Thursday, 07 May 2026
Thursday, 07 May 2026
A state banquet meant to showcase India’s culinary diplomacy ended up serving the internet an all-you-can-eat meme buffet instead.
The trouble began when the menu of the banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in honour of visiting Vietnamese President To Lam surfaced online. The post clocked nearly 1.7 million views overnight and unleashed a flood of jokes and mock geopolitical analysis over one thing: the absence of non-vegetarian food.
The elaborate vegetarian spread featured Bharwan Vilayati Gobi in green tomato makhni gravy, Dal Amritsari, Hisar Bajra Khichdi, Bhatinde Wale Aloo, millet rotis, beetroot naan, jaggery churma, and sugarcane kheer.
“He’s gonna definitely order KFC while reaching the hotel,” read one viral reaction, complete with crying-laughing emojis.
Another user called it an “economical way of making sure they never visit again,” while someone else dubbed it “a clever way to ensure they invite us to Vietnam whenever a meeting is proposed.”
The internet was particularly fixated on Vietnam’s globally celebrated non-vegetarian cuisine. “I bet the Vietnamese President ordered Beef Pho as room service,” one post declared, earning thousands of likes.
Others compared the menu to comfort food prescribed during illness. “Brother, when someone gets constipated at our place, we feed them khichdi,” one user wrote.
The jokes escalated from there.
“If I were offered such food at an acquaintance’s place, I would assume I am not welcome,” read another comment. One dramatic post asked: “Madam President, do you hate the Vietnamese president? Why such bad veg-only food for him?”
So when people saw a menu heavy on khichdi, lentils, millet and vegetarian regional dishes, many interpreted it not as “cultural showcasing” but as “under-serving” or “austere hosting.”
The viral “constipation food” jokes came from this exact cultural association: khichdi in India is coded as recovery food, not celebratory state-banquet food.
The humour emerged from that perceived mismatch: a globally celebrated, protein-rich culinary culture being welcomed with what many online users jokingly described as “comfort food” or “diet food”.
While the banquet menu became the subject of online jokes, India simultaneously showcased its cultural diplomacy through a series of carefully curated symbolic gifts and heritage foods for the visiting Vietnamese President.
Among them was Namoh 108, a specially developed lotus variety with exactly 108 petals created by the National Botanical Research Institute, presented as a “living bridge” between ancient Indian symbolism and modern biotechnology.
The delegation was also offered an array of GI-tagged and regionally significant delicacies such as Mithila makhana, Hajipur Malbhog bananas, Ratnagiri Alphonso mangoes, Silao Khaja from Bihar, and traditional sweets like Gaya anarsa.
