Nấp Saigon, D1
Address: 32 Trần Ngọc Diện, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
‘Nấp’ means ‘hidden’ in Vietnamese, and in a city where nearly every nook and cranny has one hidden cafe or another, this one in particular is worth the effort of finding.
Hours 9:00 – 21:00 | Address 3/5 Nguyễn Văn Thủ, Ward Dakao, District 1↵
A hidden cafe tucked away in a quiet alley in the creative quarter of District 1, Nap, captures perfectly the modern blend of minimalist design and Saigon throwback aesthetic. The hidden café itself is as pleasing to the eye as its offering of drinks and bites are to the taste buds. Owner Hoang Dai, Saigonite blogger and creative powerhouse, is also the brains behind Thinker & Dreamer Coffee on Nguyen Hue Boulevard and Mo Concept interior store. He travels widely in his downtime and the little bits and pieces from these excursions abroad show up in both the blending of taste and design.
Not for nothing has Nap taken out top awards for its excellence, for even in a city crammed full of stylish cafés both modern and retro, this one really is a step up from the crowd. The drinks and desserts are next level, with malt coconut ice cream (kem dua, VND 50,000), coconut affogato (ca phe kem dua, VND 60,000) and black jelly in caramel sauce (suong sao, VND 45,000) in particular sure to blow taste buds into many a return visit.
Nap, captures perfectly the modern blend of minimalist design and Saigon throwback aesthetic. The hidden café itself is as pleasing to the eye
The menu leaves no shortage of marvel. With a fat selection of exotic juices and homemade yoghurt blends also on hand. All this in addition to excellent iced coffee (ca phe sua doc, VND 50,000) and Hanoi’s famous egg coffee (ca phe trung, VND 60,000). Unfortunately a café of such delights cannot be kept a secret for long, and by day it can be hard to secure a table.
Hostel
Nap functions as a Café-Hostel, with the upper floors serving as the hostel (you can also book yourself a dorm for a couple of hours’ worth of quality nap time in a special afternoon offer). As such it closes earlier than the norm at 9pm, so if you plan on dropping in at night, be careful not to leave it too late.
