Reply to Susan re sleuthing for recipes

Hi, Susan!

Yes, it's like a mystery solved to me, who have been trying to track down or develop the recipe for four years now, with many trials and errors. Desperate, I finally used word-search engines on the web, searching for "custard bun" and came across a Singaporean bakery's web site showing a picture of just the bun I was looking for, only it was called "pineapple bun" by this bakery. I ran a word-search on the net for "pineapple bun recipe," and voila!

I've never had the melon bun you've described but think it sounds scrumptious. You surely have a better selection of Asian pastries in Hawaii than we have here in Maryland!

Interesting that the Japanese word for bread is "pan," for the Taiwanese word is similar: "p'ang," with an aspirated "p." In fact, what I called these egg custard buns as a child (and still call them) "ah p'ang," which literally means "little bread."

It's a treat to meet others through this message board who are obviously true devotees to Asian pastries. Thanks for all your help and Eggy's help in solving this mystery! Happy holidays to you, too!