Partea

My plan to get to Partea was quite an adventure. The journey would have been by bus and on foot, it would be a great afternoon with sufficient exercise before indulging myself in the alluring bitterness of tea. And yes, would have been! Sadly my plan A did not work, because it was pouring. So I pressed ahead with plan B, took my moped, got ready and go.

Partea is placed on the 4th floor of an old apartment, which located in the downtown of Saigon. This place can easily be found, since it is next to Nguyen Hue bookstore, and there is also a cute sign hanging right in front of the building. 

You can either take the stairs or the elavator. When I arrived, I was late for my appointment so I used the lift, however, when we left Partea, the stairs were more enjoyable, and to my surprise, there are several other coffee shops, say, about 2 on each floor.

Once I stepped inside Partea, it was no exaggeration to say that it's like stepping into another world. The theme color is white. 

Inside Partea

Cute Factor

Cute Factor

Cute Factor

Cute Factor

Cute Factor

Cute Factor

And everything is displayed in pleasant manners. I got to sit by the window, the view was lovely. The Bitexco building is just across the street, and the treebranches kept dangling alongside with the sound of the wind. Sometimes, I could spot somebody moving back and forth on the rooftop of some houses and it looked creepy, lol.

Bitexco

Speaking of ordering, it's an interesting story. There is a wide range of available choices for tea, pick the one you like, then pick the cup from which you want to savouring your tea. Final step, choose the dessert.

Choose your cup.

Tea

Tea

Sweet Indulgence

I served myself with the Wild Forest and a set of English biscuits. Honestly, I was quite disappointed with the taste, it doesn't carry any distintive flavor, yet the accessories were adorable: the udder shaped mild mug, teapot shaped tea infuser, and I was so in love with the sand tea timer to make sure you brew your tea properly. The biscuit was kinda dry, but the jam was nice.

My Wild Forest Tea

The udder shaped mild mug

Time passed by gently while I got lost in the beautiful melodies of the symphony. It doesn't feel awkward to sit there in silence although I was accompanied by a friend. We both felt comfortable to enjoy those quiet moments.

I would definitely come back for another pick of tea ;)

Tea Price: 70.000/ one person, 90.000/ two people.

Some items are on sale, you can contact the shop assistant for more information.

Partea Facebook

The FIG - Coffee and Lounge

It has been on my list for more than one year, and today I finally managed to put a tick next to it. Yes, I went to The Fig – coffee and lounge this afternoon. And it felt incredible to be there, especially when I was accompanied by great friends.

It was funny at first cause we got lost although I did google map it, and to be honest, I was quite embarassed to struggle to get the right way, anyway, as long as we arrived, it was fine :D

Just as I stepped into the place, the sight evoked a feeling of warmth and peace. There was a statue of buddha right in the middle of the front yard, and I forgot to take a picture of that. Some clouds of steam coming out from somewhere and it smelled very relaxing.

The statue of buddha viewed from the inside.

The atmosphere inside was cozy. Every little thing goes along well with each other, different variations of buddha miniatures were neatly displayed on the shelves or beautifully painted on the wall.

The menu covers almost the whole set. It offers main course, side dish, desserts, drinks, ice cream, and other stuff.

first page of menu

As usual, I'm always excited to discover the tea choices, and guess what I got, 'Organic Orange tea and dill leaves'. The taste was just so refreshing and pleasant, and it kinda carried a flavor of Indian food, as one of my friends remarked.

organic orange tea and dill leaves

  

inside the teapot

We did have a good time savouring the food and planning for our long weekend holliday. The music was absolutely perfect, the playlist was smart, it was a combination of buddhist melodies with some other enjoyable genres.

tiramisu cake

Fried wanton

summer cake

Highly recommended for friends get-together. Beautiful place, great food and drink, nice music, what else should we ask for? Let's call your buddies and drive there.

Me and mah sister :)

Address: 15 Nguyen Thi Huynh, Phu Nhuan district, HCMC

Map

15 Facts about Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

I’ve spent my whole life here in this very city. I can’t say I love everything about my city, but so far I enjoy living in this dynamic place. Below is what I will never forget about HCMC if I ever have to leave.

1. Although Ho Chi Minh City, originally named as Saigon, is not the capital of Vietnam, it is the economic centre of the country. Gradually there are more and more people migrating to HCMC in search of better jobs.

 2. You can find “Cơm Tấm” and “Bánh Mì” food stalls at almost every corner of the city. Even in a small alley, there is at least one. Saigonites can have these two kinds of food any time during the day: breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.

 3. When there’s a traffic jam and you try to stay in line, people will shout at you. So just go with the flow ;)

4. When the traffic light turns amber, it means “Drive faster” instead of “Slow down”!

 5. Recently, thanks to the global spread of English, foreign language centers have mushroomed across the city. You can spot many on the street, especially on Ba Thang Hai where there are approximately 10 (or maybe more), however, when people think about the reliable place to hone their skills, VUS and ILA seem to be the top choices.

 6. Coffee is one of the most common drinks here.  Coffee shops can range from Street Style to Romantic and Modern ones; prices can be between 5,000 VND and 70,000 VND. These days coffee shops are not only destinations for friends to chill out, but also for businessmen to sign deals.

 7. De Tham, Pham Ngu Lao are also known as “Khu Pho Tay” (Western Town or Backpacker’s Area). Many foreigners coming to Vietnam stay and/or live in this part of Saigon. They have all kinds of leisure facilities here, such as bars, cafes, travel agencies etc.

 8. Districts 5, 10 and 11 are areas where the majority of the Chinese-Vietnamese live. These are also where you can buy goods in large quantity at wholesale prices.

 9. Being built in the 19^th century by French colonists, Saigon Notre Dame is an icon of HCMC. Besides serving for religious purpose, this church is also one of the tourist attractions in HCMC and among the favorite sights for couples to take their wedding photos.

10. “Banh Trang Tron” and “Banh Trang Nuong”, which are believed to originate from Phan Thiet, are two irresistible snacks for the students, and also for the officers, as well as teachers. ;)

 11. If you want to take a tour around HCMC, a new bus route numbered 35 is already launched to help you. This bus passes by the downtown area. Understandably, many bus takers complain that bus 35 is not suitable for daily commuters since it takes longer time to travel, compared with other buses.

 12. More and more restaurants with Ha Noi styles (i.e. sticky rice, Bun Cha Ha Noi, bun dau mam tom) have opened in HCMC since the number of immigrants from Ha Noi has increased dramatically.

 13. During Christmas and New Year, if you’re in the mood for some ‘photo shoot’, you can go downtown- from Le Duan St. to Le Loi St. These main streets are always well-decorated with flashy lights and festival symbols.

 14. KFC, Lotteria, Jollibee, Pizza are among the most common places for kids to celebrate their birthdays nowadays. It is likely that 7 out of 10 kids will choose “KFC/ Lotteria/ Jollibee/ Pizza” when they eat out.

 15. Compared with other cities in Vietnam, it is safe to say that services in Ho Chi Minh are sufficient and adequate.

What else can I say about Ho Chi Minh city? Well, I would say I’m proud to be born here, but I also want to explore the rest of Vietnam.