The room
The birdcage room
White walls, a black leather sofa, white tables and the tall wire birdcage light — with French and Vietnamese flags side by side on the mantel.
The name says it all: Mon Ami — my friend. The sign reads “Fine Tea and Coffee”, and it means it: tea and coffee given equal care, from hot Mon Ami tea to the French press on its wooden tray.
In the room, two cultures share one table: the French flag beside the Vietnamese one, an Eiffel print, a black leather sofa and the wire birdcage light — a French sitting room in Saigon, looking out over Lê Lai and the park trees.
And when evening comes, the café spills onto the pavement: string lights, white chairs, groups of four, six friends — just as the window says: coffee for the city that loves to drink it.
