The Sharks Made Me Do It! M2C Cafe in Saigon.

Ok… Rant time. The internet cable between Vietnam and the rest of the world is severed once again! I say again because this is the fourth time since we arrived back here in April 2014. Apparently the cables give off magnetic fields, and voracious sharks have been mistaking them for thrashing fish. One bite and they take out a whole country’s communications. Super! Difficult to believe I know, but the newspapers said so. Therefore, it must be true. Right?!

Each time the outage has lasted at least a week, and this time it will be at least 3. It’s not exactly convenient when you are trying to write for two blogs and research and write a new book. Still it appears that not all locations around town are as slow as our apartment. Most of the many excellent cafes have superb free WiFi and are perfect for those who just can’t live without the internet. Admittedly it is slower than usual at the moment but at least you can do the basics.

So…rather than wallow in angst I took it as a good opportunity to personally validate some of the excellent cafes around town that have been nominated by fellow bloggers like James from Nomadic Notes.

First cab off the rank was M2C. These guys have two locations (details below), but I chose the one directly across the road from the War Remnants Museum on Le Quy Don. No real reason except it makes a perfect pit stop on my Day 1 walking itinerary. I had a couple of people to meet to arrange tour reviews and the central location was perfect.

In short I was mightily impressed. The seating is a combination of comfortable lounge chairs with coffee tables and sturdy long tables, just perfect for setting up your laptop without walking out a cripple. A double bonus was the multitude of power points dotted around the seating area. No need to fight each out for charging facilities nor trip up wait staff and customers with your leads. There’s a large upstairs area, perfect for larger groups.

The décor is modern and clean and the menu quite extensive, providing a choice of Vietnamese and western dishes. Prices are very reasonable. There wasn’t much over 100 000 VND. In fact, they have a page full of lunch combos that include a drink for 55-65 000 VND. I had the Mi Xao Hai San ( stir fried noodles with seafood) and an iced lemon,  two coffees plus an extra drink, and it only set me back 200 000 VND.

Wifi – fast, especially considering the current problems we are experiencing. Coffee – yum. Music – chilled and not overly loud. Staff – efficient but unobtrusive. Décor – modern, airy, light and tasteful. Prices – very reasonable. People hanging around on their computers must be common and quite acceptable as no-one seemed the slight bit interested in moving me on or hassling me to order more.

Overall, it’s a big thumbs up for this very cool café in Saigon. It’s in a prime location to take a rest while you’re walking around Ho Chi Minh City or need somewhere pleasant to get online during your visit here. And…best of all, it won’t bust the budget.

[mapsmarker marker=”9″]

 

Details

M2C Cafe 

Location 1. 4B Le Qui Don – District 3 (The one I visited) Directly across from the War Remnants Museum.

Location 2. 44B Ly Tu Trong St, District 1

Note: I do not receive any payment for this post (or any others on the site for that matter!). I do receive a small amount of money by allowing advertisements on the site and any purchases made through those links.