Saturday coffee for Saigon intellectual set

Patrons enjoy some intellectual conversation at Ca phe thu Bay coffee shop - Photo: Tuong Vi

Where do you go on Saturdays? Some spend time with family, while others share their weekends with friends or see movies. But if you want to talk about what’s going in the world, or just in your head, you are welcome to join the other intellectuals for a deep and meaningful’ at Ca phe thu Bay (Saturday Coffee). The cafe was designed to meet the demands of intellectuals who want a space to talk about music, literature, books, architecture, arts, cinema or theater.

Located at 37 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, HCMC’s District 1, Ca phe thu Bay has become a weekend regular meeting place. The café was given its name because every Saturday morning, it hosts programs on different aspects of the arts. Every Sunday at 8.30 p.m., the coffee shop screens a couple of good Vietnamese or foreign movies. Late evenings on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, are for chamber music featuring pieces by Bach and Mozart etc.  

The manager of Ca phe thu Bay is a famous musician, Duong Thu, who is known for Vietnamese love songs. “I choose the music for Ca phe thu Bay,” he said. The selection  is mostly easy-listening. There is also a library containing over 200 book titles covering subjects such as philosophy, fiction, research, literature, arts, cinema, music, science and architecture. The library has a collection of 4,000 compact discs of Vietnamese classic films.

Thu said, Hanoi has Lam coffee shop for artists, while HCMC has internet cafés, book cafés at Phuong Nam bookstores, and Ca phe thu Bay. It’s a celebration of the Saigonese art of conversation. The shop is decorated in Vietnamese style with wooden furniture and a lotus pond at the entrance.

Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of Trung Nguyen Corporation, which cooperates with the café, said he was considering setting up more such spaces in town.

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