The President is an Asiaphile. He spoke wistfully of his time in Indonesia and his memories of the smells and flavors of street food there. The reaction among regular people in Hanoi to the fact that the US President chose to eat Bun Cha was beyond all imagining. The effect was unbelievable. People were actually crying the next day, describing to me their shock and their pride, the reactions of their neighbors, to this completely unexpected choice of meal—and the venue. He was among the very few guests on my show who ever asked the camera crew if they got to eat too. And he made a point of taking a picture with all of them when we were done.
President Barack Obama waves after delivering a speech at the National Convention Center in Hanoi. He met with civil society leaders including some of the country’s long-harassed critics
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President Barack Obama meets with members of the civil society in Hanoi
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President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One upon his departure from Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi
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President Barack Obama waves as he disembarks from Air Force One at the Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. He told communist Vietnam that basic human rights would not jeopardise its stability, in an impassioned appeal for the one-party state to abandon authoritarianism
President Barack Obama pays his respects with Abbot of the Jade Emperor Pagoda Thich Minh Thong during a visit to the Jade Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City
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President Barack Obama looks at an exhibit as he tours through the Entrepreneur Demonstrations at DreamPlex in Ho Chi Minh City
Whitney Filloon: President Obama Just Had Dinner With Anthony Bourdain
In case Barack Obama hadn’t already secured his place in history as the Coolest President, this should do it: Tonight, POTUS is dining with Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. What will the dynamic duo’s dinner conversation entail, and more importantly, what will they feast upon? According to the Wall Street Journal’s White House correspondent Carol Lee, they’ll be eating at a restaurant called Bún chả Hương Liên. (Bún chả is a traditional dish hailing from Hanoi that consists of grilled pork served in a broth or dipping sauce, flanked by rice noodles and fresh herbs.)
According to a press release from CNN, scenes from the momentous dinner will appear on an upcoming episode of Parts Unknown to air during the show’s eighth season in September. With 241 days left in the White House, what other Cool Things will Obama accomplish? He’s already become the first president to brew beer in the White House, and impressed his hipster taste in coffee upon the Oval Office, which now uses Chemex brewers emblazoned with the presidential seal.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang during his visit to the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. He kicks off a landmark visit that caps two decades of post-war rapprochement, as both countries look to push trade and check Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea
President Barack Obama reviews a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony
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President Barack Obama shakes hands with Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh
President Barack Obama and National Security Advisor Susan Rice walk with Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan
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President Barack Obama attends a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at the Presidential Palace
President Barack Obama flanked by Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, holds official talks with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at Phuc’s cabinet office
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President Barack Obama and President Tran Dai Quang take part in a joint press conference at the International Convention Center in Hanoi
Vietjet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao shakes hands with President Barack Obama while Ray Corner, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes shakes hands with Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang (2nd R) during a signing ceremony that Vietjet will buy 100 Boeing aircraft from the US manufacturer
President Barack Obama proposes a toast during a state luncheon
President Barack Obama meets with Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Office in Hanoi
The Obama Diary 
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