Vintage shopping @ Yen Phu Street

Yen Phu Street, is a small little street in the middle of Hanoi. I spent half a day exploring this area, from eating Nem Nuong (Grilled BBQ pork skewers) and Banh Xeos. It is definitely a quaint little street that seems like time passes ever so slowly. It is relaxing yet filled with life. While it is quiet, there are quite a number of clothing stores.

While they are indeed delicious, and were a good part of my trip, it was not my highlight. My highlight was enjoying my time vinyl and vintage clothes shopping on that street. 

While walking along the street, I spotted a vinyl shop called Diathan Vintage. My curiosity peaked as I’m a sucker for records even though I own none. The owner welcomed me and started showing me around his shop. As we chatted about music, he showed off some vinyl records from his private collection. The moment he played It’s Just Begun by the Jimmy Castor Bunch, the Bboy code kicked in. Real recognizing real. We instantly started talking about dance, funk and the hip-hop scene in Vietnam. Asia’s largest dance festival, Radikal Forze Jam being held in Vietnam in 2023, hip-hop is definitely a highlight there. 

I even got invited to a dance event that I had to forgo due to my flight back to Singapore. But, we interacted and bonded over dance and hip-hop alongside 2 other Singaporean dancers. We were introduced to the world of Vietnamese Soul music with a band called Saigon Soul Revival. We had a mini jam enjoying music and talking about dance. As we were about to leave, he told us to drop by a vintage clothing store owned by his friend – Fresh by Mountain. 

Just a few hundred metres down the road, Mountain (Yes that’s his nickname) and his crew mates has already anticipated our arrival. You know a person is cool when he is introduced to you by his nickname. Jk, it’s just the tradition of people in the dance community. 

The shop is indeed filled with a lot of vintage clothes. A lot of it is the baggy cut, but hey I won’t complain. Vintage clothing despite being old, for some reason, is a bit on the pricier side; it still retains its charm and style.

Though I am not a huge fan of the look, I still managed to have a great time window shopping here. I ended off my shopping by just buying a cap. And guess what, Mountain invited us to a dance event at a club the next day, which I turned up but left cause yknow social anxiety and awkwardness. I still had a great time here and would come back to visit.

All in all, if you want a quaint and quiet walk or to buy vintage items like vinyl records or clothes, I highly recommend you head down to Diathan Vintage and Fresh by Mountain at Yen Phu Street. It was wonderful chatting up with both of the owners as they guide and bring you around showing you their passion, providing what you are looking for easily while making new connections. I would be back to get a vinyl record or 2 once I get a vinyl player.