Recent articles on CNN and Reuters gave compliments to the Vietnamese chefs for the efforts to cheer up people in the coronavirus pandemic.

Corona burger (Photo: Pizza Home)

Corona burger

Hoang Tung, a chef and founder at Pizza Home – the takeaway shop in Hanoi, created a coronavirus-shaped burger last month. Tung told CNN that he dreamed up the burgers, which feature green-tea stained buns with tiny “crowns” designed to look like microscopic images of the virus, to take the fear out of the infectious disease. 

“We have this joke that if you are scared of something, you should eat it,” he also told Reuters. “That’s why the coronavirus isn’t scary any more after you eat a burger in the shape of the virus itself. That way of thinking spreads joy to others during this pandemic.”

Tung told Hanoitimes that the takeaway shop is currently selling more than 50 burgers every day, of which the number of orders from expats in Hanoi increased by 30% compared to the first days of the launch, adding that orders from Vietnamese customers also increased. 

The baker is making the corona burger. (Photo: Pizza Home)

“Our orders increase everyday as the demand rises”, he said. “As such, the number of total orders including pizza increased by 20% by late March inter-monthly.” 

While some eateries have to remain shut in the midst of the pandemic, Pizza Home orders are on the rise, though not as many as on normal days. 

Dragon fruit baguettes

Ho Chi Minh City-based ABC Bakery, founded by Kao Sieu Luc, quickly became popular with dragon fruit baguettes, according to Business Insider’s article.

Dragon fruit baguettes (Photo: Business Insider)

The bakery chain turned more than 66,000 pounds of dragon fruit, unsold because of the coronavirus outbreak, into pink baked goods in just three weeks. 

After eating the bread, a reporter from Business Insider commented: “the bread was legitimately good, with a perfectly crusty outer layer that satisfyingly ripped apart to reveal a flavorful, airy interior,” she said.

Following the ABC Bakery, KFC in Vietnam also debuted a new chicken sandwich with a pink bun made with dragon fruit, called “dragon fruit burger” from March 20.

As coronavirus spreads, inventions like dragon fruit bread reveal how companies are being forced to adapt in trying times and in some cases, create something new and delicious, according to Business Insider.