Ho Chi Minh City’s dessert cafés have entered a new phase. “Sugar Daddy Eatery” serving Japanese-style souffle pancakes, “Afrocado” with avocado-based keto gelato, “La Creme” making use of Vietnamese ingredients with Danish technique, and “Rawberry” with 100% plant-based raw sweets. Here we’ve organized the noteworthy shops carefully selected by whatsnewasia for Japanese travelers.
Reading the dessert café scene through four currents
Ho Chi Minh City’s dessert cafés are no longer mere sweets shops. Four currents intersect—health consciousness, the adoption of overseas techniques, plant-based, and the rediscovery of local ingredients—and previously unseen types of shops are being born one after another.
Current 1: health-oriented gelato
Afrocado touts “guilt-free gelato” and rolls out avocado-based keto-friendly flavors. Finished with French artisan technique, it also prepares several vegan-friendly flavors. Its shop in the Da Kao area (District 1) has many repeat customers, centered on health-conscious expats.
Current 2: an influx of overseas patissier techniques
Sugar Daddy Eatery draws popularity with a combination of Japanese-style souffle pancakes and gelato. It offers truffle-mushroom flavor and bacon flavor, and even nuoc mam (fish sauce) flavored gelato, pushing the boundary of “sweet × salty.”
La Creme, based on Danish gelato technique, converts Vietnam’s food culture straight into flavors, such as Saigon pho flavor and egg coffee flavor.
Current 3: the full-scale arrival of plant-based
Rawberry is a raw-sweets specialty shop that’s 100% plant-derived and gluten-free. Based in Thao Dien, District 2, its representative menu items are salted-caramel chocolate cake and triple-chocolate mini cake. It sticks to a route that uses no animal ingredients at all and compromises on neither looks nor taste.
A comparison table of noteworthy dessert cafés
| Shop name | Area | Concept | Signature menu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afrocado | Da Kao, Quan 1 | Keto-friendly gelato | Various avocado gelatos |
| Sugar Daddy Eatery | Cau Kho, Quan 1 | Japanese-style souffle pancakes × gelato | Truffle gelato, nuoc mam flavor |
| La Creme | Pho Duc Chinh, Quan 1 | Danish technique × Vietnamese ingredients | Saigon pho flavor, egg coffee flavor |
| Rawberry | Thao Dien, Quan 2 | 100% plant-based raw sweets | Salted-caramel chocolate |
| Robin Mouquet | Le Duan, Quan 1 | French sweets by Vietnam’s best patissier | Mille-feuille, pistachio croissant |
| BINGO Artisanal | Bui Vien, Quan 1 | Handmade binh × tofu pudding | Mango and purple-rice binh |
| Hoo Gelato | Huynh Thuc Khang, Quan 1 | Low-sugar gelato | Pistachio, sea-salt caramel |
| Scoopy Ice Cream | Nguyen Trai, Quan 1 | Alcohol-infused gelato | Whiskey almond, sherry lady |
Local voices
The evolution of dessert cafés has also become a big talking point on social media.
Reactions from residents and travelers
About La Creme’s Saigon pho flavored gelato, there are many posts on TripAdvisor along the lines of “the taste of pho turned straight into ice cream. It even reproduces the flavor of cilantro—I was shocked” (paraphrased).
As for Sugar Daddy Eatery’s nuoc mam gelato, “At first I recoiled, but once I ate it, it’s close to salted caramel. The sweet-salty is addictive” (paraphrased)—people who take on the challenge and end up hooked keep appearing.
About Rawberry, voices stand out like “I heard it was plant-derived and had low expectations, but the texture is no different from ordinary cake. If anything, the light aftertaste is to my liking” (paraphrased).
The food industry’s perspective
Ho Chi Minh City’s Pier Dessertcreated a buzz with the rarity of “reservation-only × limited to 10 people,” whereas the group of shops introduced this time is taking root as “dessert cafés for everyday use.” Afrocado and Hoo Gelato in particular have been worked into expats’ routines as a light dessert after lunch.
A guide for Japanese travelers
Café-hopping among Ho Chi Minh City’s dessert cafés has the advantage of being easy to slot in between meals. Since they’re concentrated in the District 1 area, if you go La Creme → Afrocado → Sugar Daddy Eatery after lunch, three shops take about two hours.
A price comparison with Japan
| Menu | Ho Chi Minh City price | Reference price in Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Gelato (double) | 65,000 – 85,000 VND（約390 – 510円） | 500 – 800 yen |
| Souffle pancake | 89,000 – 120,000 VND（約530 – 720円） | 1,200 – 1,800 yen |
| Plant-based cake | 75,000 – 95,000 VND（約450 – 570円） | 800 – 1,200 yen |
Compared with Japan, it’s 30–50% cheaper. Souffle pancakes in particular are near half the price of famous Japanese shops, with quality that’s no less.
Da Nang’s third-wave coffeeCombining it, it’s also fun to build a café-and-dessert route across south-central Vietnam.
Ripple effects on the industry
Ho Chi Minh City’s dessert café market is branching in three directions.
- The gastronomy route of “high price × reservation-only” (like Pier Dessert)
- The healthy route of “everyday use × health-oriented” (Afrocado, Rawberry)
- The viral route of “social-media-photogenic × surprising flavors” (La Creme, Sugar Daddy)
This branching closely resembles Tokyo’s sweets market. Cases of Japanese patissiers expanding into Vietnam are also increasing, and Robin Mouquet’s success—as shown by the recognition of “Vietnam’s best patissier” (selected by Tatler 2025)—means that a soil has formed in which skilled foreign patissiers are highly valued in Vietnam.
Urban Brews RMIT branchWhile university-campus cafés like this capture the student market with “coffee + light meals,” dessert-focused venues bring in a somewhat older age group (mid-20s to 40s) and expats.
Practical information table
| Shop name | Address | Hours | Price range | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrocado | 31 Dinh Tien Hoang, Da Kao, Quan 1 | 10:00 – 22:00 | 55,000 – 85,000 VND | 5 minutes by Grab from Ben Thanh Market |
| Sugar Daddy Eatery | 345/29 Tran Hung Dao, Cau Kho, Quan 1 | 10:00 – 22:00 | 65,000 – 120,000 VND | 8 minutes on foot from Bui Vien Street |
| La Creme | 84 Pho Duc Chinh, Quan 1 | 10:00 – 22:00 | 55,000 – 80,000 VND | 10 minutes on foot from Ben Thanh Market |
| Rawberry | 52 Do Quang, Thao Dien, Quan 2 | 9:00 – 21:00 | 75,000 – 120,000 VND | Central Thao Dien, 15 minutes by Grab |
| Robin Mouquet | 17 Le Duan, Quan 1 | 8:00 – 20:00 | 80,000 – 150,000 VND | 5 minutes on foot from the Independence Palace |
| BINGO Artisanal | 189Bis Bui Vien, Quan 1 | 11:00 – 23:00 | 45,000 – 75,000 VND | Along Bui Vien Street |
| Hoo Gelato | 47 Huynh Thuc Khang, Quan 1 | 10:00 – 22:00 | 50,000 – 75,000 VND | 8 minutes on foot from Ben Thanh Market |
| Scoopy Ice Cream | 7/12 Nguyen Trai, Quan 1 | 12:00 – 22:00 | 55,000 – 80,000 VND | 7 minutes on foot from Ben Thanh Market |
Summary
Ho Chi Minh City’s dessert cafés have ended the era of merely “cheap and sweet” and entered a new stage where health orientation, plant-based, and overseas patissier techniques blend together. For Japanese travelers, it’s a chance to experience quality equal to or better than Tokyo’s sweets shops at near half the price. On your next trip to Ho Chi Minh City, work not just meals but dessert time into your plans.
