John Legend sips Hanoi’s signature egg coffee

He arrived in Vietnam on Jan. 19 to perform at the Hanoi Opera House a day later.
“Performed in Hanoi tonight at the beautiful Opera House. My first visit to Vietnam. Thanks for having me!” he wrote.

Legend performs his hit song ‘All of Me’ at the VinFuture Prize awards ceremony in Hanoi on January 20.
The annual award, which carries among the world’s largest cash prizes, aims to recognize ground-breaking scientific and technological discoveries.

After the performance, he thanked the audience in both Vietnamese and English, saying: “I am very excited to be coming to Vietnam for the first time. Thank you for welcoming me. Congratulations to today’s award winning scientists”.

He left Vietnam on Friday morning. Though his stay was short, Legend explored a number of sights in the capital.
He posted a photo of the Quan Thanh temple, built in 1010 to worship Huyen Thien Tran Vu, one of the four gods guarding the four gates of Thang Long Citadel, Hanoi’s former seat of government. The temple is situated near West Lake.

He also tried out egg coffee, one of the city’s best-known beverages.
It starts with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom — the Vietnamese twist — over which is poured strong black coffee. A whisked egg yolk is placed on top. The three elements create a mixture of sweet, bitter and fatty tastes.
On top of the egg drawn in coffee was an image of Sword Lake’s Turtle Tower, the symbol of Hanoi, and the letters J and L standing for his name.
Legend, born 1978, is also a songwriter, actor and producer. He is known for hit songs like ‘Love Me Now’ and ‘All of Me’. He is one of 16 in the EGOT group of stars to have won all four of the U.S.’s top art and entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.