Phuc Minh Coffee (Ho Chi Minh)

So, as I mentioned in the previous blog, I went a cafe the first night I arrived in Vietnam but I didn't really pay attention to it. So on the second full day while my friend was at work, I walked back over there. I stayed for about 4 hours or so. I actually ended up going again the next day too. And were I to have stayed longer, I would have gone again, I'm sure.

The cafe itself is not particularly cozy but it is comfortable. It's quite open and bright. The temperature is nice and the music was quite amusing. They played a lot of older pop from the 90s and early 2000s. But every once in a while they'd play something completely random like Hikaru Utada's "First Love". On top of all that, the staff was quite nice and always smiling.

So in visiting there twice and for such extended periods of time, I had ordered quite a bit. Three Vietnamese White Coffees (2 hot and 1 iced), a watermelon juice, a club sandwich, and fries. Everything was quite good, especially the drinks. However, I drank two coffees on the first day and had some problems later. Vietnamese coffee is quite strong and with the added sugar, I had a small case of the jitters. I then crashed a bit later. Hence the juice the next day.

So, this is probably not a cafe that I would go out of my way for. But I definitely definitely appreciated it being so close. If I lived in the area, I would be a regular for sure.

Order: 3 Vietnamese White Coffees, Watermelon Juice, Club Sandwich, and Fries (I forget the prices, but probably average)
Review: I'm so happy it was there for me!

Website: http://www.phucminhcoffee.com/
Location: District 7, HCMC

Canal Cafe

So a friend of mine has also become interested in local cafes. So when our schedules occasionally align, we seek out an interesting one. Last time I chose the Hammock cafe. This time he chose going to an area of town sometimes referred to as "the Paris of Tokyo" and seeing what we came across. So I'm not sure who is calling Kagurazaka "the Paris of Tokyo" or what that's even supposed to mean. My friend said that the title might be a bit much, but at any rate, there's quite a few cafes to choose from there.

We ended up visiting two cafes. The first of them was Canal Cafe. It was such a nice day that when we spotted the seating area along the canal, we were sold. We headed in around lunch time, so we each got a Caesar Salad and a drink. I saw Sakura Tea on the menu, and thinking it actually meant Sakura tea, which I'm a huge fan of, I got that instead of coffee. It turns out that Sakura tea is just a brand of iced tea. And I don't like iced tea. But that's not the cafe's fault so I won't hold that against them.


So anyway, about the cafe. We sat on the "deck side" which meant it was basically a cafe. Drinks and a couple dishes to choose from. If you go inside, it's actually an Italian restaurant. We also found out that the "canal" is actually the only remaining part of the old outer moat of the old Edo castle. Somehow it's also connecting to a rowing team. But now the rowing is done by customers paying a few hundred yen per 30 minutes.

The atmosphere is quite nice. When the weather is good, we both decided this was an ideal date spot. The food, while a little pricey for a cafe for lunch, was pretty good. And if it was for a date, the price wasn't that bad either. I can't say how the drinks were since I didn't like what I ordered. My friend said his was nothing special but it wasn't terrible either. So overall, we both approved but decided that we wouldn't be coming here with each other again.





Order: Caesar Salad and "Sakura" iced tea (I forgot the price)
Review: Nice date spot

Website: http://www.canalcafe.jp/
Access: Iidabashi Station (less than a five minute walk)

Branche

Today, was a really warm and sunny day off, so I decided to walk around a bit and stay on my side of town. In one of the "mooks" I bought recently features a section on cafés around Tokyo SkyTree. Since it's only a few minutes away by train, I decided to head that way. I was hungry so I was more concerned with a cute lunch spot than a coffee house. I decided to go to Branche.

It turns out Branche is half flower shop and half cafe. That means the surroundings are quite cozy. There's a big window but it faces the main road and not SkyTree. The food is pretty typical but tasty. I went with the Japanese style mushroom pasta with iced coffee. I think as a flower shop, they specialized in herbal and flower teas. But as the lunch set with coffee was already nearly ¥1000, I decided not to check them out. Anyway, this is another place where the food is good and the atmosphere is nice so it's a good lunch spot. It's also smoke free so it's a bit more comfortable than Cafe Soeur which is in the same general area. The staff here is about the same too. Friendly but not particularly chatty or outgoing.


 Order: Japanese style Mushroom Pasta Lunch Set ¥980
Review: Very cute lunch spot if you're in the area.

Website: 食べログ Page
Access: Oshiage Station (less than 10 minutes from exit A2)

Cafe Soeur

Today I made an important realization. There's a big difference between cafes and coffee shops. While both are nice depending on what you're going for, I'm more interested in coffee shops.

But anyway, today I went to a cafe in Oshiage called Cafe Soeur. It's a really cute two story shop. The interior is country style and is done mainly in blue and whitewash.
Very cute. The two women who run the shop aren't exactly chatty, but they're very nice. One of them even let me have a postcard that I saw and said was cute.

I had the curry rice set with blend coffee. The set included a side salad and a small cup of fruit and yogurt. The curry was amazing! And the yogurt was pretty heavenly as well. The coffee was freshly ground and brewed and came in an adorable heart shaped mug.However, at least for me, the coffee itself was pretty bad. But again remember that I don't really have great taste in coffee.

As for whether or not I'd recommend this place depends on how sensitive you are to smoke. Because it's very open, it's pretty well ventilated. But smoking is allowed and it is still an indoors space, so if someone is smoking, you're bound to notice. But if you don't mind a little smoke or you're a smoker yourself, and you're looking for a nice place for lunch, I definitely recommend it. Especially if you happen to be in the area looking a Tokyo Sky Tree.

Order: Curry Lunch Set with Blend Coffee (900 yen)
Review: Cute and cozy lunch spot but not recommended for people sensitive to smoke.

Website:  食べログ Page
Access: Oshiage Station (less than 10 minutes from Exit A1)