Cong Caphe is a famous coffee chain that stood out from its competitor with its vintage and iconic interior décor, all inspired by their founder’s childhood, Linh Dung.
First Impression – Cong Caphe
We visited Cong Caphe at NU Sentral, their first ever outlet in Malaysia that was opened in late 2019. As we reached the front of the shop, what stood out to us was the vintage décor and a very minimalist and aesthetic design. It is definitely one of the very few cafes that paid alot of attention to their interior décor.
As a coffee lover myself, interior décor alone would not entice me to frequent the café often, it is the coffee that does wonders. I wasted no time in consulting the waitress on the popular menu items and immediately place my order.
The Food
To those who have not tried Vietnamese coffee before (it can be quite strong), the waitress suggested us to go for their signature Ice Blended Coconut Milk with Coffee. It is coconut milk with condensed milk, and top it off with a shot of Vietnamese coffee. The drink was super refreshing and has a very tasty coconut flavor. The coffee goes well with the coconut, and has only a very mild coffee flavor to it.
We also had a hot drink, a seasonal special – Cocoa with Cinnamon. For non-coffee lovers, this is the go-to drink. Rich cocoa flavor has a hint of cinnamon to it. This drink is perfect on a cold rainy day.
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Hot Cocoa Cinnamon -
As for seasoned coffee enthusiast, head over and try out their signature Hanoian Condensed Milk coffee. This can be served hot/cold. A thick layer of Vietnamese condensed milk is added as base, followed by a shot of coffee on top. This coffee is extremely strong, flavorful and rich. It is sweet, yet bitter and has a hint of chocolate. The coffee was one of the riches I’ve ever tasted.
For main course, we had the Rice Noodle with Chicken Ham. This dish is served cold. For me, this dish is similar to a salad, and can be served with either beef, chicken or spring roll. I had the chicken version. The best way to eat this dish is to pour the sweet chili sauce all over the ingredients, and mix them up. My first mouthful was an abundance of flavors and textures, and its very hard to pinpoint one particular flavor that stood out. All ingredients goes well with each other and overall was a very healthy, delicious and harmonious meal.
We also had a Chicken Ham Bahn Mi, which is essentially a baguette filled with greens, protein and pate. The bread was toasted perfectly, and this is a classic breakfast in Vietnam. For those of you who is not a big fan of pate, please alert the waitress when you are ordering.
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Chicken Ham Bahn Mi -
To end our Vietnamese feast, we had a sweet treat, a traditional Vietnamese Croissant with Condensed Milk. This is a simple yet delicious dish. The croissant is crispy on the outside, and fluffy and buttery on the inside. The condensed milk served is actually Vietnamese condensed milk. For us, it tasted very similar to what we have here in Malaysia, albeit a bit sweeter and milkier.
Final Thoughts – Cong Caphe
Cong Caphe positioned itself as a premium coffee shop, offering tasty and one-of-a-kind coffee nowhere to be found. The coffee we had was very close to what I had in Vietnam, hence for me the price was justifiable. The interior décor stands out for me as one of the very few cafes who is very comfortable to spend time in, and we highly recommend spending a couple of hours in Cong Caphe while sipping on an authentic Vietnamese coffee.
We would like to thank Jaemie, as well as the NU Sentral Cong Caphe team for hosting us for one meal. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner.
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