Desert Island Dish with Fil N' Viet chefs
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of Fil N' Viet
Married couple Kevin Truong and Rosie Mina-Truong run Fil N' Viet, an East Austin food truck that dishes out Filipino and Vietnamese food.
In just two years, Fil N' Viet has made its mark on the Austin food scene with its inventive flavor mashups, reflecting the couple's individual culinary heritage.
Background: Kevin grew up in Oklahoma, the son of Vietnam War refugees, and worked as a chef in Chicago before moving to Austin in 2017, working at downtown tasting-menu restaurant Counter 3.Five.VII and as the chef de cuisine at the Fairmont Hotel.
- That's where he met Rosie, who had moved to the U.S. for a college internship. She would later work at Mediterranean restaurant Aba on South Congress.
As part of a new feature about Austin chefs' favorite meals, we talked with Rosie and Kevin about the one dish they would take with them on a desert island.
If you could have one dish, what would it be?
Rosie: "We'd go with com tam, a Vietnamese breakfast dish of grilled meat, broken rice, eggs, herbs. There's a Filipino version, silog."
Kevin: "My parents always make it when we go home and visit Oklahoma. It's one of the first dishes we served at Fil N' Viet, as an homage. It doesn’t taste quite like my dad's — Dad always has the best flavors."
What about as a dessert?
Kevin: "It'd have to be halo-halo, a Filipino dessert that translates to mix-mix, similar to a Vietnamese dish, of shaved ice with ube ice cream, flan, corn and sweet beans — a lot going on in it — and evaporated milk. It's great, fun textures, and as a kid you got to enjoy eating the ice cream."
What are you drinking on your island getaway?
Kevin: "A cup of tea, oolong tea, afterward, especially if we eat a lot."
If you go: Fil N' Viet is off East 12th, at 1195 Hargrave St., in the lot right by the Quick Stop.
- It's open 5-9pm Wednesday to Friday, and noon to 3pm and 5-8pm Saturday and Sunday.