Pineapple Buns 菠蘿包

This recipe is for our reader Raymond who asked for a recipe for Pineapple Buns with the real traditional crackle cookie tops.

I hope that this recipe is the one he was looking for, anyways this is the one that we know as the traditional Pineapple Bun, or 菠蘿包, a soft fluffy bun underneath and a crunchy crumbly crackled sweet cookie like crust on top, invented in Hong Kong in the sixties and still a standard at all Hong Kong traditional bakeries.

A taste sensation, the cookie crust crumbles delightfully in your mouth when you bite into the soft warm tender bun.  Pineapple Bun, named for the texture of the crackle crust that resembles the real pineapple, is a real special afternoon or breakfast treat and an absolutely unique Hong Kong style bake!

Chinese New Year Celebration Traditions 香港新春節慶

We had so much fun this year celebrating the Chinese New Year festival in Hong Kong!  So we thought that before we leave it finally all behind and start in earnest on the new year that we would share some of our photos of Hong Kong celebrating the Chinese New Year, or 香港新春節慶, in it's own imitable style.

 Most important and dramatic of all, of course, is the majestic Chinese Dragon Dance, or 舞龍, a traditional performance that is believed to bring good luck that has been around since 200 BC!  We were lucky enough to catch a wonderful Dragon Dance performance in the mall the other day.  You would not believe how loud the drums and clashing cymbals were!  Could not hear a thing afterwards for an hour!