Week 19: Finding a Hidden Cafe/Bar is #BetterByBicycle

If you know me, then you'd know that I love cafes. I'm not exactly a coffee connoisseur or coffee lover for that matter. At most, on busy days, I'd have two cups a day. That's about it. And I have to take it with sugar and creamer, I can't really take the bitterness of a pure espresso shot. It's just that cafes have a certain alluring and comforting vibe for me. Given that a café is treated as a social lubricant in most cultures, I think my fondness of cafes was influenced by some of the pop culture media that I consumed during my younger years- Friends, Sex And The City, You've Got Mail (my favorite American romcom) among others. When I graduated college, I started to hang out in a lot of café in Metro Manila, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. In many times, coffee shops served as a refuge to my tired soul. Much like how some of Haruki Murakami's characters used cafes as a quiet space to introspect. There I drowned my sorrows with coffee, tea and other non-alcoholic beverages. I have such fondness of cafes that I even dreamed of having my own someday, I wanted a library themed café. But I know nothing about running a business nor making good coffee so I parked that dream for now. 

Now imagine my delight when I visited many cafes in Viet Nam during my frequent trips there in the past few months. I was blown away by the level of work the Vietnamese business owners poured to provide extraordinary experience to café goers, from the drinks and food to the interior of the coffee shop, it was unreal, to say the least. There were so many of them too, and each one offered a different and unique experience. Perhaps I'll talk about the favorite ones I've been to with my bike someday,  but right now, I want to talk about one special café that is close to my heart. 

The Hidden Bar Station is both a café and a bar, serving coffee, breakfast and cocktails in an unassuming location. As the name suggests,  it's hidden and tucked away in the charming streets of Hội An, about 3.6 km from the Old Town. With Google Maps and my trifold bike, it was an easy peasy process to get there. 

What struck me when I first came here was that it's actually a  compact living space turned into a vintage style café.  But this cozy little café has a warm, inviting and homey vibe. The seating area may be small but it’s thoughtfully arranged giving an artsy atmosphere. With its  vintage television set on a shelf, surrounded by books and plants, thought-provoking posters and art prints adorning the walls, and soothing music – the whole place made me feel nostalgic, it felt like a home away from home. The owner designed and runs the place, and she makes really good coffee and cocktails too. Overall, the space feels intimate, relaxed, and perfect for casual conversation or a quiet break. 

Give me coffee to change the things I can...

...and cocktails to accept the things I cannot 😅

I hang out quite a few times in this café during my stay in Hội An, sometimes with friends, one time alone, and during those times, I did feel like a character from a 90's dramedy film or a protagonist from one of Murakami's novels 😁. If you ever visit Hội An,  whether you are traveling alone or with friends, I'd say, put this in one of your stops. The good news is, hotels and homestays in Hội An offer bike rentals, and mark my word when I say, it's better to get there on a bicycle.