Are you looking for a unique hot chocolate experience in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, offering authentic Vietnamese coffee culture and egg cream delights? If so, I may just have the place for you!
Tranquil 1992
At the weekend, I made the journey into the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham to check out @tranquil_1992 Birmingham’s first authentic Vietnamese coffee house.
It’s located right opposite the Jewellery Quarter train station on Vyse Street – look out for the boards outside the building and the red sign on the wall. It’s up a few steps and entered via the door immediately on your right.
A Cozy Ambiance Inside the Jewellery Quarter’s Hidden Gem
The interior is quite small and intimate but surprisingly busy when we were there. We arrived around mid-morning on Saturday and luckily, we were able to get a table.
In addition to the drinks, there was also a small selection of pastries available at the counter.
Although the coffee drinks looked very good and the guys running the place clearly took a lot of effort to produce them, I was there for the hot chocolate.
Exploring the Menu: From Signature Coffees to a Unique Hot Chocolate
Despite a really large array of coffee drinks, which kept my companions busy for a good few minutes deciding what to choose, there was only one hot chocolate option on the menu.
However, I had seen a post on Instagram about a Vietnamese egg cream hot chocolate and was keen to try that, so I asked the question and was happy when it met with a positive response.
Whether it was a testament to the care they took in making the drink or the Saturday morning rush of coffee drinkers, the drinks were a little slow in coming but as we weren’t in any hurry, it wasn’t a concern.
Even as a non-coffee drinker, the coffee looked very good and, according to my companions, both the salted coffee and egg coffee were delicious.
The reviews on Google are also universally great, so if you’re after Vietnamese coffee in Birmingham, this is the place to be!
A Taste of Authenticity: Vietnamese Egg Cream Hot Chocolate
When it came out the creamy topping of my hot chocolate was truly rich and decadent and certainly something I’d like to try again.
Both the topping for the egg coffee and my hot chocolate are made from whipped egg yolk with condensed milk, to form a sweet, thick and creamy almost custard-like froth.
The guy who served me said it would be somewhere between a drink and a dessert. Whilst it wasn’t quite that, it certainly added a new dimension to the hot chocolate experience.
Considering the emphasis is clearly on the coffee, it probably isn’t too surprising that the Cadbury’s based chocolate element of the drink wasn’t as good as the creamy topping.
I’d really like to see the same dedication to using great Vietnamese chocolate as they clearly demonstrate with their Vietnamese coffee but I’m almost certainly asking for too much – it is a specialist coffee shop after all.
Again, I feel as though I’ve possibly fallen into the “non-coffee drinks for kids” option.
The rich Marou Chocolate cocoa powder I picked up whilst sampling the best hot chocolate’s in Tokyo recently would beautifully complement the creamy egg topping whilst also remaining authentically Vietnamese.
Failing that, some good-quality (and preferably dark) drinking chocolate or cocoa would be great.
I’m sure I’ll return in the future as my companions on the day really enjoyed the coffee. I’ll just have to hope that the Cadbury’s might have made way for something a little nicer and authentically Vietnamese.
Address
Tranquill 1992
87 Vyse Street
Jewellery Quarter
Birmingham
B18 6JZ
