Vietnamese men are usually hush-hush about it around their wives.
The non-Vietnamese curious are slowly catching onto the drift.
And the girls?
They look like your next door neighbor--albeit very attractive--but once they get to work, it's all miniskirts and lingerie with them.
No, we are not talking about strip joints or go-go dancers. This, in all its lack of conservative Vietnamese culture, is the booming coffee shop business.
With its roots in Little Saigon, Vietnamese coffee shops have spread to other areas like Fountain Valley and the densely Vietnamese-populated San Jose. The formula is simple: take a traditional cafe and spruce it up with multiple plasma TV screens, keeno booths and several scantily-clad baristas strolling around serving unlimited free iced tea.
Curiously, most if not all coffee shops allow indoor smoking, which makes you wonder about the "no smoking" sign often displayed out front. The exception is probably to facilitate the deep-seated smoking habits of Vietnamese men. In other words, no smoking means less business.
Drinks usually include ca phe sua da--Vietnamese iced coffee made with sweet condensed milk and chicory--juice, tea and fancy smoothies. No alcohol is served, which probably reflects Vietnamese men's fondness for enjoying a glass of ca phe sua da with a smoke. Drinks start from $4.
Along with a loyal Vietnamese following, coffee shops are enjoying the steady increase of non-Vietnamese patrons, partly due to a similar rise in non-Vietnamese baristas. The girls usually walk in stilettos throughout their shifts, but the tips and atmosphere keep some girls serving drinks for years.
Profit from coffee shops is debatable, but the popularity of sexy women serving coffee and tea has proven to be a winning formula. Even Fox News was in on the buzz, as you can see here.
Obviously, some categorize the job of a coffee shop barista as seedy. It is not the most honorable job out there, but it is a job, and to some women, it is what pays the bills.
Photo credit: Leonard Ortiz, The Orange County Register
