Where did it Originate?
The origin of the pineapple bun is unclear. The earliest documented evidence of the pineapple bun can be traced back to Hong Kong in 1942. It was during this time that the Tai Tung Bakery first opened its doors to the public. The shop owner, Tse Ching-yuen, recalls that he has been making pineapple buns since he was just 11 years old. However, he acknowledges that there were similar baked goods in Japan before that period. At the time, they were called 酥皮包 (crispy-skin buns), but customers kept calling them pineapple buns.
By another account, the Ng family was deported from Mexico to Hong Kong and opened a restaurant there in 1946. They slightly adapted the concha to the local palate, creating the pineapple bun.
In June 2014, the government of Hong Kong listed the pineapple bun as a part of Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage. Tai Tung Bakery in Yuen Long, which had been making pineapple buns for more than 70 years, was a key proponent of including the technique for making the buns on the list of 480 items of living heritage.
