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In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi cafés are springing up like mushrooms after a
rain. Forced to think of ways to stand out among the clutter and attract
customers, They offer not only special music and exotic drinks but also some
unusual services.
In HCMC, you can practice your golf swing at Café Screen Golf on Nam Ky Khoi
Nghia Street. A 3D screen shows more than 30 Korean golf courses, evoking the
feeling of playing on a real course.
This is the first café to offer this in Vietnam, and targets professionals and
women. For those who love this sport but work in this giant city and have little
leisure time, this café is a perfect spot.
It has three rooms, one of them open to everyone and the other two costing
VND200,000-400,000 (US$10-20) an hour and requiring reservations to be made at
least an hour in advance. Food and beverages start at VND18,000 (US$ 80 cents).
If sports are not your thing, you can relax at the L’usine on Dong Khoi Street
in the downtown area. The café is popular for its French-style bistro combined
with a fashion boutique and art gallery.
If you are waiting here for your friends on a rainy day, you can look at
paintings by contemporary artists or shop for designer clothes from London and
Paris or New York and Tokyo.
L’usine serves fresh sandwiches and home-style cakes. It also offers freshly
roasted coffee and a selection of imported Mariage Freres teas to help you keep
up with the city’s frenetic buzz.
While L’usine has become a favorite among women, men, especially with a penchant
for high-tech stuff, prefer iLounge café on Pham Ngoc Thach Street.
Also located near the city center, it is a pleasant venue to meet friends and
business acquaintances. Its simple, youthful decor evokes serenity and is an
oasis of calm amid the city’s cacophony.
iLounge also has some unusual offerings like chocolate iLoungue and Hawaii
coconut juice starting at VND16,000 (US$ 80 cents).
It is a favorite haunt of computer geeks, especially fans of Apple products like
iPad, iPhone, and Macbook.
The café itself services Apple products. So one can sit down, surf the net on
Wi-Fi, and enjoy a tea at a 10 percent discount while waiting for the iPhone to
be fixed.
There is a corner for people looking to learn about technology and get hands-on
experience on Apple products. There is also a brisk trade in electronic devices
at reasonable prices here.
If you plan to open a shop and are looking for a location, Iceland coffee on
Hanoi’s Dong Da Street is the place to go to.
Classified ads of restaurants for sale are posted on a board here. A part of the
Com Viet Nam (Vietnamese rice) restaurant chain, Iceland coffee also has
professionals in buying and selling restaurants, who offer consultancy in all
aspects like choosing a location and completing legal documents to restaurant
renovation.
A board with classified ads of restaurants for sale in Iceland Coffee
The café has a business-like atmosphere but also an impressive decor in cream,
light pink, and dark brown. Situated opposite Thong Nhat Park, it offers an
unhindered view of the Dao Duy Anh-Le Duan- Dai Co Viet- Giai Phong junction.
It is also a perfect place to watch fireworks during national holidays.
Also in Hanoi, Ailu café is popular among young people, especially those who
love pets. Teenagers drop by not only for a cup of coffee but also to play with
the cats here. The café is designed in Japanese style, with low tables and
cushions on a wooden floor instead of chairs and has paintings of cats hung on
the walls.
The cats here are usually homeless, brought by friends of the owner. You can go
to the café and adopt one if you like. If you already have a cat, you can bring
it to the café.
Ailu is the first pet café in Vietnam and what is amazing is that its owner is a
20-year-old Hanoian woman who initially opened the café as a place for cat
lovers.
Clearly, going to a café just to drink coffee or chat with friends has become
passé. What do you look for in a cafe?
Source: tuoitrenews
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