Hong Kong people have a deep love for pineapple buns. In Hong Kong films, the male and female leads often hold pineapple buns while portraying various plots. Those who enjoy pineapple buns while watching these films seem to experience the rich aroma and the crispy yet soft texture that the buns exude.
Pineapple buns are a favorite among many girls; they are a type of sweet bread originating from Hong Kong. It is said that they are named for their golden, bumpy crust that resembles a pineapple after baking, although they have no actual relation to pineapples. Nevertheless, people seem to be quite fond of that pineapple-like crust. In Taiwan, it is referred to as "bread with a pineapple crust," as it is always associated with pineapples in some way.
In reality, pineapple buns do not contain any pineapple, nor do they have any filling. However, Hong Kong people enjoy slicing the bun open and adding a thick slice of butter, creating what is known as pineapple butter. When a freshly baked pineapple bun is filled with cold butter, the heat from the bun causes the butter to melt in the middle, turning the bun a golden color. Taking a bite releases a rich buttery aroma on the palate.
Many tea restaurants in Hong Kong serve this food paired with milk tea as an afternoon snack or breakfast. The price of a pineapple bun is generally lower than that of other filled buns, yet its flavor is richer compared to plain bread, making it very popular among Hong Kong people. Some tea restaurants even serve the butter with ice cubes, allowing customers to keep the butter in a frozen state while adding it to the pineapple bun, enhancing the contrast between the cold and hot textures.
Hong Kong people are always innovating with snacks. It is said that the origin of the pineapple bun came from the dissatisfaction of early Hong Kong people with the bread introduced by the British, which they found bland and lacking in nutrition. Therefore, they added sweet fillings such as sugar and honey to the bread. The crispy outer layer of the pineapple bun is generally made from sugar, eggs, flour, and lard, which is the soul of the pineapple bun, adding texture to the ordinary bread.
As one of the representative snacks of Hong Kong, pineapple butter is often associated with Hong Kong identity and local consciousness. In the film "McDull, Prince of Pineapple Bun," McDull's father is nicknamed the "Prince of Pineapple Bun." Once, there was a naive little prince who, due to his disobedience, was transformed into a pineapple bun by a magical teacher. When the Prince of Pineapple Bun went on a tour, he accidentally ended up in an old port and did not know how to return home, gradually becoming a local...
This abandoned, unfortunate prince is reminiscent of Hong Kong people who are nostalgic for the British colonial period. They are too enamored with the past and cannot forget the prosperous life of that time. Places like Tai Kok Tsui, Kwai Chung Container Terminal, and Hong Kong Island in the 1950s and 1960s are symbols of Hong Kong that frequently appear in films, reflecting the sentiments of Hong Kong people regarding the changes of the times.
The story of McDull is somewhat heavy, but there is also a little story about pineapple buns. It is said that in 2005, pineapple buns were nominated as a typhoon name but were not selected. The former director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Lam Chiu Ying, who was one of the judges, remarked that it would be too funny to say that a certain country was being attacked by a pineapple bun.
Over the decades of development, Hong Kong people have made their pineapple buns increasingly remarkable, until they have become an inseparable part of Hong Kong. Pineapple buns are as sweet as first love, not only sweet in taste but also fermenting in the heart.