Ping On Bun

Ping on bun (Chinese: 平安包; Jyutping: ping4 on1 baau1; pinyin: píngānbāo) is a type of traditional Hong Kong food.

In mid-Qing Dynasty, a pandemic had spread through villagers in Cheung Chau and caused a lot of deaths. As a result, villagers decided to gather before Pak Tai and pray, and later on were instructed to set up altars and say mass to scare the evil spirits away. Afterwards, islanders built temples to show gratitude to Pak Tai’s blessings, and see him as the guardian of the village.

As years went by, the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival became a tradition. Villagers dressed up as gods to vanquish the evil and Ping On Bun is used to build the bun towers (three towers that stood 18 meters tall and made of a huge number of buns) during the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. Buns were to be distributed to the villagers after prayers and used to offer sacrifice to Gods and ghosts.

The villagers believed that eating hot Ping On Bun helps warding off disease, and spread the Pin On Buns which have been powdered into the sea can help to restore calm of the sea.

Ping On Bun originated from Hong Kong. Its major ingredients include low-protein flour, lotus seed paste as well as sugar. It is best served at hot or room temperature. There are also some special flavours such as red and green bean.

More than 48,000 tourists go to Cheung Chau during the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

The distribution of Ping On Buns outside the Pak Tai Temple attract a hundred people queuing up since 8 o’clock in the morning. Guo Jin Kee, a shop selling Ping On Bun, sold more than 10,000 Ping On Buns a day while there were long queues outside the shop in the morning. Tourists have to wait for half an hour to buy fresh Ping On Buns.

Kwong Koon Wan, who earned more than ten thousand dollars through selling a variety of Ping On Bun souvenirs, said the Ping On Bun cushions and fans were popular among the tourists and expected that he could earn more than thirty thousand dollars.

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Wikipedia