Brett Davis - AsiaLIFE Magazine

La Cafeteria de L’Usine
An eclectic eatery that's conducive to
creativity. By Beth Young. Photos by
Fred Wissink.
Bottoms Up
It
was bottoms up for Brett Davis at Hanoi-style bia hoi, Huy Beo.
Photos by Jay Zhang.
Peek through the windows that
look in on L’Usine and an eclectic
crowd can be seen lounging
in the space’s forefront, mulling
over their computers, brainstorming
with coffee in hand or
sitting quietly to the side deep
in thought. L’Usine—a contemporary
lifestyle outlet that retails
in fashion and homewares and
displays art—is named for the
French word for "factory," and
its recently opened eatery, La
Cafeteria, is gaining a reputation
among creative types as a space
conducive to manufacturing
ideas.
Tib Hoang, L’Usine’s marketing
and public relations manager,
agrees. “This space is very
inspirational,” she says of the
high-ceilinged structure that’s
been designed to emulate an
old-style Indochine garment factory.
In fact, the designer, Darren
Chew, who created the furniture
to match—including tables
propped up with antique sewing
machine stands—also created
the menu. “He’s a multi-purpose
man,” Hoang laughs.
Chew worked as a chef
and barista in Australia and
helped friends to set up Jed’s
Food Store, an iconic Jamaicaninspired
café at Sydney’s
Bondi Beach, before moving to
Vietnam a decade ago. It was
his idea to add La Cafeteria to
L’Usine on the proviso that an
emphasis was placed on quality
over quantity. “The [plan] from
the outset was to keep the menu
small and tight and everything
we do, we do well,” he says.
The end result is a testament
to this philosophy. There’s a
compact selection of fresh-cut
sandwiches, stuffed with fillings
like Vietnamese caramelized
pork and herb with lime dressing
(75,000 VND); mushroom and olive
stuffed chicken with roasted
lettuce, tomato and aioli (95,000
VND); and lamb loin with baby
beet, feta cheese and rocket
(115,000 VND). Plus good, and
reasonably priced, strong coffee
(40,000 to 50,000 VND).
The breakfast options, available
all day, are tempting, too.
Diners can take the healthier
route: a sunrise drink with
mango, banana, yoghurt and
berries (70,000 VND), or opt for
wholesome, comfort food, like
the breki burger—a bun topped
with a poached egg, spinach,
hollandaise sauce and either bacon
or mushroom (75,000 VND).
Aside from the food, another
aspect that lends La Cafeteria
its appeal is the staff. Whether it
is Bao Ngoc, L’Usine’s in-house
designer; Ann Nguyen, who is in
charge of the gallery; or Hoang
herself, each member of the team
greets and interacts with café
patrons. “You often see me serving
customers,” Hoang says. “It’s
all good. We like it.” As does La
Cafeteria’s expanding following
of designers, artists and writers.
151/1 Dong Khoi, D1 (entrance via
the street-level Art Arcade)
Tel: 6674 9565
Open daily 10 am to 10 pm
One of the great pleasures of
northern Vietnam is a cool,
refreshing glass of bia hoi on a
warm day—or any day, for that
matter.
Often, the fresh, unpasteurized
beer is enjoyed in a small
establishment consisting of a
keg of beer and a few plastic
chairs on a sidewalk. The brew
is delivered to these venues every
morning, and bia hoi aficionados
will tell you that it is best
drunk as soon as possible after it
is made. If this means downing
a few frothy ones before getting
to the office, so be it. Fortunately
bia hoi is a light, easy-drinking
larger with about three percent
alcohol content.
However, the genuine article
is something not commonly
available here in HCM City
unless you know where to look.
One place where it can be found
is Huy Beo at 54 Mai Thi Luu,
just off Dien Bien Phu in District
1. This three-level establishment
is somewhat removed from the
sidewalk plastic stools, yet it
still has a simple and relaxed
feel about it.
It is a Friday afternoon when
AsiaLIFE visits and the place
steadily fills with a goodnatured,
overwhelmingly male
crowd. The top floor has an
open-air section, which affords
a nice view of the traffic rushing
by on Dien Bien Phu. Straight
away we get down to business
and order bia hoi.
The key to good bia hoi is
the freshness, and the product
served at Huy Beo is as authentic
and tasty as it possibly can be
because it is flown from Hanoi
each day. The beer is served in
a two litre steel jug immersed
in a bucket of ice water. A jug
will set you back 100,000 VND.
A light gold in colour and with
a minimal, foamy head, the beer
goes down as smooth as silk
and has a crisp, almost tangy
finish.
What would a bia hoi session
be without some appropriate
beer snacks? Huy Beo has a
surprisingly extensive menu,
although if you don’t read
Vietnamese you will need some
assistance. We began with cubes
of fried tofu (dau hu chien gion)
accompanied by bowls of fish
sauce and shrimp paste for
dipping. This was followed by
fried eel (luon chien gion). The
approximately 15cm long eels
are fried whole and the dish is
topped with crushed peanuts,
slivers of onion and chopped,
fresh green leaves. Rounding
out our order was that everpopular
beer food, fried squid
(muc chien gion).
As the sun set over HCM City
and another working week, it
was difficult to think of a more
pleasant way to spend a few
hours. It is hard to beat the
combination of fried food, good
conversation and above all good
beer. Just remember to take care
on the stairs on your way out.
The bruise on my backside will
remind me for sometime of the
pitfalls of beer and inattention.
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