Binh Lam ( Tea and Coffee) - The Coffee Shop Prompt | Week 116

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thanhnga99778.045 months agoHive.Blog6 min read

Hello to the community of tea and coffee lovers, I’m Thanh Nga. Today I want to share with you a coffee shop that I just discovered. This article is also my answer to the question: "How did you discover such a place?" for week 116 of #TheCoffeeShopPrompt. This is a long-standing community for people who love to drink coffee and tea. If you want to share your drink stories, join here:

. And remember that this community only accepts original content—no plagiarism, no AI images, and no images you don’t own.

I have read many posts from this community. They are really talented in writing and are truly real bloggers. So, can a normal person write blogs in the community? The answer is “Yes.” Just write according to your preferences and follow the community rules. Share the coffee or tea shop you actually visited and your story around that cup of coffee or tea.

I don't like coffee very much. Actually, if someone invites me, I still drink it. But when I go to a coffee shop, I usually prefer to order tea. In Vietnam, few places are called tea shops. Here, 99% of tea shops have the word “coffee” on the signboard. Inside that shop, there will always be tea and coffee, but tea is the main thing served.

The tea shop I want to introduce is called "Bình Lâm." I think this is the name of the shop owner. It doesn’t have any special name at all. In Vietnam, restaurant owners often try to choose English names to make the coffee shop feel more luxurious instead of Vietnamese names. Most coffee shop names in Vietnam are French or English to sound more international, which I find funny. Shops with pure Vietnamese names are rarer and sound quite plain.

This coffee shop’s name is not impressive if you just read the name, but I was attracted to it because it has 4 floors. Looking from afar, the shop looks very big and clean. That’s why I wanted to explore inside to see what’s in there. Stepping into the shop, the first floor is super spacious, with warm tones. The cashier and preparation counter are right near the entrance. Oh my, the menu is huge with countless options from traditional tea, fruit tea, milk tea, coffee, milk, juice, yogurt, ice cream, smoothies… each category has over 10 choices. This milk tea shop also has snacks like French fries, fried sausage, fish cakes, crab cakes, fried fermented pork rolls, pizza, spaghetti… basically anything you want, just order.

My friend and I ordered one cup of watermelon tea and one cup of kumquat tea (these are fruit teas, no milk). I asked the staff to reduce sugar and ice for me. The tea flavor was super strong. My cup of kumquat tea had a lot of kumquat juice and strong tea taste. My friend’s watermelon tea looked beautiful from the outside, had fresh watermelon inside, a two-layer structure of yellow and red color—very pretty.

I came here at noon so I chose the second floor to keep it quiet. I thought the second floor would be empty but was really surprised to find people just like me. Many people chose the second floor to sleep and relax because it was very spacious and cool, and there was a bookshelf. I saw people lying on the long chairs to sleep, some watching movies, some reading books. Hahaha, I must say this is a special coffee shop. Normally, coffee shops have fast service style, meaning people just come in, drink, and leave. Rarely do shops let customers sleep right at the shop like this Bình Lâm milk tea shop.

On the second floor, I counted at least 5 people lying on the chairs, and they really felt chill and comfortable. We only had to pay 40k, which is about 1.7 USD to have a place to lie down comfortably, with cool air conditioning.

Oh so cheap! While now, milk tea shops usually charge at least 1.5 USD for a drink but with normal space. I really appreciate the space of this coffee shop because the staff acted very normal when seeing customers lying like that. In many other coffee shops, some staff will be annoyed because customers sit too long or order cheap drinks.

My friend and I also brought food here. It was “phở cuốn” – a very special dish in Vietnam.

Phở is a thin rice paper made from rice. Inside it rolls carrot, cucumber, sausage, egg, lettuce, rolled very tightly and dipped in spicy and sour fish sauce.

This was our lunch, a light and low-calorie lunch. I had a lot of work to do, so I sat at the shop for 5 hours. I arrived at 11 a.m. and left at 4 p.m. Some people were still sleeping haha.

I haven't had the chance to go up to the 3rd and 4th floors of the shop yet. If I have the chance, I will try. For me, the 1st and 2nd floors are already amazing, so I’m not sure what kind of feelings the two upper floors might bring. But this cafe is really spacious, everything is perfect. I think I would give this place a 9 out of 10. This cafe has reasonably priced drinks, a spacious, cool, and clean space, and the staff is also good—overall, there’s nothing to complain about.

However, in my opinion, the shop should focus on a few types of tea or coffee and push them to become their best-selling drinks. Because looking at such a big menu, I didn’t know what to order, so I just chose randomly. I think this cafe should strengthen its brand identity and create a personal branding style.

Anyway, if you happen to wander around the area near Khuong Viet Street in the Soc Son urban area, I recommend you stop by "Bình Lâm" to experience a 5-star feeling even if it’s just a tea/coffee shop.