'Poor' coffee shop in 'diamond land' area, where Hanoi memories are kept

Editor's note

The capital Hanoi is a place where many culinary quintessence of the country converge, attracting tourists to enjoy and explore. There are traditional culinary brands that have existed through many historical periods, becoming places to preserve memories of Hanoians.

VietNamNet Newspaper would like to introduce to readers the series of articles on the brand 'preserving Hanoi's memories' .

"I have been drinking coffee here since I was 18 or 19 years old, when I was a student at the University of Science and Technology. Now my son is about to graduate from university.

Dinh Tien Hoang Street has changed so much, it is noisy and crowded. Only Dinh Coffee is still the same, old, quiet, full of nostalgia", the middle-aged customer confided while sipping the last sip of coffee in his cup.

"Perhaps the most changed thing is that now U Bich is no longer here. Surely the guests from that time still remember the gentle, soft image of U Bich, carrying the elegant beauty of a woman from Trang An," he said and hurriedly left. His eyes were a bit wistful.

In the shop, the famous love song from the 2000s "Em ve tinh khoi" plays melodiously from a small speaker: "Oh shoulders, don't lean too much and let the fragrant afternoon fall. Oh lips, don't tremble too much or the pink sunlight will disappear...".

As the guest said, Dinh cafe is a nostalgic place of Hanoi.

For nearly 40 years, Dinh Cafe has been quietly located on the second floor of an old French house, built in 1909, right on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, facing Hoan Kiem Lake. In front of the shop are old acacia trees and Barringtonia acutangula trees in the season of changing leaves.

A few years ago, the first floor was a store selling backpacks, handbags, suitcases, etc. Customers had to squeeze through a narrow aisle full of goods to reach the small staircase leading to the second floor. Last year, the corner of the store was renovated to create more space for Dinh Coffee, about 20 square meters.

Small, narrow stairs leading to the second floor

The "original" Dinh cafe is still located in a 40m2 room on the second floor (previously only 25m2), with the typical architecture of old townhouses: a small, dark space with an old wooden loft.

In the shop, there are neatly arranged a dozen low wooden tables and chairs, stained by time. On the wall, which has some peeling and patchy spots, are black and white photos of the shop owner during her lifetime, from when she was a little girl in Hanoi with her hair tied in a bow, to when she got married, had children, and when she was old - diligently taking care of the small coffee shop.

In the corner of the shop or the door sill of a room, there is always a dark brown ceramic vase with a bunch of flowers, sometimes lilies, sometimes trumpet flowers, sometimes daisies.

"She is gone, but her image will always remain here, in my heart, my children, grandchildren and many guests," Mr. Ta Duy Khoa, "u Bich's" husband, confided.

The "original" Dinh Coffee Shop is located in a small, slightly dark room.

At the age of 83, every day, rain or shine, Mr. Khoa rides his motorbike from his home on Huynh Thuc Khang to 13 Dinh Tien Hoang. He usually wears a shirt, and in the cold season he adds a dark wool vest. He has elegant gestures and a kind face. When there are many customers, the 83-year-old man still enthusiastically "waits tables".

He pointed to the bar counter and several tables and chairs: "These wooden furniture are all 30 or 40 years old. I only throw away the ones that are seriously broken and cannot be repaired."

Mr. Khoa, the owner of the restaurant, chats with customers right next to the peeling wall.

For many years, when mentioning Dinh Coffee, people still remember the small balcony, where you can see Hoan Kiem Lake in your sight. Previously, customers had to come very early to "occupy" this "prime" location.

The lucky person who got a seat here was engrossed for hours and did not dare to stand up, leaving the others anxiously waiting.

In recent years, Mr. Khoa has stopped placing tables on this balcony. This has become a "common space" where every guest who visits the restaurant can come in and out to sightsee, take pictures, and enjoy the "prime view".

Not only is it a space that "freezes" with time, preserving the old features typical of Hanoi's old townhouses, the price of Dinh coffee also seems to stand outside the "price storm" out there. Each cup of coffee is from 25,000-35,000 VND, lemonade is 20,000 VND...

A cup of egg coffee at the shop costs from 30,000 VND.

Mr. Khoa and Ms. Bich (1943-2012) were childhood sweethearts, growing up together in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Mrs. Bich is the daughter of Mr. Nguyen Van Giang, the creator of the famous egg coffee. Having helped her father since she was young, Mrs. Bich also knows how to make coffee. But at that time, the Hanoi girl did not intend to follow her father's career, but instead studied literature and then taught at a village school in Thuong Tin (old Ha Tay).

In 1967, they got married. Mr. Khoa could not hide his pride when talking about his wife, a beautiful, gentle woman, soft-spoken, attentive, always smiling.

"At that time, I had low blood pressure, the doctor advised me to drink coffee regularly. Every morning, she made coffee for me," Mr. Khoa said.

In 1983, Mrs. Bich retired early while Mr. Khoa continued working at the Design Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture. To provide for her three children's education, Mrs. Bich helped her father run the coffee shop at 7 Hang Gai.

Black and white photos of Mrs. Bich from when she was young until she got married are still hung in the shop.

Mr. Khoa said that in the years 1960-1965, milk was not abundant and expensive, so Mr. Giang came up with the idea of using eggs instead of cream, so that everyone could drink coffee as delicious as cappuccino, but at a very cheap price.

It was not until 1970, when he had an egg beater, that Mr. Giang started selling egg coffee to customers. Soon, Mr. Giang's unique coffee became famous throughout the city.

Mr. Giang taught his children the profession, but with the same recipe, the coffee flavor of each person is slightly different.

In 1987, Ms. Bich discussed with Mr. Khoa about opening a coffee shop in the room where the couple lived. "All activities of the couple, their three children and business took place in the 25m2 room," Mr. Khoa said.

Mr. Khoa keeps family photos and hangs them right in the shop.

Initially, the shop's customers were mainly retirees, poor intellectuals, who came to read newspapers, sip cheap coffee and the customers named the shop "Poor Coffee".

During the years 1990-1992, the cafe became a gathering place for Hanoi students, to the point that they whispered to each other "If you don't go to Bich's cafe, you won't be a student". Not only did the cafe have delicious, cheap coffee, it was also one of the few places that specialized in playing rock music - the genre of music that Ms. Bich loved.

At this time, the shop was called "Student Coffee" or "U Bich Coffee" by customers.

Mrs. Bich was famous for her hospitality and friendliness. Any student who had a problem, she was willing to listen. Any student who was short on money, she was happy to lend them money. And so, the number of customers increased.

Mrs. Bich is always gentle with diners and takes care of the restaurant space.

"Every day, after work, I come home to help my wife sell coffee. With my knowledge and experience working at the Ministry of Agriculture, I take care of importing raw materials, roasting and grinding coffee. I roast coffee using an oil stove, right on the top floor of this house. The job requires concentration and health to ensure the coffee beans are evenly cooked, keeping the delicious flavor," said Mr. Khoa.

Business was going well, the couple had money to send their children to school, bought more land on Huynh Thuc Khang to move to live, and dedicated the entire room on Dinh Tien Hoang to a coffee shop.

In 2012, when Mrs. Bich passed away, Mr. Khoa met his children and asked: "Do you want to keep the shop?". The three children all agreed with their father to keep the shop, because this was their parents' lifelong passion.

This was also the time when the shop appeared more on mass media channels, attracting tourists . Mr. Khoa decided to change the shop's name to Dinh Coffee - associated with the name of the beautiful and old Dinh Tien Hoang street in Hanoi.

Dinh Coffee is now an attractive destination for international tourists. In the photo is a group of French tourists.

About 10 years ago, Mr. Giang’s family’s egg coffee became a hit in the international media. Along with Giang Coffee on Nguyen Huu Huan, Giang Coffee in Yen Phu, Dinh Coffee has also become an attractive destination for tourists when coming to Hanoi.

Mr. Khoa and his children maintain the traditional method of roasting, grinding coffee and brewing coffee as when Mrs. Bich was alive.

"Normally, each batch of 10-15kg of coffee needs to be roasted for 1-1.5 hours. Currently, my family has a supporting machine but still has to rely heavily on the roaster's experience to produce a quality batch of coffee," said Mr. Khoa.

The shop's coffee is brewed with a filter - custom-made filters that are several decades old.

The shop's coffee is still brewed using the traditional filter.

Each filter holds 300 grams of pure coffee. The staff will pour water in batches, at a temperature of 95-98 degrees Celsius, just enough to wet the coffee. The thick black coffee drips down into a glass pot, and after 3 hours, 1.5 liters are collected. This is an important ingredient to create the shop's famous egg coffee.

The yolks and a sufficient amount of egg whites are beaten by machine until they are fluffy, golden yellow, and the fishy smell is completely removed. "The beaten eggs must be served immediately, otherwise they will become fishy and mushy if left for too long," said Mr. Khoa.

When customers order, the owner skillfully pours hot coffee into the fluffy egg cream cup so that the aroma and flavor of the egg and coffee blend together.

A small spoon is always placed in the cup for diners to enjoy the creamy foam on top as an "appetizer" before drinking the coffee below. The sweet, fatty taste of the egg, combined with a little sugar, softens the bitter taste of the coffee.

Egg coffee is the most popular dish at the shop.

Familiar images of Hanoi are skillfully drawn on coffee cups.

The shop’s unique way of making coffee has become a subject for many domestic and foreign television channels and newspapers. Many international diners flocked to 13 Dinh Tien Hoang after the shop appeared on the National Geographic reality TV show “Street Food Around the World”.

"Entering here is like being lost in the past, completely different from the bustling, modern Hanoi outside. Last year, I went to Dinh cafe and I immediately fell in love with the taste of egg coffee and the peaceful space here. On this return trip, Dinh cafe is a destination I cannot miss," shared Daniel, a tourist from Iceland.

He sipped a cup of hot egg coffee, looked at everything here and then meticulously wrote it down in a small notebook. Daniel wanted to remember and share this wonderful destination with his friends.

Daniel really loves the taste of egg coffee and the space of the shop.

Ms. Lan, a person with 15 years of experience in the tourism industry, said that international tourists come to Dinh Coffee not only because they love the coffee and the architectural space, but also because they are fascinated by the story about the family's traditional profession.

When renovating the first floor to add more space for guests, Mr. Khoa kept the original wall of the house, built in 1909.

"Many customers often say that Dinh Coffee is located on the golden land, the diamond land of the city. But honestly, I have never thought about selling this house, this room to anyone else.

Because this is where the memories of several generations of my family are kept, where there is a coffee shop that my wife spent her whole life taking care of.

Dinh Coffee is now not just a place for my family to do business, but more than that, it is a place to welcome customers to come and find memories or learn about the culture of Hanoi past and present," Mr. Khoa confided.