Hong Kong identities through food: tracing developments and variations of pineapple buns in modern complexities

Abstract

ABSTRACT This cultural study examines how contradictory yet coherent Hong Kong identities are constructed and solidified through constant interactions between its ethnic community and changing political, economic, and social environments from late colonization to the present. To conduct evidence-based observations and analysis, pineapple bun is selected as the research object. Its historical emergence and modern variations serve as metaphorical representations of Hong Kong vernacular cultures, embodying local people’s negotiations with the land and their identifications toward the collective Self. The paper illustrates that different pineapple buns served in bing sutt, cha chaan teng, nouvelle restaurant, convenience store, and home kitchen signify distinct aspects of Hong Kong identities coexisting within contemporary complexities. These binary oppositions harmoniously imprinted in local ethnicity – flexibility and persistence, nativism and globalism, and utilitarian and hedonism – demarcate Hongkongese as a unique community apart from British colonists and mainland Chinese.