No matter what social app you’re scrolling, it doesn’t take long before you stumble upon a chef or influencer wanting to show you the latest recipe, cooking hack or piece of stylish kitchen equipment. Yet even in the saturated market of food content, KC-based Youtuber Lisa Nguyen manages to stand out. Between her lighthearted cooking fails and hilarious food challenges, Nguyen’s authenticity has captured the attention, and views, of millions.
“Food is such a great connector,” Nguyen says. “I like to show my fails in my videos because maybe I can save one person from making the same mistake.”
Nguyen doesn’t have any professional cooking training. The Wichita native was a paralegal before moving to KC, where her brother lives, to become a full-time food content creator. She figures it out as she goes and lets her viewers in on the process, burned chicken and all.
Before she began experimenting with air-fried lobster tails and attempting the perfect pan-seared salmon, Nguyen was filming unique menu items at local restaurants. Her first viral video? A feature on the crab rangoon pizza at Old Shawnee Pizza. But when the pandemic hit and restaurants closed, Nguyen had to shift her content.
“Of course as [the restaurants] were shutting down, I didn’t know what to do,” she says. “I didn’t know how to cook, so I was eating instant ramen every single day. I was like ‘You know, I have the camera. Why not share what I’m eating?’”
Her cooking videos are approachable and, in a way, relaxing. To watch someone be so candid about their mistakes in the kitchen is a rarity in the picture-perfect realm of social media. What’s even more captivating is the sheer indulgence of Nguyen’s content. Whether she’s whipping up cheesy ramen-filled dumplings with renowned Waldo Thai General Manager James Chang or collaborating with former Chiefs offensive lineman Mitch Schwartz to make a meaty burnt end sandwich, each documented experiment consistently racks up hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of views.
“It’s kind of the intrusive thoughts in our mind that we end up trying because we want to see how it turns out,” Nguyen says.
This sentiment is most obvious in her 30-day ramen challenge, where Nguyen experiments with the many ways she can incorporate instant ramen into everyday meals, like ramen-filled spring rolls or tamales. Happily, for all her fans, this hilarious self-imposed challenge has quickly escalated: Nyguyen traveled to Tokyo in January to learn how to make authentic ramen.
She’s now looking to branch out.
“I would like to do pop-ups when I get back,” Nguyen says. “It would be a cool way for me to meet my followers, plus share the food.”
LISA NGUYEN’s
Perfect Day
Coffee: Café Cà Phê. I get the Saigon drink and a doughnut from Mr. D’s Donuts.
KC views: I would walk to the World War I Memorial because it’s the best view of downtown Kansas City. And after that, you can just walk over to Union Station. That place has so much history and it’s so beautiful.
Tacos: I’m going to Taco Naco in Westport for the carne asada quesadilla made with Yoli’s pork fat tortillas. They are so good. They also have passion fruit margaritas that are really good.
Thai: I love Thai food so much, and Waldo Thai does a great job at it. For an appetizer, I get the nam khao tod—crispy rice with cured pork sausage. They also have this amazing coconut pumpkin curry with braised brisket. It’s so good I don’t even know if I take time to chew it.
