An afternoon that did not end at the table
After lunch with my friend's family, someone suggested coffee. I am still unsure whether this was their family habit or a more widespread rhythm in Ho Chi Minh City. What I noticed was that the meal did not end when we left the restaurant. It simply moved somewhere else.
At the café, conversation continued. Coffee made room for lingering, talking, and attending to a little work. It was a different kind of interval from a drink collected on the way to somewhere else.
At Rita Võ Cafe & Wine, I tried bánh kem bắp, a corn cake my friend associated with birthday celebrations. It was sweeter than I would usually choose, but trying it was part of following someone else's familiar afternoon.
What I enjoyed most was sitting with coffee by the window and watching the city. These pauses do not look like major events. Yet they are one way a place becomes perceptible: through the length of a conversation, the movement between lunch and coffee, and the time people make for one another.
在越南一顿饭的结束，总是从一杯咖啡开始
🇻🇳《朋友带我吃越南》4
吃完午饭后，我本来以为外出行程结束了。没想到，朋友的父亲很自然地说了一句：
“走，我们去喝杯咖啡。”后来我发现，只要一起吃饭，最后几乎都会去咖啡店坐一会儿。我不知道这是他们一家人的习惯，还是在胡志明比较常见的生活方式，但至少在这几天里，我开始意识到，咖啡并不是为了提神，而更像是一顿饭的延续。大家并不急着离开，而是在咖啡店继续聊天、休息，甚至谈工作。
后来我开始查阅一些资料，也想到越南咖啡文化背后的历史。19世纪法国殖民时期，咖啡树被引入越南，经过一百多年的发展，咖啡逐渐从一种殖民时期的外来作物，变成了越南日常生活的一部分。今天，越南不仅是世界最大的咖啡生产国之一，如今这个饮品也已经被越南人重新塑造成属于自己的文化。从滴漏咖啡（cà phê phin），到蛋咖啡、椰子咖啡，再到街角随处可见的咖啡馆，它们早已拥有了越南自己的味道。
在饮食上真正值得观察的，不只是人们吃什么，而是一顿饭什么时候才算结束。在这里，答案似乎不是放下筷子的那一刻，而是咖啡喝完的时候。
这家咖啡店环境很舒服，朋友的父亲点了一杯越南咖啡，我则尝试了店里的玉米蛋糕（Bánh Kem Bắp）。朋友告诉我，很多越南人过生日都会吃这种蛋糕。
第一次吃的时候，我有点意外。它有浓郁的玉米香气，奶油也很绵密，但对我来说，还是偏甜了一些。不过，这种甜味也让我第一次尝到了越南生日蛋糕的味道。
相比蛋糕，我更喜欢那杯咖啡。浓郁，却没有掩盖咖啡豆本身的香气。坐在窗边，看着外面来来往往的人，很多本地人专门开车和骑摩托过来小喝一杯，比起”打卡”，更像是在体验一种属于当地人的日常节奏。
或许，一座城市最真实的样子，并不在景点，而是在人们吃完饭以后，又会去哪里坐一会儿。
📍Rita Võ Cafe & Wine｜胡志明市
English adaptation of my Chinese Xiaohongshu note. The Chinese original is preserved below; these are situated personal observations. Read the original on Xiaohongshu
Images and Chinese text retained from my Xiaohongshu note.