While visiting Hanoi in late May, 2016, US President Barack Obama impressed the Vietnamese with his friendliness. On the first night in Vietnam, the then most powerful man in the world had Bun cha (rice noodles with grilled pork and meatballs) for his dinner at Huong Lien restaurant on Le Van Huu Street. The image of the US President talking with American chef Anthony Bourdain while sipping cold Hanoi beer posted on Instagram attracted special attention of both Vietnamese and foreign people and the mass media.
US President Barack Obama eating Bun cha for his dinner at Huong Lien restaurant on Le Van Huu Street
Talking about this special experience with the most powerful man in the world, Anthony Bourdain said that around a year before the visit, the White House contacted him and asked him to find a suitable restaurant to film the interview with President Obama for his show. Some places in Asian countries were mentioned, but Vietnam was his final decision.
Earlier, President Barack Obama strongly impressed the Vietnamese as he cited the Vietnamese General Ly Thuong Kiet’s poem ‘Nam Quoc Son Ha’ (The Southern Land), which is considered Vietnam’s first declaration of independence. “The Southern emperor rules the Southern land. Our destiny is written in Heaven’s Book,” the president recited
Before leaving Hanoi, President Obama stopped by Me Tri village to buy where he bought some “com” (or green rice, a traditional dish in Vietnamese cuisine). The 44th US President had a friendly talk with locals.
Britain’s Prince William visiting Ngoc Son Temple
Similarly, Britain’s Prince William also left deep impression on the Vietnamese during his visit to the Southeast Asia country to take part in an international conference on illegal wildlife trade from November 16
th to 18
th, 2016. Having arrived in Hanoi, the Duke of Cambridge spent an entire day visiting the Hanoi Old Quarter, Ngoc Son Temple, and enjoying coffee in street-side coffee shop like the Hanoians do.
While walking on Lan Ong street, Prince William stopped in a traditional medicine pharmacy to learn more about the use of medicinal herbs. Talking with the pharmacy’s owner, the Britain’s Prince found out the importance of traditional medicines in the Vietnamese’s cultural life. More significantly, he surprisingly knew that many Vietnamese herbalists had made great contributions to the fight to protect tigers, rhinos and other endangered species from extinction.
The Prince also visited, talked, and played with pupils of Hong Ha Elementary School. The friendly talks erased the gap between the British royal member and Vietnamese citizens.
Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos savoring some Vietnamese traditional food
Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos was different from the two above as he spent his time learning about the Vietnamese people’s farming model. He was interested in the production model, “From farm to dining table”, initiated by the Fund for world agricultural development given to Vietnamese farmers.
After visiting the model, the Romanian Prime Minister suggested his old Vietnamese friend, Dr. Dao The Anh, that he wanted to savor some Vietnamese traditional food. Immediately, Anh took the Romanian leader to dinner at Qua Tram Restaurant where many special dishes from Vietnam’s Northern localities, such as beef from H’mong ethnic minority group in Cao Bang, pork from Phu Tho, and tea from Ha Giang’s Phin Ho are served. “Those dishes are special in both colors and flavors”, said the Romanian leader.
Translated by Tran Hoai