Beef noodle seller hauled in by cops in Vietnam for imitating Salt Bae

Beef noodle seller is hauled in by cops in Vietnam for imitating Salt Bae days after fury erupted over video of Vietnamese minister eating gold-covered £1,450 steak at Turkish chef’s London restaurant

  • Noodle seller Bui Tuan Lam, 38, made a video of him imitating viral chef Salt Bae 
  • He was summoned by police over footage of him flamboyantly sprinkling onions 
  • Salt Bae became internet sensation in 2017 for his signature way of salting meat 
  • Comes days after top Vietnamese official was filmed being fed steak by Salt Bae

Police in Vietnam have summoned a beef noodle seller who filmed himself imitating Turkish celebrity chef Salt Bae days after a top Vietnamese official was caught on camera eating gold-encrusted steak at the Turkish celebrity chef’s London restaurant. 

Footage posted online shows Bui Tuan Lam, 38, imitating Salt Bae by ceremoniously slicing boiled beef and flamboyantly sprinkling green onions into a bowl of noodle soup.

Chef Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gokce, became an internet sensation after a video of him theatrically seasoning meat went viral in early 2017. 

Lam, from the central city of Danang, said his intention in making the video was not to mock any particular individual but was made as a ‘fun’ advert.  

‘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.


Salt Bae (left)  became an internet sensation after a video of him theatrically seasoning meat went viral. Bui Tuan Lam’s video (right) shows him imitating the move with green onions

Footage also shows Bui Tuan Lam, 38, imitating Salt Bae by ceremoniously slicing boiled beef

Lam, from the central city of Danang, said his intention in making the video at his beef noodle stall was not to mock any particular individual but was made as a ‘fun’ advert

Footage shows Lam sashaying up and down behind his beef noodle stall in Vietnam as he imitates Turkish celebrity chef Salt Bae

Last week, Salt Bae uploaded a video of himself feeding Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security, To Lam, gold leaf encrusted steak at his London restaurant, where a steak sells for up to 1,450 pounds ($1,960).

Days later, Facebook said it had unblocked the ‘#saltbae’ hashtag, having found the tag had been blocked globally after the footage emerged.

Police in Vietnam routinely summon activists and people publicly critical of the ruling Communist Party for questioning. 

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

Footage of To Lam, minister of public security in the country, seemingly enjoying the £1,450 tomahawk steak at Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Knightsbridge, London, emerged on social media last night

Lam, who has previously criticised authorities on Facebook, said he had been ‘raising his voice for a better society’, and that police had previously summoned him for a meeting in April, without saying why.

He described himself in a Facebook post uploaded alongside the video as ‘Green Onion Bae’.

Images of To Lam’s golden dinner have caused a stir both on and offline in Vietnam, with many questioning how such a high-ranking Party official allowed himself to be filmed indulging in such expensive food amid a state crackdown on corruption.  

The video also appears to show Vietnamese ministry spokesman To An Xo sat next to Lam


Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, better known as ‘Salt Bae’ cuts the steak for Lam (left), salts it in his signature pose (right), before feeding it to the official off his knife

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