Where organic veggies steal the show
Plant your own herbs at Da Lat;s An Cafe then keep up with their growth on Facebook
Da Lat in winter tends to be too cool for Asians used to warmer climes but it’s ideal for foreign tourists escaping freezing temperatures back home.
Chilled after wandering about town one day, I visited a cafe to warm up.
Nestled on a charming corner at Da Lat’s Ba Thang Hai and Thu Khoa Huan streets, and surrounded by old sakura trees, An Cafe has a poetic view.
It offers a feeling of peaceful nature as well as an interesting decor with a warm, wooden interior.
The soundtrack is sometimes a piano, at others birds singing in the breeze.
You can choose to sit in any corner of the cafe: in the swinging chair outside in the warm morning sunshine or in green shadows full of plants.
I had barely settled when a big bowl of traditional aromatic Vietnamese soup with macaroni and pork was placed on my table. Feeling hungry and cold, |I dug in, thoroughly enjoying the flavours.
The soup with pieces of small pork ribs and a subtle fragrance of spices melted quickly in my mouth.
The cold weather makes any food far more delicious when our body needs energy.
However, the dish did not supply enough calories so I ordered toasted bread with garlic, which was crispy with a buttery flavour.
The plants on the table were not only for looks, but also for use at the table. I took some leaves of rosemary and added it to |my dish.
But what make the cafe unique is not the food but the organic vegetables and home-grown herbs scattered around the space.
Customers are invited to grow their own plants and keep them on a shelf. Your name will be put on the plant and an image of it posted on Facebook so that you can follow its growth.
“Here you can find pure and cold pressed juices good for your health and beauty. The juices contain no added sugar, ice or water,” says Vo Hoang Quang, 31, the owner of An Cafe.
“All foods are made from fresh organic ingredients and local favourites. We use no monosodium glutamate and cook with little salt,” she adds.
The meals are made with fresh farm produce, with a minimum of processed ingredients. They use the finest tropical vegetables, fruits and herbs that they grow themselves or obtain locally.
Fellow diner Frederic Durand was enthusiastic about the restaurant.
“An Cafe is a gorgeous place. It has a good concept and that the place is wonderful with the wood and plants. The people who work here are young and friendly and the espresso and creme brul้e are very good. I’ll definitely be back to sample other dishes.”
Find it
An Cafe is at 65 Ba Thang Hai Street in Da Lat. Call 097 573 5521.
