Amidst the noisy pace of urban life, a Northern-style tea shop located in alley 58 on Nguyen Chi Thanh street is becoming a familiar stop for many young people.
The cafe space is designed in the spirit of the Northern village. Tiled roof, small gate, old tea table and quiet yard create a feeling of stepping into a corner of a rural village in the heart of the city.
The most memorable highlight at the restaurant is the wooden bed outside the yard, with a sedge mat on top, along with a set of fragrant teapots and a seasonal fruit tray. This image evokes the familiar bamboo bed at the village entrance in ancient rural culture.
The shop owner said that the design idea originated from positioning Vietnamese tea and agricultural products. The space tells a cultural story, creating a familiar feeling with the older generation, and at the same time helping young people better understand the old lifestyle through 5 artworks recreating the life and agriculture of the North.
Among the works displayed at the shop, the painting "Village Market" by Hang Trong painting artist Le Dinh Nghien is the highlight. With more than 60 years of experience, artist Le Dinh Nghien belongs to the third generation in a family with a tradition of painting Hang Trong folk paintings in Binh Vong village, Hanoi. The work "Village Market" recreates the familiar folk living space, evoking images of buyers and sellers bustling shopping and visiting each other.
Artisan Le Dinh Nghien shared: "Redrawing a large-sized painting takes a lot of time, not everyone can do it. All the details are done by my own hand with a brush and must be measured very carefully.
According to him, only the hands of the artisan are strong enough to "blow life" so that each character in the painting appears vividly with a unique aura and story.
In addition, artist Doan Thai Cuc Huong, representative of the contemporary creative generation, participated with two works "Lăng Bác" (Uncle Ho's Mausoleum) and "Đồi chè ban sớm" (Early Tea Hill). Both use traditional Do paper material but are expressed with new thinking, showing how heritage is continued and renewed in today's life.
Young author Le Dai Luong participates with two works painted on the screen "Canh nong vi ban" showing the perspective of a new generation of artists, who are learning, inheriting and continuing the journey of preserving traditional values in their own way.
Sharing about the messages of the works, the representative of the shop said that they want customers to be able to access and understand more about Hang Trong folk paintings as well as the old Northern lifestyle.
In which, "Village Market" clearly depicts social life with both the beauty and everyday habits of the people, while "Vi Ban Agriculture" fully recreates the rice cultivation cycle, showing the foundational role of agriculture in the life of Vietnamese people from ancient times to the present.
Choosing handicraft paintings instead of industrial print paintings is a way to honor artists and the original values of traditional culture. The paintings are not only for decoration but also help young people better understand folk paintings, the lifestyle and wet rice farming of ancient Vietnamese people.
In the days leading up to Tet, the restaurant is usually most crowded at noon and afternoon. On weekends, the number of young customers increases sharply, many people come mainly to take photos of ao dai in a space imbued with tradition.
Nguyen Minh Huyen (born in 2000) shared that she and her friend came to the shop because they wanted a space that was both traditional and modern for taking photos: "No need to be too fussy, just have the Tet atmosphere is enough.
Dang Thao (born in 2003) also visited the shop after seeing pictures on TikTok. Preparing her own clothes and makeup, she invested an additional 9,000 VND to buy flowers as accessories. "The shop has many beautiful shooting angles, suitable for ao dai, and the drinks are also okay," Thao shared.
Not only a photo spot, the tea shop also attracts customers thanks to a menu combining Vietnamese tea and Vietnamese agricultural products, with prices ranging from 35,000-70,000 VND. The shop is open daily from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM.
