Covid-19: Oon Shu An makes ASMR eating videos to 'send love' and support local food establishments

In a time where everyone is staying home and the food and beverage (F&B) industry has been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, it's easy to feel helpless for not being able to do much.

But local actress Oon Shu An is using her clout to help send some love to local food establishments through her autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) videos on Instagram.

Speaking to CNA Lifestyle, the 33-year-old revealed that she has turned her ASMR eating hobby into a way to raise awareness for local eateries.

She explained: "If I order from them and am eating and ASMR-ing, I'll just tag the business and put in swipe-up links, and send love their way."

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"One of the things with this Covid-19 situation is that I’ve been feeling quite helpless, because there are so many people who need help. You try and get educated about issues that are happening, but at some point, you feel a little bit like there’s so much to do and you’re only one person," Shu An added.

The stage actress acknowledged that life now is tough for hawkers as "they have no walk-ins, so customer numbers have dropped by so much, and some are still not getting rent relief"; hence, she's doing whatever she can to alleviate their plight.

Shu An revealed that her followers often take her up on her recommendations and as long as one person orders food, it helps.

"I have to believe that every little thing that we do is worth doing. We can't do everything but we can all do something. I know I'm not saving the world, but this Covid-19 thing is a marathon. So, I'm thinking of little ways to help. We do what we can."

Started ASMR after getting a mic

The Clicknetwork host told CNA Lifestyle that she fell in love with ASMR videos two years ago as she found their auditory effects relaxing.

She began to create her own videos after her sister gave her a microphone as a birthday gift.

"I would just put my mic on and plug it in, and I would just listen to myself eat. It's really, really calming. I did that for fun; then, once in a while, I started posting videos of it, also for fun," she said.

According to Shu An, some of her friends don't understand her ASMR hobby but her followers enjoy it and have asked her to do more.

Her Instagram Stories are filled with ASMR videos of the food she's ordered but there are some which she singled out for their sounds.

"I love anything chewy, crunchy or squishy. I think squishy is my favourite. In The Brickyard's chiffon cakes made a fantastic sound — very squishy. And anything stuffed with cheese — Casa Manini has this amazing eggplant parmigiana with cheese and tomato sauce. It makes an amazing squishy sound," she said.

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She also enjoyed Woon Woon Pek Beehoon at Changi Village, adding that "they had so much seafood in there" and the soup was "so good", she "just drank it straight out of the bowl".

Her videos even caught the attention of comedian-actress Michelle Chong, who told her to "make [the eating sounds] louder" and Shu An complied after conducting an Instagram poll where the majority of her followers agreed with Michelle's suggestion. Netizens have described her videos as "very shiok" after she made the adjustment.

Shu An is now taking requests from her followers and the list includes fried chicken, sea grapes, cucumber, watermelon, Tao Kae Noi, spicy noodles, and weirdly enough, raw broccoli.

She said: "Someone asked for raw broccoli. That sounds disgusting. I bought the broccoli but it's been sitting in my fridge. I'm really not looking forward to it."

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bryanlim@asiaone.com