Travel

Specialty coffee people sometimes dismiss Vietnamese coffee because it’s robusta-heavy and traditionally served very sweet. This is a mistake. The basics Egg coffee (ca phe trung) is the obvious tourist one and worth having once. Hanoi does it better than Ho Chi Minh City. Iced black (ca phe da) is the everyday drink and the one worth paying attention to. Strong, slightly bitter, served over ice. Simple. The culture Coffee shops in Vietnam are for sitting in for a long time. Nobody is rushing you out. Order one drink, stay two hours, watch the street. This is the point. ...

A loose set of notes from a few days in Tokyo, mostly food and neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods Yanaka � old shitamachi feel, temples, small shops, cats. Good for a slow morning walk. Shimokitazawa � vintage shops, small live music venues, good coffee. Young crowd but not overwhelming. Koenji � similar vibe to Shimokitazawa but quieter. Worth an afternoon. Food Ramen at a counter at 11am before the queue builds. Tonkatsu set lunch � absurdly good value. Depachika basement food halls for everything else. ...

Kyoto has a surprisingly good cafe scene. Less flashy than Tokyo but more consistent — lots of small owner-operated places that have been around for decades. Standouts Weekenders Coffee — small, serious about their beans, good pour over. Worth the walk. % Arabica — yes it’s touristy but the location by the canal is genuinely nice in the morning before the crowds arrive. Inoda Coffee — old school kissaten. Order the Kyoto blend with milk. Don’t fight it, just order it with milk. ...