Summit lunch suits heavy-eating Trump

MORE ELABORATE MEETING US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jongun open their second summit in front of a row of their countries’ flags at theMetropole hotel in Hanoi on Wednesday. —AFP

HANOI — US President Donald Trump says he’s looking forward to “a very big dinner” on Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. First, though, he’s got to get through lunch.

The menu for Trump’s midday meal with his host in Hanoi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, spreads to five courses covering the varied delights of Vietnam’s cuisine.

According to the White House, things start light: “Fresh shredded green mango salad with scallops, mint leaves and cashew nuts served in a sweet vinaigrette dressing.”

If that doesn’t do much for the famously heavy-eating US president, he won’t have long to wait.

Seal of approval

Course two features deep-fried spring rolls, course three stars king crab meat and spinach in a light seafood-based broth, and course four is guaranteed to get the presidential seal of approval: “Grilled codfish ‘cha ca’; roasted Wagyu beef medallions with foie gras and a semisweet fermented black rice sauce; sauteed ‘su su’ vegetables with garlic (crispy green chayote stems and leaves); steamed sticky glutinous rice with shrimp wrapped in a lotus leaf.”

If he has any room left, Trump will be treated to dessert “consisting of lotus seeds, longans and white wood-ear mushrooms served warm and in a light sugary syrup.”

Then he can wonder what — apart from trying to persuade Kim to give up North Korea’s nuclear weapons — will be for dinner.

During a previous visit to Vietnam, shark’s fin was on an early version of a menu due to be served to Trump but was reportedly left off the table after causing a stir online.