Here’s another tasty treat, my mom brought home from Taiwan, Fong Li Su, or pineapple cakes. It’s another one of those goodies that are available here in the states but just don’t taste as good. This one, I don’t understand, because they are pre-packaged anyway. Just send them over, right?
The Fong Li Su are usually rectangular (I cut it in half to show you the inside.) and are traditionally made with a pineapple filling. There are several variations now with strawberry, melon, etc. but the classic one is what my mom
always buys. The ones from Taiwan just taste a lot fresher. The shortbread-like outside is light and crumbly and needs the dense pineapple jam to hold it together. It is an extremely densely caloric treat that accomplishes the illusion of barely feeling like you ate, if it’s a good one. The ones I’ve bought here feel dense and chewy, and they’re usually sweeter too, so I don’t buy them anymore. I just wait for them to arrive from Taiwan.
Pineapple cake was a childhood treat of mine. I love the contrasting textures between the crumbly/caky exterior and the sweet gooey interior. I’m curious to know what the other flavors are like, though I imagine pineapple would still be my sentimental favorite. I agree that the ones I’ve recently tried at the Asian markets leave a little something to be desired. I wonder if it’d be possible to reproduce a better version at home, using a shortbread dough and a pineapple simple syrup thickened with corn syrup and/or gelatin. Pastry is out of my expertise though, so it would likely end in disaster in my hands.
Just want to also add that I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while now. Looking forward to meeting you fellow foodies soon!
Sheng, we’re looking forward to eating with you as well. It sounds like you always make good use of your time in NYC!
I love getting treats from overseas. There are so many things that never make it here. And as you mentioned even if they sell similar stuff in the States it just never taste quite the same. When my mom goes to Asia or friends go away for vacation and ask me what I want, I always have one answer…food. For example, I love the chips from England. People always think I’m nuts when I carry bags of potato chips home with me on the plane. But, they just have so many unique flavors and don’t taste like chips here. Another thing I like from Asia that they don’t have in the states is Campbell’s borscht soup. Last time Sara and I visited Hong Kong, we lugged home about 10 cans and treated them like rare truffles or something. I’ve done some extensive research to try to buy it online and even written Campbell emails requesting they sell it in the states, but my requests have yet to be answered.