What Do Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un Eat? Their Dinner Menu, Diets and Favorite Foods

President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un sat down for a luxurious dinner as part of their bilateral summit in Vietnam, but what they eat at home may say a lot more about the two powerful men looking to find peace.

Trump and Kim's encounter marked only the second time in history that the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea—hostile since the 1950s conflict that saw the two Koreas on opposing sides of the Cold War—met in person, the last being the June 2018 summit in Singapore. While the two discussed the prospect of North Korea abandoning its treasured nuclear weapons in exchange for peace, security and sanctions relief from the U.S., CNN reported Wednesday that chefs struggled to decide on a menu for the two world leaders.

After their afternoon press conference, however, Trump and Kim sat down at the French colonial-era Sofitel Metropole Hotel for a four-course dinner that included "chilled shrimp, romaine leaves, Thousand Island dressing, diced avocado, fresh lemon and herbs" as well as "marinated tender sirloin grilled with sauce, served with kimchi fermented inside a pearl," per a White House pool report.

"Hot runny centered chocolate cake, chocolate crumble, with fresh berries and vanilla ice cream" was enjoyed for dessert, while guests sipped on a "traditional beverage sweetened with dried persimmon and honey."

The lavish meal's main course was a perfect match for the president's palate. Trump's love for well-done steak has been well-documented, and he has enjoyed the meal during prior Asia trips in Japan and China. Though it was unclear if the "sauce" referenced in the White House pool readout was actually Trump's favorite steak accompaniment, ketchup, the Republican leader has been known to enjoy shrimp with his meat as well.

The commander-in-chief also likes his fast food, proclaiming his love in 2016 for the so-called "fish delight"—a likely reference to the Filet-O-Fish—as well as Big Mac burgers from McDonald's and Quarter Pounders from Burger King. Trump has long rejected alcohol, sticking instead with Diet Coke, even in place of champagne during toasts at international functions.

Citing three people familiar with the president's diet, Bloomberg published a report last March claiming that Trump has changed his habits of consuming excess fat and carbohydrates. The official White House doctor, Rear Navy Admiral Ronny Jackson, clocked Trump at 239 pounds and 6 feet, 3 inches tall, reportedly prompting him to embrace more fish and less red meat at the time.

On the other hand, like many other aspects of the young, secretive North Korean ruler's life, Kim's diet has been the subject of much international speculation. Following Kim's debut meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in—only the third inter-Korean summit in history and the first in more than a decade—the two leaders dined on chilled octopus garnished with citrus soy sauce, followed by parcels of sea cucumber, cod and beef, a helping of sea bream and steamed crab, a Swiss potato dish known as rosti, a plate of grilled John Dory fish, a mixed rice dish and border-region favorite known as bibimbap, local South Korean beef, North Korean cold noodles and a mango mousse—all enjoyed alongside some native liquor choices—as translated by Business Insider.

Back home, some of the most reliable reporting on Kim's past food selection has come from a Japanese national known as Kenji Fujimoto, who claimed to have been personal chef to the ruling dynasty for 13 years. Fujimoto, which is understood to be an assumed name, wrote a 2003 memoir detailing the inner workings of the Kim family after fleeing the reclusive state in 2001. He reportedly returned in 2012, shortly after Kim came to power, to find he had been forgiven for his transgressions.

A year later, Fujimoto told GQ that Kim Jong Un's late father, Kim Jong Il, had something in common with Trump: a love for Big Macs. The younger Kim also joined his father for meals that included Iranian caviar, Japanese fish and Danish beer. Fujimoto also recalled having drank with Kim Jong Un until the Japanese chef passed out after returning to North Korea in 2012. He told The Daily Mail in 2015 that he also witnessed the ruler dining on Kobe beef and shark fin soup during their reunion.

Kim has noticeably gained weight since his rise to the world stage, but with little culinary information coming out of the country's tightly controlled media, it has been difficult to know exactly what he was eating. In one of many unconfirmed stories regarding the 35-year-old's diet, defectors speaking to the U.K.-based Metro claimed his weight gain was accelerated by a love for expensive cheeses and alcohol. More unverified claims from South Korea's spy agencies include references to binge-eating and health issues. The Supreme Leader has also made no secret of his smoking habit.

One defector, however, speculated to Metro that the young ruler's change in appearance may have also been a power play to make him more closely resemble his revered grandfather, Kim Il Sung, whom he has long emulated. Kim Jong Un further walked in his grandfather's footsteps by visiting Vietnam, where the North Korean founder last set foot in 1964 to meet his revolutionary communist counterpart, Ho Chi Minh, as they both set out to confront perceived U.S. aggression in the region.

Now Vietnam may serve as a new platform for peace between the longtime foes. The youngest Kim's efforts to find common ground with the U.S. and South Korea have already exceeded those of his predecessors, and the Trump administration has recently displayed a shift toward a more pragmatic, step-by-step approach to securing North Korea's denuclearization.