Singapore restaurants blend American, Korean flavors ahead of Trump-Kim summit

SINGAPORE (ABC7) — The much-anticipated summit between Kim Jong Un and President Trump is taking place Tuesday morning and you can literally taste the excitement and anticipation for the historic meeting on the streets of Singapore.

One Singapore restaurant in Scotts Royal Plaza Hotel features the Trump-Kim hamburger as the latest addition to its menu.

“The burger is representing America whereby the Kimchi patty is representing Korea. By having these two combinations it works as a seal of friendship and we wish a successful meeting,” said Darren Ong, the executive chef at Carousel restaurant.

Another restaurant in Singapore spun a twist to a local dish called Nasi Lemak topped off with dry-aged beef imported from the U.S. and of course, Kimchi, a signature Korean dish.

“People ask us ‘Why dry-aged U.S. beef?’ And we say because we want to make Trump feel loved because every single negotiation he says, ‘I want to export my US beef,’” said Zach Wen the co-founder of Harmony restaurant.

While it’s costing $20 million SGD or around $15 million USD to host the summit according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the majority of local residents say the price is worth it if the meeting is successful in bringing about peace and stability in the region.

“I think there’s no price for world peace. As Singaporeans we just want peace, prosperity and lots of money coming in,” said Hamida Hamid, a local resident in Singapore.

In honor of hosting the summit, the Singapore Mint has even released three commemorative coins with the words ‘world peace’ on one side of the coin and a Trump-Kim handshake on the other side. The coins are sold up to around $1,000 USD and are currently sold out.