HANOI – Nestled in the busy neighborhood of the capital, the coffee shop also preserves timeless panels and porcelain hyacinths.

Old Quarter Coffee is located on the busiest Hang Gai street in the capital, but few people who pass by here recognize it. Hidden behind fashion shops, visitors entering the alley about 200 meters deep will find the shop in a peaceful courtyard.

This is both the place to live and the business place of the family of Mr. Nguyen Tuan, 68 years old. He is the youngest of 7 children. The house is an ancestral property, built in 1918, up to now 102 years, and has been preserved and opened a coffee shop since the beginning of 2000.

The coffee shop has an area of ​​nearly 150 m2, bringing the Vietnamese ancient house architecture. The design is divided into 3 compartments including: the main, the middle and the back room. Main room layout living room and porch. The nave is usually a space of the sky well to catch the sunlight. The back room is the kitchen, the daily dining area.

After many renovations and renovations, half of the yard was built into a small attic connected by wooden stairs. This is where visitors sip a cup of coffee, chat, in a quiet space, separate from the hustle and bustle of the alley.

The porch is sunny in the cafe. Tables and chairs made from rosewood, hand-carved elaborate patterns that will last for years.https://bbecd954d9c96063a7b737636d11f489.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

The house keeps paintings, statues, antique vase … Most of them are the property left by his father, besides, the objects collected during travel trips along the North – South of the family.

The porcelain water hyacinths are what Mr. Tuan preserves the most. These are all Chinese carved water hyacinths such as “Apocalyptic Snow Protein”, “Ngon Ong is profitable” … The smallest value is about 20 million VND each.

The large yard in the inn’s memory used to be the place where the family displayed bonsai, bon sai and play birds. “My grandparents used to play beautiful bonsai, the wrong bon is the new style areca tree, elm tree. This yard the day before built 4 pedestal, full of bonsai on both sides”, he shared.

The 4-storey house is connected by spiral staircases, sloping characteristics of the old tube house.

4th floor has direct views of Turtle Tower, Hoan Kiem Lake. This is also a special feature that attracts many foreign visitors to the restaurant.

Visitors coming here are impressed with the nostalgic features, quiet space of the restaurant. Mr. Nguyen Quang Thanh and his wife, who live in Hang Bac, often visit the restaurant to chat with friends. “Ancient architecture, divided into layers, airy but not as noisy as outside. Sitting here, I feel at home”. He also shared that he loved the shop’s egg coffee because of its bold, creamy, and fishy taste.

Diverse beverage menu with coffee, smoothies, juices, prices about 40,000 to 60,000 VND. The most popular dish with many customers is egg coffee, placed in a large glass compared to usual, the price per cup is 45,000 VND. The shop is open from 8:00 to 23:00.

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Photo: Ngoc Diep, Coffee in the old town