The menu today spans all the cha chaan teng staples—egg sandwiches served on white bread, egg tarts, dishes revolving around instant noodles—but everyone in Hong Kong knows that this is the place to get a pineapple bun, or bo lo bao.
Lyrics such as “it’s poor manners to bring a bunch of bananas [a metaphor for empty hands] to visit families and friends” and “Danish blue tin cookies always impress” essentially laid out the dos and don’ts for Hongkongers if they were to score social points at important celebratory rituals.
