Hẻm 377, “Saigon’s soul,” a popular Vietnamese café in East Vancouver serves an authentic yet modern spin on Vietnamese coffee.
This spot coins itself and specializes in Vietnamese street food served in a setting that feels just like what you’d find in Saigon. Hẻm 377 serves inventive takes on traditional Vietnamese coffee, including an iced version of Vietnamese egg coffee.
Walking into the café, the presentation is nice and charming. I enter a colourful room, I see a bright neon sign, and I smell a strong scent of coffee. The interior design is inspired by South East Asia’s café environment, where tables are small, and seats are stools. I find that as a South East Asian myself, I could feel a sense of comfort and belong at home.
We were the second people in line and the baristas crafted our drinks quite quickly. My friend and I ordered a Pandan drip (Cà phê lá dứa), a house-special Vietnamese drip coffee with sweetened pandan milk & pandan cream, and an Ube fresh (Sữa tươi khoai tím), fresh ube milk made from real purple yam. The prices on the menu were not too expensive with a fair drink portion, both the Pandan drip and Ube fresh costed $6.20 before tax each.
Some of the snacks offered were their popular Butter Corn W/ Small Shrimp (Bắp xào ruốc), Fried Tofu Bowl (Đậu hủ chiên), and Chicken Jerky (Khô Gà Lá Chanh). I decided not to order them as I previously read mixed reviews on their food. You’re better off walking a few blocks down for better Vietnamese cuisine.
These drinks were a great balance of sweet and bitter, with a colourful presentation. Though I am not a regular coffee drinker, everyone should try Vietnamese coffee.
One thing I wish Hẻm 377 was to have their flan made, their website stated it was sold out and I noticed a few days after they still had no flan in stock.
Rate: 9/10. Personally, I wish there was a bit more food variety.
The café is located at 5026 Victoria Drive, between 34th and 35th Streets. There is no parking so get ready to parallel park!
Hẻm 377 operating hours are: Monday-Thursday, 9AM-7:30PM, Friday, 9AM-8:00PM, Saturday, 9:30AM-8:00PM, Sunday, 9:30AM-7:30PM
This is a pretty cool place