Red Bean Buns Found!

After 3 years searching, I've finally found one of my favorite pastries. The wonderous, scrumptious, luscious, delectable, red bean buns. Except I didn't really know what they were called or where they came from. I was introduced to them back in my days in the midwest when I tutored for a Korean family who always provided delicious snacks during my sessions. Fresh fruit, and traditional Korean snacks. It was a good gig. But I never found out what they were called, if they were Korean or Chinese or what. And so I just always kept an eye out, a hopeful eye.







Then on Monday, I was down in Chinatown with a friend grabbing a Vietanemese sandwich and we stopped by a pastry shop on our way back. Everytime I'm in Chinatown, I scan the case looking, hoping to find the wonderful pastry. My Korean friends had helped identify that the wonderful filling was red bean paste. And I find red bean paste pastries, but they're never the same - more croissant-like, flakey dough, than roll like. Well, this time, I look, and nothing, just the red bean flakey pastry - which I figured is better than nothing. We are waiting to order, and you have to keep in mind we are no longer in Boston, we are in Chinatown - a whole other wonderful world. Getting to the pastry shop we had cut through the market full of live seafood, some I know, some I've never even heard of. People don't speak english, most people don't even understand english, including everyone in the pastry shop. It's almost our turn when two elderly men barge into the shop and cut in line to get coffee and pastries. Except their pastries are from this unassuming warming case on the back wall. I hadn't noticed. There are the buns. Filled with sweet and savory. Filled with pork and custard and coconut and, yes, even red bean. I'm so excited. I think this could possibly be the moment when I get reunited with the delectible delight I've beeen searching for. There is a sign on the door listing the different types, in english and in chinese characters. I order. I ask for a custard and a red bean bun. She pulls out one and than the second one. She pulls out and holds it in a questionable manner - with her body language she is asking, "Is this the one you want?" Of course, yes, yes, the red bean, it's so close, I can't wait. My mouth is watering, I can almost taste the sweet bites of heaven I'm about to devour.







And I'm patient. We walk back to the office. We eat our lunch - no skipping to dessert. I've waited this long, I can wait 10 more minutes. And than finally. It's time. I take a bite, and it's good. It's wonderful. It's the custard one, but it's soo good. I know the red bean is going to be even better. And I pick it up, this second one, the red bean, and I take a bite. And it's coconut. It's good, but it's not red bean. I realize, the lady didn't know what I was asking for. We had ourselves a little language barrier problem. And I was stumped to figure out how to remedy it. I can't just point to what I want - they all look the same on the outside. They are all together on the racks - there is no way for me to point. No way to fall back on my only second language I know - universal hand gestures. I could tell her I wanted two or three of them, no problem. But I couldn't tell her which one. I'm so close.

So, a little later, I'm working with our intern Jean. When it dawns on me. She's asian. I hadn't really noticed as she's american to me, and I definately hadn't put two and two together. So she instructs me on how to say Red Bean. Thats all I need to know. We practice and practice. It's phoenetically "hung doh". Except there are 10 ways to say hung with the various inflections. And to me, they all sound about the same. You drop on the end of word down and inflect back up on the doh part. I keep practicing on my way home that night. I practice when I wake up. I practice on my commute into work the next day.

And I'm still not saying it right. A group of us head to Chinatown the next day. Ok, I make them go. I'm determined. And thankfully Jean decides to come. We go to the same place, although my friend thinks there are better places to go. No, I know they have them here, I'm going back. And we wait in line. And it's our turn. And Jean orders for me. And thank goodness she is there. There would have been no way for me to have done it on my own. I don't know what she said but she said a lot more than what I would have thought would be needed to order. In the end, I get four. Three for me and one as a treat for Jean for making it happen. And I'm not patient. I bite into one as we're heading out the door. And... It's heaven. I've finally found them. I've found my Red Bean Bun.

So the good news. They are only $0.85 each. So if I get one a day, that's only about $200 a year. Much better deal than my fellow coffee drinkers. And the bad news. I do the math. It's going to be less than that, as Jean is only with us until the end of August. She's going to MIT so will hopefully continue working a few days a week in the fall. But I'll need a translator. Right now, I'm hopeful that if we go a lot now, the lady (it was the same person both times), will just know what I want as I become a regular. I've also thought about getting someone to write out what I want in chinese characters, so that I can just hand the note over (I did something similar when I would get the sunday pastries for my german family years and years ago, and I didn't know german yet). I don't know. But for now, I'm happy that I will be able to enjoy my Red Bean Buns for the summer.