Vietnamese eateries around the island have been feeling the heat in the wake of last week’s KTV lounge cluster (totalling 215 Covid-19 cases at press time). Cancelled reservations and reduced patronage aside, the bosses of said eateries 8days.sg spoke to didn’t receive any nasty comments directed at their nationality.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for a famous scantily-clad Vietnamese hawker known only as Yumi — she opened an eponymous beer and juice stall in Hong Lim Food Centre last August (according to a video she posted on her popular Facebook page with more than 100K followers).

Yumi has had to close her stall and serve a quarantine order at home from July 17 to 31, along with the rest of Hong Lim Food Centre’s hawkers after a cluster related to the Jurong Fishery Port one emerged.

She’s been living in Singapore since 2017 and earned her fame — or notoriety — thanks to a spicy combination of spunk and risqué fashion sense that wouldn’t look out of place at a cosplay convention or sexy night club, all while doling out mugs of beer.

She declined to reveal personal information apart from what’s available on her FB page, citing privacy reasons. “What I want to say, [I’ve] already put in my latest video,” she tells 8days.sg.

Two days after the Ministry of Health (MOH) first announced the KTV cluster on July 12, Yumi posted her first video on the subject. An unnamed local, whether a customer or passer-by, allegedly told the hawker to “please go back home”.

“All the Vietnamese girls [go to] work at KTV, kiss and hug customers, [catch Covid-19] and [are] now passing it to others,” says Yumi in her video, posted on July 14. The entire tirade - in Mandarin (sped up, pitch-modulated and helpfully subtitled in English) - lasts around three minutes, and has garnered more than 1,300 likes.

She, ahem, takes umbrage at the assumption that Vietnamese people, and by extension, Yumi herself, are often found at KTV lounges. “There are a lot of Vietnamese girls who don’t drink [with patrons at KTV lounges]. Some Vietnamese girls just sell food, or they are just housewives taking care of their babies at home. Why blame all Vietnamese girls? Why scold me like a dog here?”

She states categorically that she’s “never stepped into a KTV bar during [her] five-year stay in Singapore.” She adds, “[My stall is] at Hong Lim Market. My [stall is] not at a KTV. If my [stall] is [at] a KTV, and I’m a close contact of an infected individual, then quarantine me.”

To patrons who insist on patronising KTV lounges (though they’ve since been closed), she says, “If you go drinking, [be] careful. If you don’t know the girl, then you don’t risk drinking with her.”

She even urges those who might be infected to get themselves tested. “So if any customer who went to KTV and bistros [are listening]. Please go buy the self-test kit and test yourself.” She pauses mid-rant to hilariously mimic sticking her drinking straw up her nose. “You may be asymptomatic, but still infected. You may be strong, but you can still pass it [to] old folks,” she says. She even practices what she preaches: “I self-test regularly. It’s inexpensive, [and you can] do it at home.”

Incidentally, her most recent swab test on July 18 came out negative.

Since the first video, Yumi’s had to close her stall and serve a quarantine order at home, together with Hong Lim Food Centre’s hawkers. She released a follow up (captions-only) video to her original rant on July 20, a call to everyone to be fair to the Vietnamese community.

First off, she addresses the elephant in the room. “Some people hate the way I dress. I don’t care. I dress the way I like and [what] I’m comfortable with. Some people ask if I’m Singaporean, or PR (permanent resident). Frankly, I don’t like this kind of question. I’m a resident.”

“I love Singapore as it’s my second home,” she adds.

She reiterates her stance on painting Vietnamese people with broad strokes. “There are always good, law-abiding people and bad, law-breaking people in every country. Not 100 percent of Vietnamese are good, law-abiding people and this applies to Singaporeans too. Otherwise, Changi Prison would not have any Singaporeans incarcerated inside.”

“The main issue I have is the generalisation by these biased folks that one bad apple means the whole basket of apples are bad,” she says.

Yumi ends off, again, by urging everyone to do their part. “We must recognise that this virus does not discriminate [against] people by nationality, profession or social status. Hence, I hope everyone makes it their own personal responsibility to stop the spread and not blame it on any particular group.”

Interestingly, the entrepreneurial hawker peddles her own brand of nuts too (advertised with some strategic product placement, see above), though she won’t be able to do any deliveries for now as she’ll be stuck at home until July 31.

Yumi is at #01-42 Hong Lim Food Centre, 531A Upper Cross St, S051531. Tel: 8901-6984. Opens Sun to Thurs, 4.30pm – 10.30pm; Fri to Sat, 5pm – 10.30pm. More info via Facebook or Instagram. Available for delivery via Foodpanda. The stall will reopen on July 31.

Photos: Yumi Diary/Facebook​​​​​​​