🍽️ Pineapple Bun with Butter

Flaky bun with a slab of cold butter, a Hong Kong classic.

Pineapple bun with butter is a classic bread snack of Hong Kong cha chaan teng. The bun's top is scored with a sweet sugary crust baked into golden cracks resembling a pineapple; fresh from the oven, a thick slice of cold butter is slipped inside. At the moment the butter is half-melted, bite in, the crust shatters, the bun is warm and soft, the cold butter salty and just melting, hot meeting cold. It balances sweet and savory, crisp and soft, aromatic without greasiness. Hong Kong versions demand fresh-from-the-oven buns and ice-cold butter; the instant of hot-meets-cold is the magic. With a cup of Hong Kong milk tea it forms the quintessential cha chaan teng afternoon tea.