NEW TEXAS/SOUTHEAST ASIAN/MEXICAN BARBECUE TRUCK OPENS WITH PEPPERCORN BRISKET AND ROTI-WRAPPED SAUSAGES
Modern Chinese restaurant Zoé Tong opened its new barbecue truck this past weekend. Si Baby-Q debuted at 1530 Barton Springs Road in the Zilker neighborhood on Saturday, May 4.
Si Baby-Q’s menu is Texas barbecue with Mexican and Southeast Asian takes. The food is informed by the backgrounds of co-owner Simone Tong and pitmaster Jonathan Lagos, who are respectively Mexican American and Singaporean.
That means smoked meats available by weight, such as brisket made with Indonesian long peppercorns and pulled lamb shoulders with mala spices. Then there’s Esquites Chinos, Mexican street corn with queso fresco, sesame seeds, and mala spices; Queso y Pepe, where egg noodles are served with queso and long peppercorns; and the SXSE Smoked Chicken where the curried chicken leg is served with roti.
Other items include sandwiches like the brisket on a toasted pretzel bun or the Hog Duvet, a sausage on roti. There’s also a take on Frito pie with a spicy dan dan sauce. Desserts include cinnamon rolls made out of croissant dough and a cream cheese glaze. For drinks, the truck will serve a variety of beers, canned wines, and sodas. Scope out the menu below.
Zoé Tong co-owners Tong and Matthew Hyland wanted to offer smoked meats at the restaurant since they already had an on-site smoker courtesy of one of the address’s predecessors, Uncle Billy’s. They were connected to Lagos, who was the pitmaster of Terry Black’s Barbecue. While working together, Lagos mentioned he wanted to open his own food truck, hence Si Baby-Q.
Zoé Tong opened in November 2023. Before Austin, the couple were working in New York, where Tong ran Chinese American wine restaurant Silver Apricot and Hyland was part of the team behind pizzeria Emily and Emmy Squared.
