Located on the sidewalk of Phan Dinh Phung alley (Phu Nhuan, Ho Chi Minh City), the 60-year-old tin-filter cafe is a witness to the vivid and nostalgic image of Saigon in the past.
 |
| The owner of this coffee shop is Mr. Dang Ngoc Con, 80 years old, affectionately called Uncle Ba. His shop has been passed down for 3 generations and is a familiar meeting place for many different generations living in Saigon. |
 |
| His father has been selling coffee since 1954. After 1975, he and his family lived in this small alley and continued the family business. |
 |
| Interestingly, for over 60 years, the shop has never closed or stopped operating. Mr. Ba, his wife and children take turns selling day and night. He and his wife usually work during the day, leaving the night for their son to look after. |
 |
| The clock was brought back from faraway Switzerland as a mark of time for visitors to recognize the longevity of the restaurant. |
 |
| Tin filter coffee is brewed in a very typical way of the old Saigon people. Instead of using a filter, the coffee is put into a filter bag about 25 cm long, with a mouth diameter of about 10 cm, then boiling water is poured in and the coffee is continuously heated on a charcoal stove. |
 |
| When a customer drinks, the coffee is poured into small cups that have been heated with boiling water. Compared to the traditional brewing method, this method helps to preserve the coffee flavor, the strong heat helps to preserve the aroma for a long time. |
 |
| The customers who come to the shop are usually the elderly, who have been attached to Saigon for a long time. Mr. Thanh used to drink here when he was in high school. Over the years, the special flavor of this coffee has become so familiar that he feels a lack if he doesn’t have a cup every day. |
 |
| Mrs. Do Thi Ngoc My, whose parents died early from illness, spent 20 years homeless, wandering around collecting scrap metal to buy ornamental plants to sell for a living. Late at night, tired, she would stop here to have a drink to rest or sometimes take a nap. |
 |
| The shop is busiest early in the morning, with regular customers stopping by for a drink before going to work, or friends meeting up to chat. |
 |
| In her spare time, Ms. Ba meticulously checks each filter bag that has been washed clean to replace the worn ones. She does every step with utmost care. She always believes that to have a good cup of coffee, even the smallest thing must be done well. |
 |
| The shop is not only a favorite place for the elderly but also a place for young people who love to learn and explore the culture of old Saigon. This group of friends visited the shop for the first time and were very excited about this strange and unique style of making coffee. |
 |
| Although he is a person who is closely associated with old Saigon, Mr. Ba is very open-minded. In his free time, he uses his small phone to contact friends or watch the news to relax. |
 |
| Visitors sometimes do not crave coffee but crave the peaceful atmosphere of Saigon early in the morning. |
 |
| Or want to chat with friends in the quiet space of the late night. |
 |
| When modern life is too hasty and busy, old cultural features like tin-filter coffee help preserve the rustic roots of Saigon. |
According to Zing
