FEPYH O O DIES:TRAVEL,
Totaste, to experience, and to love is something that comes naturally to the Hypefoodies owners. From their Instragramable photos to their informative travel guide videos, Cham Keat (CK) and Diana Nguyen know everything there is when it comes to traveling and food. The iconic couple has been together for nine and a half years and has experienced it all! Nguyen (Vietnamese & Cambodian) and Keat (Cambodian) both come from Southeast Asian roots and look to not only share that food through the Hypefoodies platform but also as a way to educate their audience about parts of themselves. To taste, to experience, and to love are feelings very common to the owners of Hypefoodies. The dynamic duo and Hypefoodies owners, Diana Nguyen and Cham Keat (CK), have been together for nine and half years. The two have built a social media empire, Hypefoodies, which has incorporated both of their Southeast Asian backgrounds (Cambodian & Vietnamese). The Hypefoodies platform has been used as a tool for the couple to communicate with their viewers about their passions in life. “It happened a year after we met (Hypefoodies) we got a desire to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia. This was around 2015 and initially, we wanted to do some travel vlog content, so we visited Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. We learned how to use camera equipment and that was our start,” said CK. After traveling, the couple realized they wanted to switch to content that could be used daily. All of Hypefoodies’ innovative content was produced and created by Nguyen and Keat alone. They are a very hardworking team of two that can effectively and creatively do the work of multiple people.
“As time progressed, traveling became more expensive and we weren’t ballin’ like that, so we had to pivot where we could have something to post every day. People vibed with our food content, so we decided to make Hypefoodies in 2017. It was much more sustainable since we eat content-wise daily,” said Nguyen. The name for Hypefoodies stemmed from the street culture and lifestyle company Hypebeast, and also from the couple’s desire to show the most “hype food.” Although they enjoy posting content about food, the ultimate goal is to have more traveling be included in the long run. “For us, we want to go back to traveling. That is probably our ultimate goal. To travel more and build on that and talk more about what we do with Hypefoodies, social media marketing, and managing. But for that, we do want to expand Hypefoodies and have people help us make content,” Nguyen explained. The couple aims to have a full circle moment where traveling can become more prominent in their work. “We both never traveled internationally before, so we kind of did that for the first time together. It blossomed into this wanderlust and finding ourselves and that we love to travel, we love food, and we did it together,” expressed CK. The passion for traveling comes from the couples’ desire to connect, interact, and learn about other cultures. One of the future spots for Hypefoodies is Japan. “We have always wanted to visit Japan. It looks like an amazing technological world with all this culture. We would need a whole month to do that. The food, the culture, and the nature of it. Everything is just amazing, “ excitedly explained CK. From traveling to their everyday feed, the couple looks to incorporate important Southeast Asian Holidays into their social platforms.
“We stick towards the holidays we grew up with. On her Vietnamese side (Diana), they celebrate the Lunar New Year. Cambodians, Thai, and many other Southeast Asians celebrate Solar New Year, which is in April”, further explained CK, “We tend to go to the temple and go to lot of night markets. We just tend to highlight what people do during that time and highlight the customs.” Hypefoodies is located in the DMV but they do make content for other areas such as LA, NYC, and many other places located within the United States. “I think it’s still valuable to focus on other areas because people do end up traveling, and then they might bookmark it, write it down, or put it in their notes. It’s still a helpful resource,” mentioned Nguyen. The impact Hypefoodies has had on the community and, more specifically, the reach has been profound. “We did a travel guide for Hawaii and still get DMs from people saying how they love it. It was like two years ago but people still use them. We even forget we have guides, and people remember we have been there,” said CK. The difference between Hypefoodies’ content and other influencers’ content is their realness and dedication to extensive research on places they travel to. They genuinely want to give their viewers the best. “I think there’s the relatability that we travel for fun. People know that and can see that through our videos. I am glad they trust us enough to follow our guides and resources,” said Nguyen.
This drive to create impactful and helpful content can be seen from the early influences in Keat and Nguyen’s childhood at the Eden Center in Fall Church, VA. “The Eden Center ties to both of us because she (Diana) is Vietnamese and grew up eating there. I grew up a couple blocks away, so I grew up around that area and ate there as well,” explained CK. Keat continued to explain how the Eden Center was a safe haven for many refugees and highlighted the issues with immigration policy. “Our parents are refugees that came here and there’s not a lot of rights for refugees. We have some friends that got deported. Some minor offenses and they get shipped back to their home country. But some of them grew up here (The United States), so they don’t know the other country at all. It’s very messed up. We want to highlight some ways to fight for refugees and support them,” explained CK. Although Hypefoodies has looked to do good in not only repaying their communities but also smaller mom-pop places, they still receive some pushback for being labeled as “influencers.” “The term influencer has been watered down a bit and seen in a negative way. People don’t like influencers anymore and for us, we are always trying to fight that stereotype. We are videographers and photographers, we rep for our communities and help people. Boiling us down to influencers rubs us the wrong way. So we fight that stereotype,” said CK. An example of the good Hypefoodies has done for smaller Mom and Pop places is spreading the word through short videos or posts on social media.
“Like a lot of businesses, they don’t get the shine that they deserve. Kind of like how we feel, not many people pay attention to us. So these restaurants have amazing food but no one knows about them. They are not in the newspaper and are not getting publicized. They highlight these five-star upper-class restaurants and there is no one to help these mom-and-pop businesses. So we found that every time we highlighted these types of businesses, the business sees the same customers every day. The business ends up knowing when customers come from our page. The gratitude they show has touched our hearts. It changed the path of Hypefoodies. At first, we showcased cool food, but now we are helping these businesses out,” said CK. After Hypefoodies made a short video about a place called Taco Chinoz located in an international grocery store in Manassas, VA. The restaurant began to reach out to share the amount of people who had come out to try their business. They were overwhelmed by the love and support they received from the community. “The owner was thanking us but was having a hard time because he was running out of food. It was a good problem to have, “ stated Nguyen and CK. Hypefoodies encourage all those with a dream or long-term goal to continually work hard to achieve it. “Never give up on your dreams. I know that’s typical to hear sometimes but don’t give up,” said Nguyen. CK further explained, “Sometimes people are looking for a quick way to achieve their dreams, but we have been doing this for five years and finally know we are gaining some recognition and fulfillment. So definitely don’t give up on your dreams, it’s not going to take a year, it might take 10 years but you have to be in it for the long haul.”
PYH E F OODIES ’
5 FOODSPOTS
Oegadgib - “(All you can eat option) go to meat is the brisket. Amazing spicy salad and kbbq sauce. We wouldn’t say it is the best Korean bbq in the DMV in terms of meat quality, but we are a sauce kind of people, and they have the best sauce!!!”
7331 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003
Spice Kitchen - “This place is in the cut of DC, nestled inside a food hall called MiXt. They’re whipping up what they call “Urban West African food,” and we feel they are heavily slept on. They use an African dryspiced rub and put it on their fried chicken, lamb chops, and more. TORCH!!”
3809 Rhode island ave. Brentwood, MD 20722
El Pollo Rico - “Half Chicken Pollo A La Brasa. Our go-to spot for Peruvian Chicken. Featured by Anthony Bourdain a decade ago. Real OGtype spot. RIP Tony Bourdain!”
932 N Kenmore St, Arlington, VA 22201
DCG aka District Chicken & Gyro
- “The best chicken, gyro, and rice in the DMV. We used to drive to Georgetown, DC, just to have this chicken rice drenched in creamy white & red sauce. They moved to Vienna right by Tysons Corner and open until 3 am so it’s the perfect latenight move.”
1927 Old Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA 22182
Thanh Son Tofu - “Best Vietnamese deli & bakery at Eden Center. Avocado Bubble Tea, Rice Paper Egg Rolls, Banh Bao (flufy bun with a meatball in the middle), Che (tofu pudding), Fried Lemon grass tofu (what they are known for), everything here is good to be honest, and that’s why they always have a long line.”
Eden Center, 6793 Wilson Blvd, Falls Church, VA 22044
