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2014-10-12
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Whenever anyone goes to Taiwan for vacation, they usually bring home pineapple cakes (aka Fengli Su) as a souvenir. There are many brands. Some brands have been here forever. But this company, Sunny Hills, is a Taiwanese brand that is a bit newer than the classics but have increased in popularity over the years. It now boasts locations in Singapore and Tokyo (seriously....the Tokyo shop is an amazing piece of architecture) and now Hong Kong. I, myself, have had one of their pineapple cakes when
Upon learning they opened an official shop here, I decided to trek to Central to find it. Location is a bit hard to find if you don't do a lot of random art gallery walking. It's located in side alley off Old Baily Street, just below Caine Road. It's generally a pedestrian only alley that houses a number of art galleries and design studios. The shop itself is simplistic in design. It's beige wood panels with a large window. Inside is a counter for sales of their pineapple cakes and a long wooden table and chairs for tasting of their cakes.
And what makes their pineapple cakes different than the rest? Traditional methods use lard for the pastry. They use butter from New Zealand, flour from Japan and Taiwanese eggs from some brand called Sunny Eggs that raises their chickens to bear eggs while listening to classical music. The filling is also from Taiwanese pinapples grown on Ba Gua Mountain. Sounds good? But how does it taste?When you enter the shop, they offer you a seat at the table. You are then presented with one of their pineapple cakes and a cup of oolong tea to sample for free on a wooden tray. There is also an information pamphlet describing why their pineapple cakes are so amazing. The staff speak both Cantonese, Mandarin and English and are available for any questions.
Opening the package, the pastry is lightly brown-yellow in color. It is crumbly and soft with a clear taste of the butter used. It was more like a shortbread than a traditional Chinese pastry.
The filling was a good ration of filling to pastry. You could also see the shreds of pineapple which is good as most other brands tend to make the filling more pasty. It was slightly sweet and tangy. It was wonderful complement to the oolong tea that was provided. The tea, I should note was of a really good quality as it was not bitter and clensing to the palate.
Of course, their logo is cute as buttons.
Purchase of a box of pineapple cakes is not a requirement. But I did buy one to share. They sell a box of 10 for $190. It comes in a small burlap bag. I was informed by the staff of the expiry date and no refridgeration was needed, followed by a polite thank you.
Inside holds a cardboard box with their extremely cute logo.
Inside the box are 10 neatly packed pineapple cakes. Included is a gift card and information pamphlet that is in Chinese. A good option for gift giving during something like Chinese New Year.
I'm not sure how long this way of sampling will last in Hong Kong. I know in their other shops, they do offer samples in this exact same way. But the people who actually lined up (yes, there was a line) for a seat to sample, only one other person purchased anything. The rest treated it as a cafe, chatting with their friends as they munched away and then left. I am curious if this will continue in the months to come.
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