Hanoi Postcard | Summit inspires entrepreneurs

Durty Bird’s Trump-Kim summit special burgers

For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, this week’s summit in Hanoi is a chance to advance the cause of world peace. For canny entrepreneurs, it’s an opportunity to make a buck, or a dong, in Vietnamese currency.

A U.S presidential visit is a big deal anywhere, and when it’s significant enough to draw wall to wall media coverage — as last year’s first summit in Singapore did — an enterprising businessman or businesswoman takes note. Drinks will be poured, burgers will be broiled and T-shirts will be silkscreened.

When Robert Gibb, an American who has been living in Hanoi for 10 years and is co-owner of a bar near Hanoi’s old quarter, heard the summit would take place in Hanoi, he sprang into action.

Of course he was keen to mark a historic occasion, but beyond that, his Unicorn Pub is noted for the elaborate libations it concocts, such as its ‘Pho’ cocktail, mimicking the taste of the famous Vietnamese noodle soup.

The summit celebratory drink, boasts the pub’s website, “is a diplomatic blend of So Ju (Korean) and Bourbon (USA) with a flare of Fireball whiskey to match the personalities of Kim & Trump. Orange in color, it is a bit sharp & bitter, but finishes sweet, peaceful and gives you the desire to continue in a positive direction.”

A restaurant also in the city’s old quarter has added to its summit menu burgers called the ‘Durty Donald’ and the ‘Kim Jong Yum.’

Irishman Colin Kelly acknowledged the summit is an unusual opportunity to drum up publicity for his Durty Bird fried chicken and burger restaurant.

Conceiving the special dishes was something of a must-do because his establishment already has a lot of dishes with funny names and puns, said Kelly, who founded the place with two old friends. AP