Anthony Bourdain And Barack Obama Bonded Over Their Love Of This Vibrant Cuisine

One of the last things you might expect to stumble upon during a food tour in Vietnam is a framed picture of Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama eating together. But that's exactly what you'll find if you stop into Bún Chả Hương Liên, a small local restaurant in Hanoi that specializes in the area's vibrant specialty: Bún Chả.

Bún Chả Hương Liên is a very unassuming establishment. It's cheap, busy, and dimly lit, with plain white tiled walls, communal metal tables, and flimsy plastic stools — not exactly where you picture a former U.S. president dining. But after a visit from Obama and Bourdain in 2016, Bún Chả Hương Liên became informally known as "Bún Chả Obama," the place where the famous pair bonded over their love of Asian street food.

Bún chả is a traditional Hanoi dish made with marinated pork patties, grilled pork belly, vermicelli noodles, broth, and herbs. It's delicious, and Bún Chả Hương Liên does an amazing job with it. So much so that it was selected by Bourdain as a stop for his hit show "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," with Obama joining him for the dedicated episode. With the cameras rolling, the pair ordered two bowls of homemade bún chả and slurped and sipped to their heart's content while talking about the various foods of Southeast Asia.

Barack Obama told Anthony Bourdain that the best meal he ever had was in Puncak, a mountainous Indonesian city. He was blown away by a fish dish he had there, which was made using carp caught right in front of him. "You'd pick the fish, they'd grab it for you and fry it up, and the skin would be real crispy. ... It was the simplest meal possible, and nothing tasted so good," he said. The former president lived in Indonesia as a child, and he's spoken about the fond memories he has of local foods like spicy chicken satay and nasi goreng, a type of fried rice. 

But he hadn't tried Vietnamese bún chả until he sat down with Bourdain. He was an immediate fan, calling it "killer" and "outstanding." Seasoned with sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce, bún chả is sweet and complex. A few chili slices, typically served on the side, bring out the unique flavors even further, as do other toppings like vinegar, herbs, and garlic. The dish also isn't complete without nước chấm, a local dipping sauce made from fish sauce, sugar, and lime.

The noodles are served cold, and the idea is to tear them off, dip them in sauce, and drop them into the broth. If you go to Bún Chả Hương Liên, you can order the "Combo Obama" to relive the "Parts Unknown" experience. At less than $5 for a bún chả, fried seafood roll, and beer, it's probably the cheapest presidential meal out there.