Giant pastries go viral in Hong Kong, but guess where they all end up after that IG photo?

Giant coffees, croissants and pineapple buns may look cute for social media, but they are a huge waste of time, ingredients and calories

Charmaine Mok

Published: 7:45am, 27 Jun 2024

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Social media has recently been flooded with images of oversized Hong Kong baked goods. First it was the massive croissant and latte offered at Cookie DPT in a collaboration with local patisserie brand Le Dessert.

Waif-like young women would film themselves giggling while struggling to lift the giant cup of coffee at the store in Central on Hong Kong Island, while plenty more smarmed for the camera while hoisting the gargantuan pastry in the air.

How many actually ate any of it?

Le Dessert founder Juliene de Preaumont assures us that because the experience needs to be booked in advance and it only produces the giant croissant on demand, “so far all customers who booked a session finished their croissant”.

The massive croissant and latte offered at Cookie DPT was in collaboration with Hong Kong patisserie brand Le Dessert. Photo: Instagram/@cookie.dpt

I’d love to believe it, but in at least one Instagram story I saw of an empty table, the coffee looked like it had long gone cold and more than half the croissant was left untouched, a dent barely made, left behind for staff to clear up and throw straight into the bin.

At the time of writing, the promotion at Cookie DPT is still running, with weekend slots available until June 30. HK$428 (US$55) will get you the coffee (or hot chocolate), croissant and three dipping sauces.

Hong Kong was a bit slow to take up the oversized croissant, which originated in Paris in 2023 when pastry chef Philippe Conticini released a 1kg “Croissant XXL” – he still sells them on his UK website for £25 (US$31.70) a pop, or £28 for the “Pain au chocolat XXL”, which includes “plenty of chocolate bars”.

Earlier this year, a journalist writing for The Independent newspaper in the UK bemoaned the giant-pastries trend. “Giant croissants prove that even Paris has succumbed to the TikTokification of food,” its headline read.

Red Bean Bakery’s giant pineapple bun must be ordered at least two days in advance. Photo: Instagram/@redbeanbakeryhk

While not many have followed in Le Dessert’s footsteps exactly, soon after the giant croissant reached Hong Kong we saw the rise of the oversized pineapple bun – about the size of a small cushion – which is a creation of the Red Bean Bakery chain.

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The bakery – which has multiple branches around the city – was previously known for its bespoke 3D cakes with complex designs and character toppings, but has shot into the mainstream with its arguably more simple creation.

It sells the extra-large pineapple bun, which weighs in at around 800 grams (1lb 12oz), for HK$220 a piece. The bun needs to be pre-ordered at least two days in advance.

Virginia Chan, a Hong Kong-based food tour guide who regularly publishes social media content on local trends, tried the bun to see what the hype was about.

“It’s still really light and fluffy,” she says, adding that the bakery purposefully overbaked the bun for her to ensure it would stay crisp during filming. “But obviously the crust to dough ratio is not the same as a normal [pineapple bun].”

The giant pineapple bun from Red Bean Bakery is about the size of a small cushion. Photo: Instagram/@ilikefishballs

Chan says that because of the bready texture of the bun, it would “be excellent as a birthday cake and to eat it like the Singaporean bread and ice cream-style”.

While not everyone is so keen – “What is that? Even a pineapple bun needs to be pre-ordered?” said one follower of Red Bean Bakery – Chan thinks it is great for something like a pineapple bun to start trending.

“Instagrammable food usually is very coffee and croissant and Western-driven, so it’s nice to make Hong Kong classics cool again,” she says.

I would much prefer if people got into making mini versions of baked goods.

They would be perfect not only to coo over (our brains just seem hard-wired to appreciate small things, like babies and kittens), but ideal for people who have decision-making anxiety (cannot choose what to eat, try all six!) and the times when you just want a cheeky little snack – think tiny, two-bite sausage buns, cocktail buns and pineapple buns.

Bakehouse produces a miniature version of its bestselling egg tart. Photo: Instagram/@bakehousehk

I have seen tiny versions of classic Hong Kong baked goods recently at the decades-old Fresh Wheat Bakery in Wan Chai and can confirm that they taste just as good as their regular-sized counterparts.

Bakehouse, too, offer a miniature version of its signature egg tart with every purchase of its coconut cold brew coffee.

Yes, like the oversized pastries they do end up costing more than if you had just bought a regular-sized version, but it is just as good for social media – and at least nothing goes to waste.