Four entries
The alley, the listening room, the egg-coffee ritual and the amber light — written from the leather seat.
The 230/8 alley
The round white ẤP badge on the grey facade, red star flags strung over the dark doorway, vines trailing down. Past the rusted accordion gate: a glass-fronted wooden cabinet of colorful vinyl sleeves on weathered brick, under a striped canvas awning — a mini museum right on the alley front.
The listening room
Dark wood-panelled walls, face-out vinyl shelves, the reel-to-reel's two brown reels on the mahogany console, cane-grille "1200" speakers. Dark-brown leather sofas under the arc floor lamp's cream shade — through the arched passage, a brighter nook with wooden venetian blinds.
The egg-coffee ritual
Iced egg coffee with thick cocoa-dusted egg cream, in a ribbed glass on a striped woven coaster. The hot cup nested in a white ceramic bowl — hot drinks first, ice on the side, every order with a complimentary Đà Lạt-style tea pot.
The amber light
When night falls, the café belongs to the lamps: twin brass sconces with fluted cream-glass shades, the rattan-shade table lamp on its green ceramic base, the arc floor lamp. Cream walls, sepia portraits, record sleeves — everything glows amber.