Ho Ho Mei Pineapple Bun

The logo says it all, I think

Yes, I am back! More on where I've been later. Let's just get to the reviews, shall we?

The Attraction

Several years back, I was visiting the in-laws in Taiwan when we happened upon a stall in a Taipei night market with a long line for it. I had no idea what the people were on the queue for, but I was intrigued. With so many stalls in so many night markets, for Taiwanese people to line up and wait for something, it had to be something special, so without even knowing what it was, we jump into the line. (Spoiler alert!) Little did I know that decision would result in me discovering one of my favorite night market items.

The Review:
Taiwan is really well known for it's night markets. With so much variety and at such inexpensive pricing, it's really tough not to love it. From sweet to savory treats to a variety of fruits, soups and sometimes even clothing, night markets have something for everyone. Personally, they had me once I knew they had a variety of food vendors, many of which serve Taiwanese comfort foods that you cannot get anywhere else.

Now, I can't say for sure that the Pineapple bun originated in Taiwan, but I will say that Ho Ho Mei has just about perfected it.

I have loved pineapple buns or bolo baos from since when my Mom would get me some from Chinatown here in New York. Their sweet crunchy topping on a soft fluffy bun proved to be a simple, yet tasty combo to me. Since then, I've had many pineapple buns (not actually pineapple flavored, just named that based on the pineapple-like texture of the sweet topping) in my day, but what is it about Ho Ho Mei's version of bolo baos that made people line up and convert me to a lifelong fan?

I look like a regular pineapple bun...

To start, the bun itself is fresh. Seemingly made the same day. In most cases, bakeries in NY are also fresh and made the same day, but somehow Ho Ho Mei's bun seem softer and fluffier. That was a distinct difference when I took my first bite. It felt like it was melting in my mouth. How often have you had a pastry do that?

The crunchy sweet topping is standard faire, good, but indistinguishable from other pineapple buns I've had, but when it's placed on top of such a stellar bun, it seems to enhance the overall experience. Speaking of enhancements...

...until you look under my pineapple hood

Although Ho Ho Mei offers the plain bolo bao, their real bread and butter (bad pun) is when they place a cold, big pat of butter into the warm pineapple bun. The contrast between the warm, soft bun against the cold, hard butter creates a strangely satisfying eating experience. The butter adds both a flavor as well as a textural dimension to this already enjoyable snack. It works and it works big.


The Sweet:
What isn't great about this bun? Soft, not too sweet, the contrast between warm bun and cold butter works unexpectedly well.

The Bitter:
Only available in Taiwan!

Conclusion:
I know what you might be thinking; what stops me from just buying a pineapple bun and placing a big pat of cold butter in between it on my own? Well, it just so happens that there is a place here locally in NY that offer a warm pineapple bun with a cold pat of butter in between. After coming back from Taiwan, I was really missing this snack, so I tracked down a place that seemingly had a similar product. I was excited to try it and had high hopes, but it was very ordinary. So ordinary that I had to face the truth; there are magic in those Ho Ho Mei pineapple buns.

Video of the Week

I thought I would get bored, but I watched the whole thing

People have been asking me what I've been doing since I've been gone so long. (No one has asked me that.) Well, some of that time was spent watching videos like these that you don't learn much from, yet are still entertaining. Who knew something so simply could be so fun? Leave it to the Japanese to find strange and interesting ideas.

Yamayoshi Hokkaido Rich Butter Potato Chips

 Hokkaido butter better than "regular" butter?

The Attraction

For awhile there, a post of mine that received a lot of traffic was a very early review I did of a D-Plus Hokkiado Cream bun. I'm not sure why, but it was up there in hits for awhile. Out of curiosity, I wondered if people out there just had a fascination with Hokkaido cream or anything related to Hokkaido. Now is my chance to find out.

The Review:
Aside from this experiment to see how much interest another Hokkaido flavored product would generate, this snack didn't jump out at me. I've already gone through my honey-butter phase (Calbee, Haitai, Calbee and Haitai), and although these chips don't advertise honey, they certainly let you know it's all about the butter...Hokkaido butter to be exact.

What's the big deal, you say? Apparently it is in Japan. Don't believe me, see here.

So with that pretext in mind, I was now super curious to see what these chips were about. Was it about the fans of butter in Japan or is this just a late comer to the S. Korean "butter" fad of last year?

Looks like regular chips

I open the bag of chips and there is no distinguishable scent or odor that presents itself. Perhaps a slight buttery smell, but hardly enough to notice. Like the other chips I mentioned earlier, these chips are not as oily as American made potato chips seem to be.

Chip meets mouth and it's a very casual affair. If not for the advertised flavor on the bag, it would not be clear what flavor exactly would these chips be. It's neither savory nor sweet or rather it's both, but subtly at the same time. The "Hokkaido butter" flavor of these chips does not grab you by the hand and says, "Lets dance!", but it prefers to talk to you while it slowly bobs it's head and the next thing you know you are surrounding by other people on the dance floor bouncing to the music.

In this case, I think adding "Hokkaido" to the butter description, is for marketing purposes as Hokkaido doesn't seem to create butter than has any substantial distinguishable flavor difference from conventional butter. I liken it to saying, "Wisconsin Cheese". So much for a new "flavor".

I'm no clearer what Hokkaido butter is

The Sweet:
Subtle sweet /savory flavor interplay.

The Bitter:
Maybe too subtle for snack lovers that like a definitive savory stance

Conclusion:
I can now see why / how the "honey" aspect of the honey-butter craze of recent memory was an important addition. It pushed those products closer to the sweet side and it set the expectation that the snacks would have some "sweet" elements to it. These Yamayoshi Hokkaido Rich Butter Potato Chips without the added honey are more agnostic in it's flavor. Like butter itself, it doesn't firmly set its foot down as savory or sweet, but rather it seems to thrive happily living somewhere in the middle.

Video of the Week 

This is not at all what I imagined it would be like

You like rice, I like rice, over half the world loves eating rice....but did you ever stop to think about how it's grown? Those poor ladies in the muddy fields slowly planting each rice plant by hand, day after day, all day long while the blazing sun is shining down upon them. Well, you are living in another century like I was, my friend. Welcome to the new world. Stay awhile.