Do Phu Coffee has a secret cellar in District 1

A cafe – restaurant is also a historical relic, associated with the secret operations of the Saigon Rangers. That alone is enough to make many tourists curious and want to find that interesting address. That is Do Phu coffee shop – Dai Han broken rice.

Why is it called Do Phu coffee – Dai Han broken rice?

Located at 113A Dang Dung, District 1, Do Phu coffee shop – Dai Han broken rice makes the first impression by the ancient appearance of a charming wooden house, with a blue and red flag with a star. five-pointed gold is fluttering – the flag of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam.

In front of the restaurant in the left corner, there is a sign of the restaurant’s name in the old handwriting style. In front of the door, there is a bronze sign with the words “Historical relic The secret mailbox and floating cellar of the Saigon Rangers”.

This wooden house from the 1940s was originally a place to sell coffee and broken rice of Mr. Do Mien and his wife – Mrs. Nguyen Thi Su. The shop is called “Do Phu”, which means the palace (house) of the Do family.

Not only ordinary workers come to eat, but the restaurant also has guests who are Korean soldiers – Korean soldiers who went to the war in Vietnam. In the past, they lived in the Dai Han Building opposite the shop, so it was convenient to visit here.

However, no one expected that this simple restaurant before 1975 was actually one of the secret operations of the Saigon Rangers, under the management of Mr. Nam Lai, Hero of the People’s Armed Forces.

The house was used by the revolutionary side as a shelter, communication, meeting, delivery and receipt of letters, secret documents, hiding officials …

Interestingly, during the war, the Do Phu restaurant was located right next to the house of Ngo Quang Truong, a lieutenant general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The activities of the shop owner and the Saigon Rangers therefore have to be more careful and clever than ever.

Today, coming to Do Phu coffee shop – Dai Han broken rice, which some people still call “Coffee Rangers” for short, visitors will immediately see the vestiges of a time of secret revolutionary activities active in the middle of the city. the inner city of Saigon.

The wall between houses 113A Dang Dung and 113B Dang Dung is a floating cellar, hiding documents, medicine, money, gold … contained in guigoz cans, American ammunition boxes.

Or like the wooden wardrobe upstairs of the shop. This is actually a camouflaged place, hiding a secret cellar, just enough for one person to get in. When “there is a change”, people get into the closet, open the hatch cover to escape to the street behind the house.

Stories like these have attracted many visitors to learn and listen to this unique address in Saigon.

Do Phu Coffee has a nostalgic atmosphere and Korean broken rice

Do Phu Coffee – Dai Han broken rice has both ground floor and first floor with nostalgic space, like taking visitors back in time, back to the past.

“The house, and the color of the wood here makes me feel something very old. Then I also learned that there used to be people in the revolutionary forces operating in secret, so I felt more and more like… more mysterious”, Mr. Viet Hai (a guest living in District 4) shared.

The owner of Do Phu – Dai Han broken rice is Mr. Tran Vu Binh – son of Mr. Tran Van Lai. He is the person who has contributed to preserving and embellishing the old house, maintaining business activities, serving tourism …

Mr. Binh also devoted himself to collecting many ancient artifacts to save a time. Many visitors to the shop are very interested in taking pictures with the old Saigon artifacts displayed here.

Coming to Do Phu restaurant, diners cannot ignore the dish “Korean broken rice”. A full plate of rice includes grilled ribs, pork belly, omelet, egg rolls, onion fat.

Served with broken rice is chili garlic fish sauce mixed with candy, with a typical Southern-style sweet taste, and especially a small plate of morning glory squeezed through with kimchi. The main dish of kimchi is to serve the taste of Korean soldiers in the past, creating a unique feature for “Korean broken rice”.

“The ribs are well marinated, but a bit dry. The skin is fragrant. The omelette is well fried, still retains the peach. The egg rolls are just eaten. I also like the sweet and sour water spinach, the kimchi is a bit sweet. salty, spicy, eat less,” Trang Minh (dinner living in Phu Nhuan district) said.

In addition to Korean broken rice, Do Phu coffee shop also has Saigon-style beverages such as milk coffee, French butter coffee, hot cakes with silver custard, pineapple milk ginseng, shaved ice syrup…

The first floor of Do Phu coffee shop – Dai Han broken rice has an open balcony, facing the street to catch the wind, and adorned with green flowers and leaves is also a plus point here. The shop is put on tour by travel companies to explore Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists.