How do you like your eggs in the morning? How many of you out there will stare at me like I have six heads when I tell you I sometimes opt for the last option? Today I want to tell you a little bit about one of my favorite drinks in Vietnam: cà phê trứng.

Instead of using milk to thicken and sweeten the coffee, a cloud of raw egg and condensed milk dolloped on top makes this drink velvety and delicious. According to the folks over at Nguyen Coffee Supply, one of my favorite companies for ordering Vietnamese coffee when stateside, it was difficult to find many basic foods during the Anti-French Resistance War. However, Vietnamese people are both creative and ingenuitive and in 1946, Nguyen Van Giang of Hanoi, pioneered a new method of using more easily accessible egg & condensed milk as substitues to add texture and flavor to coffee. From then, the Cà phê trứng began to be poured across Vietnam.

When my cà phê trứng arrived to my table it was cradled in a beautiful ceramic vessel, labeled COFFEE quite clearly and beautifully. It was heated in front of me over a tea candle, and had a quick sprinkle of cocoa over the top of the egg foam along with a chocolate syrup flourish. After the beverage was heated, I mixed and took a sip of some of the sweetest, creamiest coffee I’ve ever had.

Honestly, the novelty of having a coffee show in front of me was awesome. It had some of the magic of a pour over, without the labor of weighing and pouring myself and the added bonus of sweetness. I have to admit I am a sucker for having an activity to do at the table. The tea light warming my coffee not only warmed my beverage but added a gentle ambiance to our table.

After a few moments of turning the small cup upside, hoping for once that gravity would be on my side to help lap up the last few drops of cà phê trứng, I placed the mug down and was immediately looking for the staff to order another. When I’m in Vietnam, one remark that is made commonly is how quickly I drink my coffee. I attribute this completely to the fact that the coffee in Vietnam is honestly so good that I can’t help but devour the first cup before I get a second to savor it. The delicate method of heating up my coffee on a small tea candle did basically have me sitting on my hands in anticipation while everyone else leisurely sipped their drinks, but it was good enough that I was not deterred from ordering a second. Thankfully the atmosphere of Moss Cafe 2, like most cafes in Da Nang, has an inescapable air of chill and easy goingness so despite my excitement for my coffee, it wasn’t hard to also lean back with everyone and enjoy the afternoon while I waited.

Almost all of the drinks at Moss Cafe 2 were so tasty and the seats were comfortable and plentiful. If you are a nervous tourist in Da Nang, I would recommend this spot for a moment to breathe. The attentive staff will make sure you have everything you’d like, and there’s plenty of parking for your scooter!