Christina Wong of Fruit + Flower: Food, Cannabis, and the Art of Belonging

I’ve admired Christina Wong of Fruit + Flower for so long. Her work, her aesthetic, and the way that she and Wendy have built Mogu Magu to create a space for people in the AAPI community to learn about cannabis and find acceptance for their use of it within their own community. Seeing what that space means for women has been especially beautiful to me.

I stayed away from the events for so long, thinking, I’m not Asian, it’s not meant for me. Then I had the privilege of being invited and asked by Christina to come to an event that celebrated Filipina culture in 2024.

Christina Wong of Fruit + Flower, Wendy, and Mogu Magu

Mogu Magu describes itself as a not-for-profit AAPI culture, food, and cannabis collective, co-hosted by Christina and Chef Wendy Zeng. They bring people together to explore cultural heritage through food, cannabis, and conversation, and to find belonging where cannabis can still be taboo. Wendy learned in her grandfather’s kitchen in Chengdu, China, before moving to Memphis at ten. Her cooking brings together those Sichuan roots, Southern food, and her life in Los Angeles. Christina’s background includes more than a decade in food and restaurant communications, alongside her work as a culinary artist and award-winning storyteller.

It was so beautiful to see so many different Asian brands that I didn’t even know existed on the market. It’s how I connected with Dear Flor and learned about founder Lisa Angulo Reid’s passion for ensuring that the flavors of her gummies were not just any flavors. The mango had to be the right kind of mango. She described a very unique and distinct Filipino mango flavor, different from the Mexican mango is Californians are familiar with. Lisa tried eight different mango flavor varieties to find the balance of sweetness, tartness, and juiciness that brought her back to her childhood. So it wasn’t just about making something taste like mango. It was about getting that particular mango right. The full line of flavors: Mango, Ube Boba, Calamansi, and Buko Pandan. Sweet ube, bright calamansi citrus, and coconutty buko pandan are each different ways to experience Filipino flavors. It’s really beautiful to see that level of intention in a brand.

Wendy and Christina, both huge lovers of food and incredible chefs, created such a magical experience.

We got to learn about the culture through the food. We got to learn about the culture through shared experience. We got to hear different people share what it meant to have a space to see so many people come together after feeling so alone because of their cannabis use.

Learning to Grow with Christina

Last year, I went to Christina’s ILGM Grow Club class at The Artist Tree in West Hollywood because Jake Kuczeruk had invited me. He was running the ILGM Grow Club program at the time and even though I told him “apartment, four cats” I brought some seeds I’d been given a while ago and hadn’t done anything with thinking I would give them away - at the very least they deserved to have a chance to grow.

I thought I was coming more to give other people seeds, not really to grow myself. I lived in an apartment with four cats and I didn’t have any yard space. I just didn’t see how growing was possible. But by the end of the class, Christina had me so excited to just try. To just see what happens. And why not?

Christina doesn’t teach from perfection. Christina teaches from experimentation and Christina teaches with a sense of adventure. The lesson I took from her was: you can’t fuck it up. And even if you do, you’ll do it differently next time. Each time, you learn more and more.

So I was like, okay, well, let’s see. And I took it home, and I did fuck it up, actually. Then my cats knocked over the grow bag. But it got me excited to try again at some point.

July: A Familiar Place to Land After Mexico

July was my first time at Christina’s home. She called me and asked if I would stay and watch her cats while she went up north to judge at the California State Fair. When I got there after Mexico, it was as though I had walked into the house version of my old apartment in Long Beach. Disco balls and bright colors and Lilli’s artwork all over, and best of all - kitties again. I cried and released for the first three days. And then I got to work.

Christina has two sister kitties, sixteen years old, and they are the sweetest girls. It was really healing to be around them and in such a beautiful, bright home full of life. So full of life.

I got to tend to her garden, which meant taking care of some of her plants. During the time we had quite the heat wave. Some of the girls gave me a scare, and I thought I had killed them. But they just needed a little more water, and they were just fine. Drama queens.

After my own attempt at growing, having the opportunity to tend to the plants in her garden, without starting from scratch, was really exciting. And her home became a happy, holy place for rest and work.

October: Harvest, Good Food, and Getting to Know Christina

This time, I came back for the week of the IgniteIt show in L.A., with Christina at home. I got to know not just what I’ve seen online and admired from afar, but the person behind the camera. What drives her, what motivates her, what she’s passionate about, what she loves.

Christina educates her neighbors on how to grow not just cannabis, but all kinds of things. Her methodology is “try it and see” and of course she has learned so much that way. Her garden is fucking amazing.

Christina and her awesome boyfriend Steve made delicious fresh coffee each day. Christina made these incredible peach, candied ginger, walnut cinnamon rolls one morning. There was also her homemade pineapple vanilla bean jam, which I enjoyed with a biscuit, and pineapple sticky buns made with that same jam. It’s been a very delicious, doughy delicious treat. She shares the story and recipes in Pineapple Kush 3 Ways on Fruit + Flower Unfurled—a little taste of the hospitality I got to enjoy.

And of course, she has a beautiful bar of sun-grown flower—a huge variety from the Bohemian Chemist, Sonoma Hills Farm, and of course Moon Made Farms. There is beautiful, soulful, hand-picked sun-grown flower to choose from, and different bongs to use. We would laugh as we each smoked out of our own separate bong and enjoyed each other’s company and a collective high.

This trip, I got to harvest. And since I stayed a couple of days extra, I got to trim the plants that I harvested when I first arrived. It’s been such a great experience, because a little more plant-touching right before I go to the place to become truly plant-touching.

Christina is a huge advocate for sun-grown cannabis. She’s had four trips up to the Emerald Triangle so far. Being able to stay with her in L.A. before my own first six-week trip, I’ve been able to learn so much from her, and get some hands-on experience, too.

Seeing how she gardens in her own home shows the magic of learning to let go. Let go of the control that we want to have over things, and allow them to breathe and grow on their own to their full potential. And then be able to live in the bliss of that.

I’m honored to be able to share her home. It’s been really beautiful to get to know her more deeply—her heart and her passion for this plant and people, and living more sustainably and wholly with your community. And to see how she builds that in her own life.

Christina’s generosity extends well beyond her home. She often donates her excess flower to local compassion groups and is a passionate, outspoken supporter and advocate of the compassion program at Cornerstone Wellness in Eagle Rock. The program was running strong long before Christina joined, and she credits her colleague Moni with doing the heavy lifting. Christina enjoys working compassion days because, as she puts it, “it reminds me why cannabis is medicine.” Her advocacy is rooted in that connection to the plant and the people it helps.

As I head up to the Emerald Triangle for my first six-week visit, I’m grateful for the time I’ve had here with her. From taking care of the girls in July to harvesting and trimming in October, I’m taking a little more experience with me, and a lot of appreciation for Christina.

She’s working on something special with Wendy. I can’t wait for you to learn more, but for now I am sworn to secrecy. Do please give her a follow. I promise you won’t want to miss it. And if you haven’t already been following, you will find an extraordinary library of beautiful recipes and stories and the world through Christina’s eyes.

Follow Fruit + Flower and explore Christina’s Fruit + Flower Unfurled newsletter.