To Bun or Not to Bun?

Not everyone can handle the culinary quagmire that is the Chinese Bun.

It’s true, some appear friendlier and more familiar than others. For example, some resemble a slice of pizza or the cheese and bacon roll found in your typical bakery. But we all know what lurks in the Asian bakery. There’s stuff in there that defies logic. That NASA hasn’t even discovered yet. That makes Inception look like Play School!

Before we get into that, what’s the deal with these buns? Where did they come from?

Records of baked goods in China go way back to the 16th Century, when chef Wen Tai Shi was called on to fight in a battle. Half Commander, half chef, this guy sounds like an ancient Gordon Ramsay, right?

Anyway, Wen was not going in to battle without some seriously good snack-food, so he ordered his staff to whip up some battle-appropriate chow – ration-sized and easy to handle. Small baked cakes did the trick, and so the Chinese pastry was born.

These days Taiwan and Hong Kong are known as the cake-bake capitals of China. Some of Taiwan’s bakeries are more than 100 years old! However, Hong Kong has stolen the spotlight a little since the British brought in their Western pastry and upped the ante.

Now we have Asian-style bakeries all over town, with notable chains such as Bread Top and Bread Story scattered around Sydney. But I issue a warning: Carbophobes steer clear. The name says it all.

Asian bread shops are the gangsters of the bakery world. They follow no rules, and this lends them some serious ghetto cred. Anything goes. Any colour, any topping, any flavour. These buns are half snack, half whack.

During my ‘research’ trips to these bakeries I discovered some notable varieties:

Bamboo Charcoal Bun: Black in colour, a perfect bread-noir snack for sad emo teens, although the garlicky topping isn’t too vampire-friendly.

Also residing in the ‘Interesting Colour’ category are the Green-Tea Sponges and the Purple Sticky Rice Loaves.

Pork Floss/Salmon Floss: Asian bakers give Blumenthal a run for his money with this peculiar floss sprouting atop cream-filled buns.

Chicken Donut: Does it work? Find out for yourself and try the bun where doughnut-y bread meets a creamy chicken and mushroom filling.

Mexican Bun: an enigmatic bun which tastes like a cross between a bread roll and a sponge cake.

Zaniness aside, some of these buns are damn tasty. On the sweeter side of things, you can’t go past the Donut Skewers which are strung along a bamboo stick like a shish kebab. Each filled with a dollop of custard, they kick Krispy Kreme to the kerb.

So I say- go forth and discover the world of buns. You might just be surprised. And I mean that in the best possible way.

By Lena Hattom

Photo: Flickr