Our annual Asian trek will be to Saigon this year. Everything I've read suggests that there's an amazingly vibrant coffee culture there, with many great cafes. We'll be at the Intercontinental - does anyone have any recommendations for us?

Thanks!!

"Modern" cafe with prices to match, The Workshop, 27 Ngo Duc Ke Street, District 1 (2nd Floor), Ho Chi Minh City. Reminds me of Chye Seng Huat Hardware in Singapore. Heaps of street places with tiny stools, Ca Fe Su Da. Avoid "Weasel" coffee, which is everywhere.

Alan

Thanks, Alan! We're fine with "modern" cafes and prices for this trip. Although we try to wander back streets and local joints wherever we go, several friends have suggested that we stick to the beaten path in HCMC for health & safety reasons (most citing food-borne infection and grab-and-run theft of cameras etc, but nothing more). As a surgeon, I've been regularly immunized against tetanus plus hep A&B, so I got my wife the same regimen + T-dap and we both did the typhoid pills. Most say that the ice in the ca fe su da is safe these days so we won't worry about it in the nicer places.