We have a couple of volunteer cantaloupe plants that grew out of a garden bed this year. I think the seeds probably came from the Hami melons, bought at Costco. To make compost, we threw kitchen scraps, included the seeds, there and were surprised of how easily these plants have grown. During the recent extremely hot summer, they continued to flower and set fruits. The only issues I saw were a lot of white aphids on the leaves and sooty molds on the surface of the fruits.   Cantaloupe on the vine Cantaloupe plants, growing on a trellis When to Pick Cantaloupes They said to pick cantaloupes when the fruits are almost falling off the stems; however, this did not work for me. I had a few cantaloupes turned rotten after I waited for that long. It was best to pick when I could smell the ripeness and when the skin turned yellow. Recently harvested ripe cantaloupes Taste and Propagation My family said this is the best cantaloupe melon they have ever had. It is sweet, crunchy, and has a p...

I bought a seeded banana (musa acuminata) sucker from a Florida nursery and planted it in my backyard around 18 months ago. This is a wild or parental type of cavendish banana.  It is a fast growing plant and has produced many suckers. In Vietnamese cuisine, certain seeded banana plants are more prized than regular eating bananas’. They said the stems, flowers and even seeded green fruits taste better. My family has not had a chance to try the wild banana flowers or seeded green fruits, because the plants were frozen last winter then grew back. But we have eaten the stems steadily since the spring. When chopping down a banana plant, I would avoid contact with the fluid from the trunk. I normally let it rest outside until all the fluid has run off. You do not want the banana fluid on your clothes or inside the house, because it would be impossible to remove. Wild seeded banana plant (musa acuminata, chuối hột), chopped down in Texas We only eat the tender parts, true stem and inner...

These are some of the ugliest photos I have ever taken! From June through August, Houston has experienced daytime temperatures of 95 to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I watered the trees every other day but have put a pause on gardening during the summer. Surprisingly, Royal Rainier was the only cherry tree that still pushed out young shoots. Except the Hachiya persimmon tree, which had no damage, the rest had many brown leaves that eventually dropped. I planted or grafted the sweet cherry, persimmon and plum hybrid trees approximately 6 months ago. You can read more about them from my previous posts below: Stop Thinking and Start Growing Sweet Cherries Why Did My Persimmon Trees Die? Are Plum Hybrid Trees Easy to Grow in Texas?   Sweet Cherry Trees Compact Stella cherry tree, dying during the heatwave. Vandalay cherry tree, leaves dropped near the trunk.   Royal Rainier cherry tree also had brown leaves, but did better than other 2 varieties. Persimmon Trees Giant Fuyu persimm...

As Houston continued to burn in record heat, my garden looked really sad during this time of the year. All winter squash vines got roasted. Many tomato plants either have shown signs of blights or were already gone. Even the grass has turned brown. The jujube trees, on the other hand, were growing better than weeds. Both the Li and Shanxi Li jujube trees have flushed out flowers for the second time and still maintained their beautiful glossy, green leaves.   Jujube tree flowered the second time. Plant Profile Jujube is a deciduous tree that grows in zone 5 through 10 and requires little chill hours. From my experience, it does well in clay soil and has no problem with heat, drought or pests. The Shanxi Li jujube is self-fertile, but the Li only produces a few fruits by itself without cross pollination. The cons about growing jujubes are the tree has sharp thorns and its roots can be invasive. I heard the jujube roots can run and grow suckers over 20 feet from the tree. Since my bac...

When the weather temperature reached three digits, we wanted to eat spicy food even more. We went to Ishin Udon restaurant during the weekend and it was hard to find parking as usual. The stars here were the thick udon noodles. They were perfectly soft, chewy and bouncy.  Soft, chewy & bouncy udon noodles at Ishin Udon restaurant in Houston, Texas The tempura curry udon came with two large prawns. The okras and pickled vegetables were complementary to the udon in thick curry. I like the aroma and taste of Japanese curry; it does not contain coconut milk or heavy cream like other Asian curries. Moreover, I tried the chilled mentai udon for the first time and it was surprisingly good. The cold noodles with cod roe, poached egg, bonito flakes, and cucumber in dashi sauce were light and simple, yet delectable. Shrimp tempura curry udon Chilled mentai, cod roe, udon

Bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd, is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in the South. This plant loves the heat and is practically disease free. If you have never eaten winter melon, it is a good idea to try it first before starting to grow it. As the name implies, it does taste bitter. You can easily buy fresh bitter melons at a local Asian grocery store. It is a common vegetable in Asian cuisine. Young bitter melons on the vine (bigger leaves belong to a different gourd) How to Grow Bitter Melon? In the spring, I started the seeds in small pots. After 30 days, I planted the young seedlings in the ground, in full sun.  I pruned them as single vines for 2 feet above the ground and let them branched out as they climbed along the trellis. Except for kitchen scraps and grass cuttings, I did not use a fertilizer or spray. Growing bitter melon for years, I have never seen it had any pests or diseases. The only thing I did was watering every other day during the heat wave. Wit...

When my relatives from out of town visited me in Houston, I took them to Kim Son buffet restaurant on Bellaire Boulevard. We went there on a weekday for lunch and there was a 15 minute wait. In my opinion, Kim Son is the best buffet for authentic Vietnamese street food and noodle soups. Whenever I go there, I always look for the following dishes. Banh Xeo, Turmeric Coconut Crepe or Taco It came out warm and crispy. The inside had shrimps, pork and bean sprouts. I broke a small piece and wrapped it in lettuce and cilantro, then dipped in the fish sauce with red chili. It was a little bit oily, but tasted delicious. I liked the taste of turmeric and coconut milk in the batter. Banh xeo, turmeric coconut crepe or taco Dumplings and Pancakes The mini yellow shrimp pancake was also crispy and good. They used the same batter as the turmeric coconut taco. I preferred the taco over the pancake, because it was tastier and less oily. The sticky rice dumpling, with savory mung bean and peppery gr...

I am growing about half a dozen of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes in my garden this year, but Sungold deserves its own post. From my experience, Sungold is one of the best tomatoes to plant in the South. In areas with mild summer, tomatoes grow like weeds. We struggle to grow tomatoes here and Sungold makes it really easy.   Sungold cherry tomatoes on the vine Plant Profile Sungold is an indeterminate hybrid cherry tomato. It is a fast growing plant and early producer. Although I started the seeds after other tomato varieties, Sungold was one of the first that I harvested. It can tolerate the heat and humidity very well. Below is a Sungold tomato plant in my garden during the peak of the summer. After a month long heatwave in Houston, it is the only tomato variety that still flowers and sets fruits. The other tomato plants just look stunted. The Sungold plant in the image is a 4-foot wide bush, growing next to an apple tree. I purposely wanted to give it partial shade. As you ca...

Bánh mì simply means bread in Vietnamese. Nowadays, people refer banh mi as any types of Vietnamese baguette sandwich. I have seen restaurants, offered from banh mi with chicken to vegan banh mi with tofu. The traditional banh mi that my family and I normally eat is with cold cut meat. It is also a popular Vietnamese street food.   Vietnamese Baguette Bread A good banh mi sandwich starts with good Vietnamese baguette bread. A Vietnamese baguette has thin crispy crust, but the inside is soft and airy. It does not look rustic and is not as hard as a French baguette. I remember the baguettes in Vietnam were so crispy that the thin crusts actually cracked. My Baguettes is a banh mi restaurant on Bellaire Boulevard that makes good bread, almost like in Vietnam. Traditional banh mi sandwich at My Baguettes restaurant, Vietnamese baguette sandwich Inside a Traditional Banh Mi Sandwich A traditional banh mi sandwich contains various thin slices of cold cut pork. At this restaurant, I frequ...

In January, I planted two pluot and one pluerry bare-root trees, bought from a California nursery. I have to admit I do not care for regular plums and planted these because my family like them. However, after reading about plum hybrids, I thought maybe I will like their complex flavors. About Plum Hybrids Plum hybrids are a cross between a Japanese plum and another stone fruit. Pluot is a hybrid of a plum and an apricot; pluerry is a cross between a plum and a cherry. They require 500 chill hours or less and the recommended USDA zones are 6 to 9. So, they can fruit and survive the winter in Houston, Texas. A major con is that plum hybrid trees do not self-pollinate. You need at least two pluot, pluerry or Japanese plum varieties that bloom at the same time to cross pollinate and set fruits. Plum Hybrid Trees Are Not Hard to Grow in Texas I planted Flavor Grenade, Flavor King and Flavor Punch trees above grade and in full sun. At first, I pruned them to knee length, because I wanted the...

During the weekend, my family wanted to have dim sum for brunch. We decided to do takeout and ate dim sum at home. Here are a few of our favorite dim sum dishes that I ordered at New Palace restaurant in Stafford, Texas.   Pork and Shrimp Tofu Skin Rolls This is my favorite dim sum dish. I am not Cantonese and cannot comment if it is authentic. Whenever I am at a dim sum restaurant, this is the dish that I must order. The tofu skin rolls, wrapped with pork, shrimp and bamboo shoots, were juicy and flavorful.   Pork & shrimp tofu skin rolls Baked Salted Egg lava Buns Out of all the dim sum restaurants that I have eaten in Houston, this place makes the best salted egg lava buns. When I split the crispy and soft bun in halves, a generous portion of the egg yolk filling came oozing out and it tasted rich, sweet and a little salty.   Baked salted egg lava buns Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce The chicken feet were big and tender. I could taste that they...