In the backpacker quarter surrounded by Pham Ngu Lao, Bui Vien and De Tham streets in downtown HCMC, foreign visitors can easily find countless restaurants, shops, and hotels with eye-catching signs written in English. However, there is a special coffee shop with a Vietnamese rustic name: Goc Hanoi, or A Corner of Hanoi.

A corner of Goc Hanoi coffee shop at 165/3 Bui Vien Street in HCMC’s District 1

Nestled in a small quiet alley of the most bustling and busiest backpacker street Bui Vien, the café offers a nostalgic and peaceful space for those who love tranquility.

Unlike other glassy and classy coffee shops in the city, this café has a simple interior décor with antique furnishing items such as old-fashioned door and window, wooden chairs and tables, ancient banknotes, traditional conical hats, and a set of 28 ceramic plates that first-timers there may have a feeling to return to the capital city of Hanoi and relive their memories of childhoods, especially those who have moved from Hanoi to HCMC for a living far away from their homeland for a long time.

Given the limited space, the shop is divided into three floors with low tables, which allows patrons to enjoy a cozy atmosphere like home while having a cup of coffee and listening to beautiful songs by late musician Trinh Cong Son.

The shop has been opened for over six months, and is always crowded with numerous foreign tourists wishing to find some new tastes and explore the lifestyle and culinary culture of local people, a staff of the shop said.

In addition, many young Saigonese, especially students, often gather at the venue so that they can meet and make friends with foreigners to practice English.  

Apart from normal drinks popular at other coffee shops in the city such as iced black coffee, milk coffee, peach tea, and lotus tea with prices starting from VND25,000 each, the café also serves the most special drink of many cafés in Hanoi: egg-coffee priced at VND40,000 a glass. 

The sweet fragrance of egg, in combination with the aroma of coffee, can leave an unforgettable experience.

Guests are recommended to park their vehicles at old buildings nearby and walk to this café as the alley leading to the shop is quiet narrow. 

Goc Hanoi coffee shop is located at 165/3 Bui Vien Street in HCMC’s District 1, which is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

SGT