Into the Fridge 🔮
Viv Chen on chilled tomato soup and good pillow screams
Viv Chen 🔮
(@vivthemole) is a California-based fashion writer with bylines in Coveteur, The Strategist and San Francisco Chronicle. Her newsletter, , is a top 25 fashion publication that explores fashion & style with a sociological twist (like the racial politics of anti-counterfeit marketing or how trend cycles influence tattoo regret). She loves living in the Bay Area because it is produce paradise, and honestly, who could blame her. 
What is your fridge philosophy?
Stock your fridge for the life you have, not the aspirational curated life that’s been marketed to you. I feel like the “fridge photo” has become adjacent to aesthetic skincare “shelfies” and outfit flatlays.
We’re living in a cost-of-living crisis, groceries are a luxury, it’s a flex to show off your salmon filets and niche nut milks. Having a wilted bag of decomposing spinach goop is normal. Having unaesthetic tupperware is normal.
Your fridge is always always always stocked with ____.
Chives! They are my favorite herb. I put them on eggs, salad, pasta, soups, everything.
Top 5 condiments, go.
Whole grain mustard. I like the acidity and texture of the grains. I use this in salad dressings or eaten plain with deli meats when it’s 3:50pm on a workday and I want a weird little snack.
Plain mayonnaise. It’s what makes a good sandwich.
Kadoya brand sesame oil. Especially in summer over cold soba noodles.
Hoisin sauce.
Sriracha. (Goes with hoisin as my MUST HAVES for pho.)
Fine, I’ll open it up to pantry too. Let’s hear your favorite snacks / pantry staples:
I LOVE chips. All kinds really. I actually need to restock them in my pantry but my favorite are Sun Chips (harvest cheddar flavor) and super vinegary chips that make your tongue feel raw!
Yeah. I love savory snacks but don’t have much of a sweet tooth. But I do like peanut butter cups from Berkeley Bowl.
A meal that’s on heavy rotation these days:
Chilled tomato soup from the SQIRL cookbook. It’s just peak season tomatoes (I like jackpot tomatoes), sherry vinegar, mint leaves and salt. It’s soooooo good if you like tangy flavors.
Let’s go a little deeper…
What’s the mantra you keep coming back to?
Be true to your word.
What products / practices are part of your regular mental wellness habits?
Listening to sad music, having a good cry.
Eating lunch outside when the sun is out.
Nonverbal FaceTimes with friend/family where we just do our own thing without pressure to talk.
Sniffing my dog for comfort. It’s aromatherapy.
And your physical?
Taking a hot shower. It’s the only thing that makes me feel truly “reset” after a bad day.
I like swimming and rock climbing but I’m not regimented about having a workout schedule.
I have eczema on my hands which is super frustrating when it flares up and I can’t swim or rock climb because the skin is so raw/inflamed. I use CeraVe products to mitigate the itch and inflammation.
What do you think is the most underrated part of wellness?
Wearing a hat on high SPF days!
…and overrated?
Hmm personally any kind of “wellness supplement” that comes in a pill or gummy form. It’s just not my thing (I grew up around a traditional Chinese medicine approach to “wellness”).
Picture this: you wake up one morning and feel like shit. What’s your next move:
Honestly I might have a good pillow scream and then sigh really dramatically at the ceiling. It’s called somatic healing, bitches!!!!
Give us your ride or die wellness products:
Hydrating Serum from Seven Thirty (the skincare studio I’ve been going to for 7+ years)
Theraface red light device for killing the facial bacteria, especially on my forehead because I have bangs and they trap a lot of sweat
One thing you do everyday that makes you the most YOU version of yourself:
Having sit-down dinner with my partner and our dog at home
Whose taste inspires you?!
Honestly, no “internet cool-girl” could inspire me as much as my siblings. They know me (the real me), I know them, so I trust anything they recommend implicitly and vice versa. I think we could all benefit from relying less on parasocial sources of taste inspo, wouldn’t you agree?
Big thank you to Viv for this glimpse into her life. You should subscribe to
if you haven’t already (!!!) and follow her on Instagram. Her fridge favorites + more are here.Feel free to leave a comment or respond to this email with questions you want asked, people you want featured, or anything else that’s on your mind. Don’t be shy, I love hearing from you. I’ll see you with a review soon!
Wow - never heard of doing non-verbal Facetimes with friends/family. Amazing idea!
Need to make that tomato soup asap! 🍅