HANOI: The table where former US president Barack Obama famously slurped noodles in downtown Hanoi has been preserved — chopsticks and all — under a glass box for eternity, in a move that has attracted legions of bemused diners to the once low-key eatery.
Bun Cha Huong Lien restaurant, since dubbed “bun cha Obama,” shot to stardom in 2016 when the then-US leader took a break from official duties on a Hanoi visit to enjoy a $3 bowl of pork noodles with fried spring rolls with globetrotting chef Anthony Bourdain.
Now customers are thronging to the hotspot for a taste of that famous evening.
“I’m very happy to sit near the table where President Obama once sat because I love Obama very much,” office worker Tran Dinh Ha told AFP during the busy lunch rush.
Pictures of Obama and Bourdain’s budding bromance over dinner — filmed for the chef’s CNN series “Parts Unknown” — quickly went viral, and now plaster the walls of the simple joint in Hanoi’s leafy Old Quarter.
Business has boomed ever since the presidential pork dinner.
But the owner insists she isn’t dining out on the Obama fame and has resisted offers from customers wanting to buy the table, instead freezing the dinnertime tableau for posterity.
“I think it’s appropriate to preserve the memory of Mr.Obama,” owner Nguyen Thi Lien told AFP, as amused tourists snapped selfies with the encased table, set with clean bowls, plates, chopsticks and condiment jars.
Lien wouldn’t say whether the dishes on display are the ones used by Bourdain and Obama, who she described as “modest and friendly.”
The transparent box is a form of preservation, and reverence, familiar to Hanoians: Vietnam’s much-praised revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh is embalmed and encased in glass at his mausoleum in central Hanoi.
Still, not all of Lien’s customers welcomed the stunt with open arms.
“Not sure how I feel about this,” Bourdain said on Instagram under a photo of the table at which he apparently once sat.
Eternal noodles: Obama ‘bun cha’ table encased in Vietnam
Eternal noodles: Obama ‘bun cha’ table encased in Vietnam
Essex man takes on charity endurance challenge for children in Gaza
- Mark Watson, 63, is undertaking a “virtual Sumud” journey from his Essex home town in Harlow to Gaza, covering 2,287 miles
LONDON: A man in England has launched a demanding charity challenge to raise funds for children affected by the war in Gaza.
Mark Watson, 63, is undertaking a “virtual sumud” journey from his Essex home town in Harlow to Gaza, covering 3,680 km running, walking, swimming, cycling and rowing.
He is raising money for Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based humanitarian organization that provides healthcare to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories.
“I have felt helpless day after day seeing images of countless children in Gaza with broken bodies and missing limbs and witnessing their unbearable suffering,” Watson said on his JustGiving page.
“I have been inspired by the courage of those who took part in the global sumud flotilla and all of the activists who have put their lives and freedom at risk supporting the Palestinian people and so I am raising funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“My challenge is to complete a virtual sumud from Harlow, where I live, to Gaza. Running, walking, swimming, cycling and rowing I will cover the 2,287 miles as quickly as I can.
“I am an unfit, overweight 63-year-old, so I’m not going to break any records, but the Arabic word Sumud means steadfastness and perseverance, and I will give it my all.
Watson added: “I hope to be joined by people I love and admire along the way, so please support my fundraiser. Every donation, however small, will help save the lives of Palestinians.”
As of Jan. 3, his fundraising effort had reached 12 per cent of its £5,000 ($6,733) target.
The war in Gaza began after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign in Gaza, which local health authorities say has resulted in the deaths of more than 71,000 Palestinians, widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and a severe humanitarian crisis.
International aid agencies have repeatedly said that children are among the most affected, facing injury, displacement, malnutrition and limited access to medical care.
Watson said he was inspired by activists and humanitarian efforts supporting Palestinians and hopes his challenge can make a small contribution to saving lives.
