HO CHI MINH CITY Hundreds of old items including fans, music players, lights over 50 years old are still active, used to decorate cafes in District 3.
Located on the floor of a 4-storey house on Ly Chinh Thang Street (District 3), Cafe Xua Car shop makes many visitors surprised. The reason is that the bar space is not related to cars, but has several hundred antiques decorated throughout the room. These are all memorabilia left by the shopkeeper ‘s father and collected by the owner.
The owner Nguyen Quoc Dung (1979) said that he also likes to collect old things, especially those that work and are applicable.
When asked about the item he found most interesting, Dung showed off a mini sewing machine manufactured from the 1940s to 1960s, now able to sew details on small pieces of fabric.
Many items in the restaurant are still running well, mainly fans, lights, clocks, music players. However, the things that run these electric motors are old ones using 110V power supply, so the owner must design their own transformer current.
The owner has spent several hundred million to collect this sound system, can play music for customers at the restaurant to listen. Phonographs prevailed over the period, including crank phonographs produced in the 1930s, AKAI mortar tapes have been present in Vietnam since the 1950s …
In addition to the gramophone, the shopkeeper also likes collecting watches. Among more than 10 old pendulum watches hanging in the shop, this ODO brand was “liked” the most by Mr. Dung because he kept his receipt when he first bought it. This was bought by his father at the shop at 69 on Charner Boulevard, now Nguyen Hue Street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City).
When it comes to antique wall clocks, most collectors own one to a few ODO brands, because this type was quite popular in our country in the last century. The wall clock was introduced to Vietnam in the footsteps of missionaries, often used in churches, cathedrals, offices, and mansions of the West.
“Before, my father’s antiques were displayed in a separate room by my father. Later on my father passed away, I used them to decorate the coffee shop, unexpectedly loved by many customers,” the owner shared.
Mementos of Mr. Dung’s father are mainly pottery, bronze, and wood products that are several hundred years old or older. Hundreds of dishes are arranged alternately in the restaurant.
The painted bronze metal plate used to be a rice tray of a noble family. The tray was given to Mr. Dung by a famous artist who used to come and love the restaurant.
The bronze tray is a souvenir of high value for collecting, said a guest who likes to learn about antiques. The tray represents the culinary activities of Vietnamese people, the dishes are served on the tray for the whole family, different from the Western way of eating. A part of the tray also reflects the social class of that family, the more sophisticated the decorative motifs, the richer and more noble.
The space of the restaurant has a nostalgic color not only because of the old items, but also because the furniture, such as tables, chairs, brick background, door frames, brick walls are designed in harmony by the owner. The shop allows customers to take pictures and touch antiques.
The restaurant can accommodate 80-100 guests, most of them in air-conditioned rooms, and there are also seats on the balcony. The menu of drinks with a variety of dishes such as coffee, fruit tea, juice, smoothie, ice blended … costs 30,000 – 60,000 VND. Guests can come to enjoy the show from 6:30 to 18:00.
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