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| HOAN KIEM LAKE |
I usually avoid rodents or anything with a long tail and a furtive look. Yet, there I was cruising Hanoi’s Old Quarter, hot on the trail of a weasel. Or, to be more specific, his droppings.
In a country where items like snake blood and dog tails are occasional menu choices, ca phe chon, or weasel coffee, is in a class all its own. Coffee growers feed coffee beans to weasels, and after the beans pass through the animal, they are collected, ground and brewed. The process gives the coffee a musky, smooth flavor.
Derisively dismissed by some Westerners as “rodent roast” or even “crappuccino,” the expensive brew is a winner in the upmarket cafes that are fast replacing Vietnam’s traditional streetside tea stalls.
Eager to experiment, I figured there was no better place to track down the traditional brew than among the narrow streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The area has been bustling since the 13th century, when Hanoi’s guilds established a commercial section near the Red River and Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi.
Each street begins with the word hang (merchandise), followed by the name of the item traditionally sold on that street. There is everything from Tin Street to Ghost Money Street to Coffin Street. Some streets are former shells of themselves: Hang Vai (Bamboo Street) has only a few stacks of bamboo to distinguish itself, while other streets have created new identities in response to the changing needs of shoppers.
Hang Hanh, or Coffee Street, formerly called Onion Street, has undergone an aromatic transformation, becoming a favorite stop for those craving a jolt of caffeine. Businessmen heading to work, backpackers consulting Lonely Planet guides and hip motorbiking locals all head to this narrow street where onion stalls have become coffeehouses.
Derisively dismissed by some Westerners as “rodent roast” or even “crappuccino,” the expensive brew is a winner in the upmarket cafes that are fast replacing Vietnam’s traditional streetside tea stalls.
Eager to experiment, I figured there was no better place to track down the traditional brew than among the narrow streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The area has been bustling since the 13th century, when Hanoi’s guilds established a commercial section near the Red River and Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi.
Each street begins with the word hang (merchandise), followed by the name of the item traditionally sold on that street. There is everything from Tin Street to Ghost Money Street to Coffin Street. Some streets are former shells of themselves: Hang Vai (Bamboo Street) has only a few stacks of bamboo to distinguish itself, while other streets have created new identities in response to the changing needs of shoppers.
Hang Hanh, or Coffee Street, formerly called Onion Street, has undergone an aromatic transformation, becoming a favorite stop for those craving a jolt of caffeine. Businessmen heading to work, backpackers consulting Lonely Planet guides and hip motorbiking locals all head to this narrow street where onion stalls have become coffeehouses.
Author: BY MICHELE PETERSON
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