Did police summon a Vietnam noodle seller over a parody?

Reuters Videos
3 年前

In the video Bui Tuan Lam, a 38 year-old beef noodle seller from the central city of Danang, flamboyantly sprinkles green onions into a bowl of noodle soup and ceremoniously slices meat in the signature style of chef Nusret Gokce, also known as "Salt Bae," who went viral on the internet in 2017.

Last week, Gokce uploaded a video of himself feeding Vietnam's Minister of Public Security, To Lam, the gold leaf steak at his London restaurant, where a steak sells for up to $1,960.

Many in Vietnam questioned how such a high-ranking Communist Party official allowed himself to be filmed indulging in such expensive food amid crackdown on corruption.

Lam, who described himself in a Facebook post uploaded alongside the video as "Green Onion Bae" said his video was not made to mock any particular individual.

"The video I made was for fun and for advertising my beef noodle shop. More customers have been coming since I posted it," said Lam, who added it was not clear if the police summons was because of his video.

He has previously criticised authorities on Facebook - he said police had previously summoned him for a meeting in April, without saying why.

Danang police did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.