Viral food: Hanoi restaurant serves coronavirus-shaped burgers

By Anh Minh March 27, 2020 | 12:58 am PT

Each 'Coronaburger' costs VND85,000 ($3.6). Photo courtesy of Pizza Home.

A takeaway eatery in downtown Hanoi has created burgers that mimic the microscopic images of the novel coronavirus.

Hoang Tung, owner of the Pizza Home takeaway shop, said he was following an "eat to overcome fear" philosophy to revive the spirit of the people during the Covid-19 crisis.

"There is a joke that if you are scared of something, you should eat it. So I hope that people will no longer fear the virus after eating the coronavirus-shaped burger. I hope it can help lighten up people during this pandemic period," he said.

Tung calls his creation 'Coronaburger', which has spiky green buns which get their color from katuk (rau ngot) leaves and matcha powder. He said he and fellow chefs came up with the recipe after days of experimenting different ingredients.

Tung sells around 50 'Coronaburgers' a day at VND85,000 ($3.6) each.

He said the orders are a positive sign for his restaurant (at 28 Dai Co Viet Street, Hai Ba Trung District) at a time of crisis for the food service industry amid coronavirus fears.

This is not the first time Tung has come up with a creative twist for his menu. He had turned heads with a red dragon fruit pizza last month. Tung said that innovation was aimed at helping dragon fruit farmers impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

Vietnam has so far recorded 153 Covid-19 cases, 20 of whom have been discharged from hospitals.