Eat it: Hanoi chef spreads joy with 'Coronaburger'

Vietnamese restaurant hopes to cheer people up with burger buns shape like a coronavirus

Last updated: March 26, 2020 | 17:06

Reuters and Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Digital Content Producer

2 MIN READ

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You've got to eat it, to beat it: That's the philosophy of one Hanoi chef who is attempting to boost morale in the Vietnamese capital by selling green, coronavirus-themed burgers.

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Laughing in the face of the global pandemic, Chef Hoang Tung and his team now spend their days moulding dozens of green-tea stained burger buns complete with little "crowns" made of dough to resemble microscopic images of the virus.

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"We have this joke that if you are scared of something, you should eat it," said Tung, at the Pizza Home takeaway shop in downtown Hanoi.

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"That's why the coronavirus isn't scary anymore after you eat a burger in the shape of the virus itself. That way of thinking spreads joy to others during this pandemic," said Tung.

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The shop has sold around 50 burgers a day, despite the growing numbers of businesses in Vietnam which have been forced to close because of the virus.

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In mid-February, Vietnam said all known 16 COVID-19 cases at the time had recovered, but that changed after an influx of overseas visitors and returning Vietnamese citizens brought an uptick in cases.

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There are now 148 recorded cases of the virus in Vietnam, but no reported deaths, according to the health ministry.

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Authorities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have ordered that all non-essential businesses should close although some food outlets, including Tung's takeaway shop, are still open.

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Taking his grandson out for a Coronaburger, Dang Dinh Quy, 66, viewed the luminous green burger as a morale-boosting treat.

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"This coronavirus is very dangerous. But if we eat a burger in its shape, in our minds its like we are already victorious," said Quy.

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"If you want to beat it, you've got to eat it first".

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A coronavirus-themed burger is pictured at the Pizza Home restaurant in Hanoi on March 26, 2020, amid restrictions being put in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

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