Ca phe bet, which literally means drinking coffee while sitting on the ground, has become popular with young people in Ho Chi Minh City in recent years, but it appears unattractive due to sidewalk encroachment and a habit of littering. 

While young people in Hanoi is familiar with tra chanh chem gio (lemon tea for breeze shooting), ca phe bet is a local 'specialty' in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Arriving at the April 30 Park in District 1 at 6:00 am one weekend, Nguyen Huynh Dang Khoa, a resident of Binh Thanh District, selected a prime seat which overlooked the Reunification Palace to enjoy coffee.

“Ca phe bet is a strange and unique cultural feature in Ho Chi Minh City. This way of drinking coffee makes coffee drinkers comfortable,” Khoa said.

Every morning, the areas around the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, the April 30 Park, and the Saigon Central Post Office in downtown Ho Chi Minh City are crowded with young people who enjoy ca phe bet.

These sites seem busier on weekends than on weekdays.

The ca phe bet service is extraordinarily simple as coffee sellers just need to use coffee filters and traditional cloth filters rather than modern machines.

Coffee is brewed at night and is contained in bottles that are kept cold to serve customers the next morning.

The price of coffee ranges from VND20,000 (US$0.85) to VND30,000 ($1.28) per plastic cup.

When buying a cup of coffee, customers are provided with a piece of cardboard or tarp as a seat.

Doi Thi Ngoc Quynh, 23, who lives in District 12, said that she visits the areas every two weeks to enjoy coffee and chill out.

She and her friends accept the inconvenience of the seating arrangement to get interesting life experiences that are not found at luxurious coffee shops, she said.

“When sitting on the ground for coffee, I feel quite comfortable. This way helps everyone here become closer,” Quynh said.

Problems arise

Ca phe bet is a sought-after coffee-drinking experience among young people due to affordable prices and airy space. They can drink coffee and chat from morning to noon at ca phe bet stalls.

However, this service has ruined the image of the city for sidewalk and street encroachment.

There are at least six parking lots near the park, but many young people opt to park their motorcycles on the sidewalks or streets to both drink coffee and watch their bikes.

When seeing an urban order management team, coffee sellers will quickly alert their customers and ask them to move to another site.

Coffee drinkers will have to make at least one move in a morning if they enjoy ca phe bet in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Linh, a 23-year-old from outlying Binh Chanh District, said that he often comes to the areas for coffee. 

The situation, where order management teams launch checks while vendors and customers hurriedly evacuate, has become part of the local lifestyle, Linh said.

“I am used to the scene where officials disperse crowds on the sidewalks or street food and drink stalls. I feel it is normal,” Linh added.

Apart from sidewalk encroachment, littering is a chronic problem in the areas of ca phe bet services.

Nhi, a 33-year-old worker who takes care of trees at the April 30 Park, said that several coffee drinkers did not clean up their sites after leaving, so plastic cups and food boxes were scattered along the paths.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!