Who is Phuong "Singapore"?
"Hello everyone, I'm Phuong, I'm from Singapore. I sell all Vietnamese dishes cooked in Singapore", the familiar opening line in the videos of the woman nicknamed Phuong "Singapore" has become a trend on social network TikTok recently.
Not elaborate, not using effects or techniques, the videos posted by Ms. Phuong "Singapore" are simply images of herself with her nimble hands cooking hundreds of meals every day while still being neat and clean.
It is that simplicity and rusticity that has touched the hearts of millions of people, especially those who are far from home and crave a truly Vietnamese meal in a foreign land.
A busy day of Phuong "Singapore" with a menu of nearly 30 dishes (Video: TikTok/Jingfeng Kaw - Phuong Singapore).
Ms. Phuong "Singapore", full name is Pham Thi Kim Phuong (born 1987, originally from Ho Chi Minh City), is living and doing food business in Singapore.
Ms. Phuong came to Singapore in 2011, hoping to find a job to have a better life. At first, she did not think she would pursue a career in cooking, but instead started a business in a foreign land by selling clothes imported from Vietnam to the Vietnamese community in Singapore.
In 2016, Ms. Phuong started selling some snacks such as flan, banana cake, rice cake... to take advantage of the dishes she cooked for her family. Unexpectedly, customers supported her enthusiastically, she started cooking 4-5 dishes, each dish 3-4 portions on a fixed day to sell to customers.
Fate brought the love for food to grow over the years, the number of orders gradually increased to 400-500 meals per day.
"As demand increased, I decided to focus entirely on cooking and completely give up my clothing business. I think my passion for food is in my blood," Ms. Phuong confided.
Every day, Ms. Phuong sells about 400-500 meals (Photo: Character provided).
At first, she only opened on Saturdays. Since the restaurant became crowded, she opened all week, only taking a break on Mondays. Her small kitchen became a place to "revive" hometown dishes, from vermicelli with fish sauce, rice noodles, banh beo, congee with pork belly to broken rice with pork chop and pork skin.
Happy in the kitchen
Talking to Dan Tri reporter, Ms. Phuong said that she has been familiar with cooking since childhood. When she moved to Singapore to start a family, that habit has not changed. She can cook all day without feeling tired, simply because she loves the kitchen and only in the kitchen can she find her passion.
"If I can't cook for a day, I feel very sad," she said.
Ms. Phuong's cooking starts early in the morning. She takes the time to go to the market, choosing the freshest bunches of vegetables, fish, and meat to prepare for a busy day.
In the past, when there were few orders, she delivered the goods herself, sometimes even taking the bus to save costs.
But thanks to her perseverance and love for food, the number of customers increased. Gradually, Ms. Phuong built a close-knit team of shippers, mainly Singaporeans, helping the delivery become faster and more professional.
Now, thanks to ordering apps, her Vietnamese-flavored meals are delivered to customers conveniently and promptly.
Although the restaurant is only closed on Mondays, for Ms. Phuong, that is also the day she spends in the kitchen preparing ingredients and seasonings for the next week.
Every day, Ms. Phuong is busy going to the market, cooking and preparing to deliver goods to customers (Photo: Character provided).
The daily menu at Ms. Phuong's restaurant is quite diverse with about 20-30 dishes, from snacks, main dishes to desserts and drinks.
For example, a recent menu of Ms. Phuong includes the following dishes: Vegetarian noodles, vegetarian pasta, broken rice, wet rice cakes, rice noodles, meat sandwiches, beef pho, crab and pig brain soup, corn sweet soup, sweet rice balls, flan...
Many people are surprised to know that a woman can cook that many dishes every day.
One of the dishes that makes Phuong "Singapore" famous is mixed rice cake. This is a rather elaborate dish, consisting of three types of cakes: rice cake, rice cake and steamed rice cake. All are handmade by her.
In addition to banh beo, she also cooks many typical Vietnamese dishes. The important thing is that all dishes retain the true taste of their homeland, without mixing them in a "Westernized" way.
For Ms. Phuong, no dish is a challenge. She shared that each dish is the result of a process of continuous experimentation after each meal. If at first she is not successful, she will patiently find a way to fix it, until she finds the most satisfactory recipe.
Dishes on Ms. Phuong's menu (Photo: Character provided).
Despite being busy with increasingly large orders, Ms. Phuong has never felt pressured or discouraged from pursuing her passion. On the contrary, every day standing in the kitchen, seeing the dishes she cooks delivered to customers, she feels happy.
Not only serving Vietnamese customers, Ms. Phuong also sells to many Singaporean customers. At first, they were curious about dishes from other countries, but after trying them, they were convinced.
Ms. Phuong proudly said: "I believe that if the food is not delicious, customers will not come back a second time. But if they support us for a long time, that is proof of the quality. I do not claim to be a good cook, because everyone has different tastes, but I definitely always cook with the heart and dedication of a Vietnamese person."
TikTok channel with millions of views
In July 2024, to expand her business opportunities, Ms. Phuong began to find ways to build social networking sites, sharing about her food and daily life. Simple videos, accompanied by her whispering, emotional voice, quickly touched the hearts of many people.
Thanks to that, more people started to pay attention to her, but the majority of the audience is still Vietnamese, so the business has not changed much. Every day, she still maintains about 500 meals.
Earlier this year, after many years of selling online, she used all her savings to open a restaurant named after her - Jinfeng Kaw. This was also the time when her husband decided to quit his job to focus on the business with her.
Ms. Dang Huynh Nhu (born in 1999, living in Yokohama, Japan), one of Ms. Phuong's loyal audiences, shared: "I got to know Ms. Phuong through TikTok and was impressed from the beginning by her warm, rustic voice.
What makes me love her even more is the way she shares about her life. The way she works hard to earn money and is independent makes me feel so much love and admiration. Vietnamese women are so talented!"
Ms. Nhu said that she is proud to see that Vietnamese people, even though they are far from home, still preserve their traditions and cherish their homeland's dishes. She also revealed that she will travel to Singapore with her husband in the near future. "I will definitely order food from Ms. Phuong, or if I have the chance, I will go to her restaurant to meet her in person," Ms. Nhu affirmed.
I don't claim to be a good cook, but I definitely always cook with the heart and dedication of a Vietnamese person.
Phoenix "Singapore"
Ms. Phuong said that many times, she received emotional messages from viewers on social networks. Some people cried when watching her cooking videos because they missed their hometown. Some people when coming to Singapore, they must visit Ms. Phuong's restaurant, just to enjoy the food she cooked.
For Vietnamese people living far from home, food is not only something to fill their stomachs, but also a part of their memories and childhood. Ms. Phuong revealed that she also had days when she craved a traditional Vietnamese meal but could not find it in a foreign land. That is why she puts all her heart into each dish.
"I want to use my dishes to serve the Vietnamese community living abroad in Singapore, helping them have a little taste of home right in a foreign land," she said.
In 13 years in Singapore, Ms. Phuong has come a long way. From a girl who came to a foreign country with nothing, she has built a career, a personal brand and a community of customers who love her. She does not see this as a destination. For her, this journey is long, with many things to learn and develop.
But above all, what makes her happiest is being able to stand in the kitchen, cook and bring everyone a little taste of home in the heart of Singapore.
Dantri.com.vn
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