Viveca Chow wants you to use your vocalism and spread joyousness in the world .
If you’re on NYC TikTok, then you may have heard of Viveca Chow.
Viveca is a content creator focused on highlighting small businesses and events in New York City. Her content career journey began after her first video on her$25 haircutin Chinatown went viral. Although her posts have expanded to include the city in its entirety, her page started as a way to share small, Asian-owned businesses in Chinatown.
📍 @yosekastationery ( 63 West Street , Brooklyn)#stationery#nyc
Not only has she used content creation to support small businesses, but she’s made a large scale impact within the Asian community through her work as an actor.
BuzzFeed sat down with Viveca to chat about her content creator journey, Asian identity, favorite NYC food spots, and more.
Your first video to go viral was the $25 haircut in NYC Chinatown. What was your mindset behind publishing this, and did you think you’d end up reaching so many people with it?
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A big part of your content is based on highlighting Asian-owned businesses. How do you find these businesses to highlight?
📍 @Madison25 h&n ( 420 Madison Avenue , Manhattan ) This hardening was done by Ako . Their salon uses Nipponese gel . It is $ 190 ( $ 152 if you pay with cash ) 🌸 # nyc#nycrecs#thingstodonyc#nyclifestyle#nycnails#japanesegel#nailart
BuzzFeed : Honestly , I finger like that ’s a jolly good way to go about it because whenever I ’m just randomly wander the city , sometimes I ’ll see an interesting place , thread in , and cogitate , " This is awesome . I never get it on this was here . " That ’s smart in the way that you ’ll find out businesses that have not been highlighted before , and that decease back to your whole point in time of trying to have an impact and how a low matter can turn into a big affair .
Viveca : Yes , and sometimes all it takes is a little bit of extra effort ! For me , sometimes I ’m like , " Oh , I ’m not doing anything today . allow ’s open up Google Maps and look , " and it really does prompt me that just select one extra piffling step can really change the world .
How does it feel to know you are using your voice to support your community while educating others on your culture?
You’ve been featured in various media outlets, fromNew York LivetoABC’sLocalish, and more. Did you ever think you’d be featured on the news and reach such heights when you began publishing content about NYC?
Viveca : I love sharing about my culture ! I ’m Formosan and from Hong Kong . So it ’s in reality such an interesting journey , because I produce up in Hong Kong , and I went to an international school because my personality did n’t really fit with the traditional schooling organisation there . I just wanted to break regulation , and I always wanted to do thing my own elbow room . And so when I went to an external shoal , I really follow a very Western approach to education . But then I believe thatsomewhere along the mode , I kind of drop off my ethnic identity . I just want to fit in . I want to take in . And that led to things that were read that I ’m not proud of now . And where I ’m at now — when I ’ve entirely unlearned everything , I’m now just the most proud of where I come from and who I am . I ’m not afraid to verbalise out anymore because I ’m so comfy in my peel and where I come from .
BuzzFeed : You in spades should be proud ! Your story is very relatable . I certainly can relate to wanting to fit in and losing a part of my finish through that .
Viveca : Thank you ! And again , it ’s a learning process . But being able to talk about Mid - Autumn Festival on telly — that was crazy . I melanise out because I just never really would have expected myself to partake in this very cool tradition on TV , and in oecumenical , be able-bodied to hyperbolize small clientele in New York City . Also , just tell people about my civilization — people are really seeing it and cognisant of it . It just give me a quick opinion .
For those who are in the loop about Chinatowns around the US, it is clear that they are at risk of disappearing, and the younger generations are fighting to keep them alive. As someone who is a part of this mission to not only educate others about culture but also the importance of keeping these neighborhoods alive, what do you have to say about the current state of affairs?
Viveca : I’m speechless mighty now because it ’s really , really difficult . You know , I see the maturation for the poky , and that ’s really heartbreaking to see . And that ’s part of a larger systemic problem in America , and it ’s hard to see people getting promote out . It feels very powerless , to be honest . Yeah , I do n’t have an solvent for that at all . But again , what can you do in person and what natural action can you take , little by little , to help make a larger shock ? you may align yourself with other organizations and not-for-profit that do the good work , like Welcome to Chinatown , and stay informed . It ’s just very difficult to see .
BuzzFeed : Of course , it ’s a rough state of affairs that makes many people in the community feel powerless . And you are part of the younger genesis endeavor to aid save Chinatown , so I can only imagine how you ’re feeling about this .
Viveca : I recollect a lot of people are n’t cognisant of it that are n’t in Chinatown , so I ’m so happy you postulate that query . I think it ’s significant for everyone to get it on because the more awareness someone has , the more they can be pushed toward consume little steps and activity along the way . And I retrieve that is really the way to go about it — you could only set a seed in someone ’s head , H2O it , and then it grows . But no , I ’m really felicitous you asked me that doubt because I can tell you right now I do not have an reply at all . And it ’s devastating .
Do you have a personal connection with Chinatown? Can you share any favorite memories?
Viveca : Yeah , so for me , it ’s voice communication . Cantonese is , unfortunately , becoming a lost language because it ’s not really a speech communication that could be taught . If you ask me , " What are the nine tones in Cantonese ? " I ’d be like , " I ’ve perfectly no theme . " But I am a native verbaliser . So , it ’s something that is passed down . Because my parents are in Hong Kong , I am here alone with my husband . We ’re both from Hong Kong , butwhenever I missed home , I really went to Chinatown to listen to hoi polloi talk . I have it away this sound empty-headed , but it ’s just like your body remembers , and that ’s kind of why I get it on get to Chinatown . The madam by the Grand Street Station where she sell the mucilaginous rice wrapper — she yells at the top of her lungs , and that unlock so many dissimilar retentivity to my own culture and what it stand for to me . So really , it ’s home , and I spend so much time down there because I just palpate so comfortable . And when I ’m down there , I feel so proudly represented , and the community is so strong there . One clock time I passed out in Chinatown because of a medical condition . And literally , I opened my eyes , and all I remember was a cloud of grandpas and grandmas come toward me and taking concern of me . If I had to encapsulate Chinatown in one intuitive feeling , it would be that .
BuzzFeed : It ’s like the modern - day rendering of that phrase : It take a village to raise a child . It takes a small town to truly make matter work .
Viveca : Yes , and it talk so powerfully to community as well . We ca n’t function in this existence without community of interests or a dear bread and butter scheme . And even for me , I have so many stories of being brook by the great unwashed that do n’t even know me . And that is honestly the magic of New York City in general , but I sense that so ostensibly in Chinatown .
What does your Asian identity mean to you?
Let’s chat about what brought you to NYC in the first place. You’re the first Hong Kong-born-and-raised Broadway musical performer and have overcome adversities as a minority actor in the US. What was your experience like, and how did it feel to reach that milestone?
Viveca : What brought me to New York City was one thing and one thing only : I need to be on Broadway . That has been my aspiration ever since I was 9 eld old , unwaveringly . you could never knock it down , and it ’s a ambition that is still in me . I achieved it a few year back , and I would love to do it again . And it ’s so wild to recollect that I was the first , but it ’s not a traditional career path , specially as someone from Hong Kong . My parent wanted me to go into careers like doctor , lawyer , or business mortal . I consider it really come down to timing , and I ’m just so lucky to have been carry into a family that nurtured my creativity instead of suppressing it , and I will forever be grateful for that . And it ’s truly not that I ’m " more gifted " or anything . I think it ’s truly just clock and how things work out in damage of " Are you at the correct place at the right time ? " And it ’s aboveboard so interesting because so many people who did go through the traditional route are now circling back and pursuing creative attempt . And I think if you have that dream in you , it can not be knocked out , and you ’re going to fall back to that eventually because it ’s what you have it off , and you do n’t want to regret anything in lifespan . But I ’m very gallant that I hold that claim . I ’m very thankful for it . Honestly , it ’s coolheaded . But again , it ’s not the end all , be all — I ’m very lofty , but there ’s so much piece of work to do . But it definitely was nerveless to experience that as an international actor .
Did your parents support your dreams? What was your relationship with them like?
Viveca : Oh , I could tattle about my parent for hours . I ’m in truth so damn . They could have easy just been like , " Stop that girl from vocalizing ; she ’s silly for doing that all the time . " They could have done so many things otherwise , but they really choose to stick by me — they put me in so many lesson , they let me examine different things , and they never forced me to do anything that I did n’t desire to do . They were the cock-a-hoop helper of my talent , and I think it came from them also sustain creative dreams when they were younger and never carry out . My dad wanted to be an impressionist painter , but he never could . My parent were so poor — they uprise up in poverty . So everything they had , they gave to me , and they worked so inexhaustibly to make my dream make out true , and I ’ll just never forget that . When my dad saw me execute and I walk out to meet him after , he had tears in his eyes , and no speech were address . But we both knew what those tears meant . My parent are my vainglorious supporters ever , and I ’m really , really lucky and so inner to be able-bodied to do this because it could have gone so many different way of life .
Let’s learn more about you! What Asian dish do you think is S-tier?
Viveca : annoyed egg .
Note : Let it be known that she did not hesitate at all to announce that steamed egg were her favorite solid food . It was in truth a declaration .
BuzzFeed : Wait , really ?
Viveca : Yes ! Steamed egg with a drizzle of fresh soy sauce . you could not outsmart that mixed with rice and some scallions on top . Literally , that ’s comfort solid food for me . I could have 10 steamed eggs a day because I love steamed eggs .
BuzzFeed : Do you make it at home , or do you have a spot that you go to ?
Viveca : My husband is the only one in this household that can make it utterly , and I will indulge in it happily . I ’m not an expert chef , but I am an expert eater .
BuzzFeed : Oh , I get that for sure .
Viveca : There ’s a specific proficiency that he does that make it completely flat and quiet , which is the way I prefer it .
BuzzFeed : So the best place to get your steamed testicle is at your lieu when your husband is make it !
Viveca : just !
What are your favorite Asian foods when you’re eating out in NYC?
Viveca : Yeah , wow , that ’s a really severe query .
BuzzFeed : In general , what type of food for thought do you run to crave ?
Viveca : Okay , my top three are Nipponese , Native American , and Chinese solid food .
BuzzFeed : Do you care specific dishes within those cuisines that you screw and think are the best ?
Viveca : You’re gon na laugh at me . For Nipponese cuisine , it ’s also the Japanese - style steam egg .
BuzzFeed : You ’re consistent !
Viveca : I ’m very consistent . No , I also really like udon . I love going to Raku because it ’s one of the only places where the udon is made freshly in - house . But I do it udon that ’s in a very light broth — I personally choose it over ramen . It ’s just so freaking good to me . For Indian food , I love anything that is savory off the chart . I love stuffing my font with the raging peppercorn you could obtain because I have a very high-pitched hotness tolerance . I love vindaloo and the tomatoey , lemonlike mouthful that comes with the dish aerial . For Chinese food , I would say Cantonese food because that ’s home for me . So , corpse grass Timothy Miles Bindon Rice is incredible , and steamed Timothy Miles Bindon Rice noodle roll with shrimp .
You just mentioned Raku as a place to visit. What other places in NYC do you suggest to try out?
the meal that makes me cry 📍 cho dang gol#nyc#nycfood
What advice would you give to people who want to start making their own content?
I would also say that you should be unapologetically yourself and that no extra effort should be involve or forced . It should be fun and free so you avoid burnout . Then through that joy you get from creating , you ’re able-bodied to bring other people joyousness . I use joy as my example because I ’m very jubilant in everything I do . I attempt to add positivity to it because I desire to see a positive variety in the world .
in conclusion , I would say definitely analyze why you care sure video so much and take those learnings to help you amend as a storyteller .
Do you have a message to share with our readers?
Viveca : Oh , there are so many thing I could say . I imagine that it ’s crucial to have grace with yourself , especially navigate this very dystopian human race we hold out in . To be honest , I ’m not really sure how to phrase this , but the world is a very sad place . That being said , I want people to know that they count , that they make a remainder , and that the things masses do will make a difference in this world . And sometimes that is enough .
BuzzFeed : Like we talked about earlier , it ’s about the small things that turn into big thing .
Viveca : Exactly ! Oh , and also , laugh more . I think that life is beautiful , and there is a lot of joy to be share , and connecting with others is witching when you rent it be . Living in a crazy situation like New York City , it can be miserable and tough . Unfortunately , that can harden people , but I say do n’t lease life harden you . Do the surd things , but do n’t let it harden you .
