DiCoFi Has Become a Salcedo Favorite for Vietnamese Food

(SPOT.ph)  We last wrote about DiCoFi 11 years ago. Today, this Vietnamese cafe still lives on the same spot on Valero Street, but it’s since doubled its square footage, upgraded its signage, simplified its menu, and hired Vietnamese head chef Thinh.

Though 2015 feels like yesterday, DiCoFi has been through the wringer: a pandemic that forced them to rely on deliveries and, now, climate change threatening the fresh vegetable supply. Through every struggle, though, DiCoFi has adapted and become even better attuned to its habitat, its home. 

Today, it boasts a menu so perfectly attuned to the Filipino taste buds. With subtlety and wansoy out the window to make room for punchier umami in their generous servings and uncompromisingly verdant signature, we get indelibly Vietnamese fare that fully embraces what Filipinos want.

If you’re looking for the perfect pho that doesn’t shy away from umami, whose every sniff is a satisfying gateway drug to Vietnamese food addiction, you’ll love their best-selling Beef Pho (P420) that’s served in a humongous bowl. And like any classic pho, you get a big mound of healthy bean sprouts and lettuce on the side, plus Hoi Sin, hot sauce, and pickled garlic to tweak your bowl to your taste and as a palate cleanser. Together with their Fresh Spring Rolls (P 120), these two dishes are ordered about thrice a week by the newly minted Salcedo girl herself, Mimiyuuuh.

But Mimiyuuuh isn’t the only fan. Every weekday lunch hour, when Salcedo yuppies rush out of their office cubicles for food and sunshine, DiCoFi is packed to the brim, with a willing line right outside, typically ordering in pairs so they can share a bowl of pho and split a banh mi.

Because if you’re going to DiCoFi, we recommend you don’t miss the Grilled Pork Banh Mi (P 210). If you’re on a time crunch, this makes for the perfect to-go lunch: the bread’s extremely crisp outer layer collapses into the fluffiest, airiest crumb, with a tender bite of sweet and savory pork and julienned crisp veggies.

Another great option if you’re ravenously hungry but only have time for a beverage? Their Coconut Coffee (P180) is not just something you can identify as a daily essential; it’s sweet, umami-packed, and surprisingly filling enough to get you by.

Just seven months ago, when her best friend, DiCoFi CEO Vicky Dang, asked her to come on board, Leiny left her corporate career to become the Chief Operating Officer of DiCoFi. Today, a framed photobooth print of them sitting in the restaurant sits alongside other Vietnam-sourced trinkets. But even before she was on the payroll, Vicky had always relied on Leiny’s feedback on the menu. In fact, they developed the menu together on trips around Ho Chi Minh. The sizzling, tender, saucy Beef Rice (P 350), served on a cow-shaped sizzling platter, is Vicky’s favorite Vietnamese street food.

Though DiCoFi has changed with the times, they got so many things right from day one. When they opened, they imported picnic-style wood-and-metal furniture straight from Vietnam. A decade later, after thousands of customers scuffing them, these fixtures have endured and now have that charming patina of time. Another fixture since its debut is Leiny Encinas—former loyal customer, now another restaurant staple.

Now with Leiny on the ground, they can get a closer ear to their customers’ cravings. Thus, a new menu item was born from popular demand: the Grilled Pork Rice Noodle Bun Cha (Php 420), requested by tons of Filipino customers who tried it during their Vietnam vacation. If, like us, you think the best thing about Vietnamese food is the fish sauce, then you'll love every dip of vermicelli into their sweet and savory Bun Cha broth.

DiCoFi has stayed this long for a reason: you can taste it in every bite. Over the years, DiCoFi hasn't shied away from evolving to better fit the market: expensive wansoy that for years lay untouched has since been out of the picture; spice levels are pulled way down to the Filipino’s gentler palate; sugar and patis poured in with a little more gusto; and don’t forget the readily available variety of sawsawan for dine-in customers.

But they’ve also stayed true to their roots: authentic Vietnamese-sourced seasonings, fighting to keep the veggie sides abundant through weather conditions, the homey feel of their decor, the same banh mi bread supplier since the beginning, and through it all, a friendship that’s seen them through the best and worst of times. DiCoFi offers more than authenticity: a genuine love for homey Vietnamese flavors, guided by a deep-seated appreciation and friendship with its Filipino customers.

DiCoFi is at GF, Valero Plaza Condominium, Salcedo Village, San Agustin Street, Makati City. Open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

For more information, check out DiCoFi's Facebook page.