Hanoi, Vietnam-Bun Cha(BBQ Pork)Revisiting The Famous Obama/Bourdain Meal-2016

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I had the pleasure of meeting Phuong and Cuong from Hanoi Free Tour Guides last year while visiting the capital. Hanoi Free Tour Guides is a fantastic organization that offers free tours for anyone visiting Hanoi. It’s a wonderful way to connect with the local culture as all guides are local students studying English eager to meet foreigners and show them around their city. You can basically ask for any kind of tour for the whole day if you like. You only have to pay for transportation if required and meals or drinks for your guide. There is no need to tip, in fact they will refuse any money offered.Only a few months earlier in Hanoi famous TV travel host and chef Anthony Bourdain hosted a special dinner with President Obama. The featured dish? A bowl of bun cha, the famous bbq pork meal of Hanoi.Although I do not eat pork myself I thought it would be interesting to talk about the dish that had gained so much attention in the United States and around the world from this famous meeting.We walked to a restaurant in the old quarter of Hanoi famous for bun cha. Phuong actually theorized that the Obama/Bourdain meal wasn’t hosted here because of the logistics of trying to protect the president in such a tight space.We had so much planned for this walk of the old quarter that was originally a Facebook live broadcast but only minutes after visiting the restaurant a huge tropical downpour started so we were forced to find refuge in a cafe. The rain lasted so long we were unable to continue the broadcast and were left with some interesting talk about bun cha and later a short conversation about ancestor worship in Vietnam.Thanks so much for listening!