Pineapple Bun

The pineapple bun is a sweet Hong Kong bread topped with a crisp crust made of sugar, egg, butter and flour that bakes up golden and cracked, looking like a pineapple skin—though it contains no pineapple at all.

The pineapple bun emerged in Hong Kong's post-war cha chaan tengs, the product of local bakers adapting Western bread to Hong Kong tastes; cheap and delicious, it spread quickly, and its making technique is listed in the Hong Kong intangible cultural heritage inventory.

Best eaten hot from the oven, its classic form is split open and filled with a thick slice of cold butter to make a "pineapple butter bun," crisp outside and soft within, sweet meeting salty, traditionally paired with a cup of Hong Kong milk tea.

The golden crisp pineapple crust, its contrast with the soft bread beneath, and the melt of cold butter in a pineapple butter bun are the most beloved traits of the pineapple bun.