lon - Gia Dinh Special Forces soldiers."

Initially, most customers came to "Commando Cafe" to enjoy the two signature dishes of old Saigon: broken rice and coffee. Later, they became fascinated, drawn into the historical stories.

Many of the patrons at this unique café include veterans from both sides, history enthusiasts, and a significant number of foreigners.

"Do Phu Coffee - Dai Han Broken Rice" brings the flavors of old Saigon.

PROGRESS

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/muc-so-thi-quan-ca-phe-biet-dong-o-tp-ho-chi-minh-410074.html