At Trump-Kim summit, Singapore brought US, NKorea, China onto dining-plates
The Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un meet was a historic event, and host Singapore was determined to make each aspect significant, including food. It is likely that Trump, known for his 'covfefe' moments (and he has a lot of them), was unfamiliar with many items on the complicated menu. But Singapore left no stone unturned to bring US, both Koreas, China and itself onto dining plates.
A combination of both leaders' cultural food
For Kim
Perhaps the most familiar item for Kim was the Daegu Jorim (boiled meat/fish/vegetables in soy-based broth), a dish part of a regular Korean meal. But there was Oiseon (cucumbers stuffed with beef/egg/carrot) too, which left eyebrows raised- it dates back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), for whom it was a favorite. Some Koreans expectedly mistook it for "oisobagi" (cucumber kimchi), an item of daily consumption.
Trump at the "working lunch"
For Trump
Trump, who swears by McDonald's, had the "traditional prawn cocktail served with avocado salad" for starters. For main, there was "beef short rib confit" and a "combination of sweet-and-sour crispy pork and Yangzhou fried rice with home-made XO chili sauce." Just to make sure there's no doubt the beef short rib was for Trump, the hosts put a red wine sauce on the side.
'Octopus on the menu'
Representing the other indirect but obvious presences
The Yangzhou fried rice is almost a direct wave to China, who was symbolically involved in the discussions. Notably, this is what is mostly served in Chinese restaurants in the US. As for representing itself, Singapore, known for its mixed Indian, Malay and Chinese cuisines, brought to the table the Malay "green mango kerabu with honey lime dressing and fresh octopus."
And as for dessert
To finish up, there was dark chocolate tartlet ganache, "the Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream with cherry coulis," or "tropezienne," a pastry dessert. The two leaders ate heartily, we presume, and delivered a momentous day: NKorea signed an agreement to denuclearize. A major win indeed!
