Welcome to Cy Nguyen’s world of food and frogs

Whether it’s shopping for fruity home decor, bringing us along to the farmer’s market, or sharing ambitious date-night cooking adventures, we love how passionately queer Vietnamese American creator Cy Nguyen (pronounced like “sigh”; pronouns she/hers/they/them) invites us into their world. Between their 1 million followers on TikTok and 123k followers on Instagram, we know we’re not alone in enjoying the colorful way she encourages us to bring divine new flavors and joy into our lives.

Cy’s warm, welcoming spirit shines through in their social media presence and the charming, gorgeous way she captures her daily life is a queer delight. And while she’s manifesting her dream of creating a cookware line and a cookbook, INTO spoke to Cy about the gayest baked good, what it’s like to openly share their relationship online, and the Troye Sivan song she’s listened to “at least 100 times.”

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A post shared by Cy 🐸✨💕 (@cylovesfrogs)

What’s your best recommendation for people who haven’t tried Vietnamese food before? 

Honestly, my answer would be to just try absolutely anything! I made a whole video on this recently because I felt like there were too many “hidden” Vietnamese food treasures that people haven’t explored yet. If you’ve never had Vietnamese food, I’m begging you to just head down to your local Vietnamese joint and just order the first thing that catches your eye. I promise it won’t let you down!

What was the most exciting part of being featured in Meta’s “It’s Your World” campaign for you?

Working with the Meta team – they wanted 100% authenticity from me, so we worked collaboratively to develop something that was personal and from my heart. Meta’s been a throughline in my creator journey – Instagram’s one of my favorite platforms to connect with my audience, and I use WhatsApp everyday to connect with international family members and friends… so it really has been so wonderful and full circle doing this campaign with them.

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A post shared by Cy 🐸✨💕 (@cylovesfrogs)

We imagine the queer couples and people of color in your audience connect with and are encouraged by the generous, open way you share your relationship. Have you felt that?

The internet can be a very dark place, which is why it’s been absolutely wonderful to be met with kindness when showing and living my authentic life (and of course my lovely partner). Even when the hate gets a little too loud, the messages and comments I receive from my audience (young queer people, people who are healing their relationship with food, asian women who see themselves in me, etc.) are incredibly affirming. It can be hard to wade through the muck and white noise, but there is so much love and goodness in the world, and I’m beyond grateful that my audience reflects that.  

You’ve shared that the movies Howl’s Moving Castle and The Handmaiden encompass you as a person. Is there queer media that has moved you similarly recently? 

I’ve listened to Troye Sivan’s “Got Me Started” at least 100 times since it’s come out. The music video was a delight, and I love hearing queer people talk about joy, yearning, lust – anything and everything, really. If you have 3 minutes to spare, I highly recommend giving it a listen! 

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A post shared by Cy 🐸✨💕 (@cylovesfrogs)

Lastly, what’s the gayest baked good? 

There’s something so delightfully gay about a fresh lemon poppy scone. 

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can find Cy on Instagram and TikTok.