鳳梨蘇

Last minute shopping isn't generally a good idea. If one needn't do that, it's best not to. So it's about time to look for some pineapple tarts/cakes to buy home. Specifically, A, being the amiable person she is, wanted to buy them for her family and friends. The only thing was, we didn't know which brands she might like. Sunnyhills is already in Singapore, and nobody was interested in heading out to Songshan to check out Chia Te Bakery (佳德糕餅). Half the fun would be in trying out new ones, A thought. She wasn't too bothered about buying the supposedly 'famous' ones. She was keen to try out unfamiliar new brands for a change too. After all, we're already in Taipei. Be adventurous.

Not exactly hoping to find the ideal combination of sugar and pineapple in one shopping session, we kinda spread it out over the second half of the trip. It was preoccupying walking along the streets to try the samples warmly offered at the various bakeries. Many many many choices. If there were no samples, we bought one piece to share. All the traditional options and modern flavors. Some contained egg too. However, I couldn't take more than two tiny bites from the first two bakeries because they were really really sweet. I don't mind pineapple tarts, but I prefer them a lot more tart than these versions. I think it's the nyonya style that's slightly more sour.

After all that tasting, A found one bakery's flavors and ratio of butter, sugar and pineapple that she liked and bought two boxes. Hurrah!