Cafés no longer just about coffee

In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi cafés are springing up like mushrooms after a rain. Forced to think of ways to stand out among the clutter and attract customers, They offer not only special music and exotic drinks but also some unusual services.
Live music, movies, and books remain very popular offerings. But do you know some cafes offer sports, sell clothes, fix your computer, help you find a location for your restaurant, and have cats to play with?
In HCMC, you can practice your golf swing at Café Screen Golf on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street. A 3D screen shows more than 30 Korean golf courses, evoking the feeling of playing on a real course.
This is the first café to offer this in Vietnam, and targets professionals and women. For those who love this sport but work in this giant city and have little leisure time, this café is a perfect spot.
It has three rooms, one of them open to everyone and the other two costing VND200,000-400,000 (US$10-20) an hour and requiring reservations to be made at least an hour in advance. Food and beverages start at VND18,000 (US$ 80 cents).
If sports are not your thing, you can relax at the L’usine on Dong Khoi Street in the downtown area. The café is popular for its French-style bistro combined with a fashion boutique and art gallery.
If you are waiting here for your friends on a rainy day, you can look at paintings by contemporary artists or shop for designer clothes from London and Paris or New York and Tokyo.
L’usine serves fresh sandwiches and home-style cakes. It also offers freshly roasted coffee and a selection of imported Mariage Freres teas to help you keep up with the city’s frenetic buzz.
While L’usine has become a favorite among women, men, especially with a penchant for high-tech stuff, prefer iLounge café on Pham Ngoc Thach Street.
Also located near the city center, it is a pleasant venue to meet friends and business acquaintances. Its simple, youthful decor evokes serenity and is an oasis of calm amid the city’s cacophony.
iLounge also has some unusual offerings like chocolate iLoungue and Hawaii coconut juice starting at VND16,000 (US$ 80 cents).
It is a favorite haunt of computer geeks, especially fans of Apple products like iPad, iPhone, and Macbook.
The café itself services Apple products. So one can sit down, surf the net on Wi-Fi, and enjoy a tea at a 10 percent discount while waiting for the iPhone to be fixed.
There is a corner for people looking to learn about technology and get hands-on experience on Apple products. There is also a brisk trade in electronic devices at reasonable prices here.
If you plan to open a shop and are looking for a location, Iceland coffee on Hanoi’s Dong Da Street is the place to go to.
Classified ads of restaurants for sale are posted on a board here. A part of the Com Viet Nam (Vietnamese rice) restaurant chain, Iceland coffee also has professionals in buying and selling restaurants, who offer consultancy in all aspects like choosing a location and completing legal documents to restaurant renovation.
A board with classified ads of restaurants for sale in Iceland Coffee
The café has a business-like atmosphere but also an impressive decor in cream, light pink, and dark brown. Situated opposite Thong Nhat Park, it offers an unhindered view of the Dao Duy Anh-Le Duan- Dai Co Viet- Giai Phong junction.
It is also a perfect place to watch fireworks during national holidays.
Also in Hanoi, Ailu café is popular among young people, especially those who love pets. Teenagers drop by not only for a cup of coffee but also to play with the cats here. The café is designed in Japanese style, with low tables and cushions on a wooden floor instead of chairs and has paintings of cats hung on the walls.
The cats here are usually homeless, brought by friends of the owner. You can go to the café and adopt one if you like. If you already have a cat, you can bring it to the café.
Ailu is the first pet café in Vietnam and what is amazing is that its owner is a 20-year-old Hanoian woman who initially opened the café as a place for cat lovers.
Clearly, going to a café just to drink coffee or chat with friends has become passé. What do you look for in a cafe?