Vietnamese Homestyle Cooking at South Austin’s Bisous

In France, to give bisous is to greet a friend or loved one with a kiss on each cheek. It’s a playful, platonic way to express friendship and affection. This same sense of playfulness, with a dash of nostalgia, defines the vibe at Bisous, chef Bianca Frasier’s food truck, from the lips forming the “o” in the logo to the menu, a mash-up of Vietnamese/Southern comfort that speaks avec un accent français.

“I think about it all like French food: Vietnamese food is French, Southern food is dirty French, and I was trained in French cuisine,” says Frasier. Then she thought about her mom’s cooking and became inspired.

Her mom grew up in Vietnam, and Frasier’s grandfather was a military lawyer. They had a trained French chef in the house until they emigrated to America. Frasier describes her mom’s style as practical, methodical, and classical. Bisous’ ice cream sandwich is essentially Frasier’s mom’s recipe: a croissant stuffed with a scoop of ice cream and topped with decadent chocolate sauce. “She was cooking like herself, and my dad” – born in Alabama, raised in Tennessee – “wanted very Southern staples all the time. When I was a kid, we used to watch cooking shows with the sound off and try to guess what they were making based on technique.”

Frasier recommends putting her turmeric-fried catfish or her curry-fried chicken on bao, and the steak bites with tomato and watercress salad go best over rice. (I loved the warm, pillowy corn fritters with a zingy verde sauce.) Her personal favorite? “Just for nostalgia reasons, the pork belly. It’s always been my favorite thing, I ask for it when I go home. When I cook it now, I just take one bite so I don’t get sick of it.”

Bisous

This article appears in February 24 • 2023.