The festival pays tribute to the island's history, especially to the time when marauding pirates invaded the waters of Hong Kong in the late 18th century.
A three-day vegetarian diet takes place during an intense week of celebrations, including processions of floats, bonfires, mask parades, dragon dances, colorful traditional costumes, and Taoist rituals. All of this occurs each year on the Chinese island of Cheung Chau during the famous Bun Festival.
Among this bustling array of vegetarian dishes, the star of the tradition is the "bun," a baked, filled bun. This fragrant bun is a Hong Kong specialty; locals are crazy about it and eat it at all hours of the day, as a snack, a meal, a dessert, or even as a welcoming gift. They can be sweet or savory, but one of the most popular variations is pineapple. The dough, often enriched with milk or custard, develops an attractive buttery shell when baked. The bun strikes a perfect balance between flakiness and softness and is best served hot.
The buns sold during the festival are made with a sweet dough containing lotus seeds, sesame seeds, and red beans, imprinted with symbols of peace, health, and prosperity. This traditional dish is also the delicious highlight of the closing event of the Bun Festival, which takes place at midnight on the last day. It features a traditional race to climb an 18-meter bamboo tower covered with buns. Participants must reach the top and simultaneously grab as many buns as possible, symbols of good fortune.
