🍽️ Pineapple Bun

Crumbly sweet bun, cha chaan teng icon.

Pineapple Bun is the most iconic bread of Hong Kong's cha chaan teng, named for its cracked, lattice-like baked top that resembles pineapple skin, though it contains no pineapple. A soft sweet bun is topped with a layer of crumbly sugar-crust dough and baked until crisp outside, pillowy within, sweet and aromatic. Served hot split with a slab of cold butter, it becomes the famous hot-cold pineapple bun. Layered crust and soft crumb matter, and it is best within ten minutes of coming out of the oven. Hongkongers eat it with milk tea at breakfast or coffee at afternoon tea, at bakeries and cafes across the city. A cultural symbol, it is a must for visitors; the hot-cold butter version perfectly embodies Hong Kong's playful culinary mix.