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...