Some types of steamed or baked buns have a very similar appearance, making it difficult to determine what they have been filled with. Informal
de facto standards have developed for indicating the filling by some external mark on the buns, such as a colored dot or a sprinkling of a few
sesame seeds. Unless otherwise indicated, most of the following foods are baked. Some foods are steamed, boiled, deep-fried, pan-fried, or do not require further cooking at all. •
Almond biscuit – Golden, delicate cookie with a light almond taste •
Bakpia – Round, flat, flaky or soft dough bun, with various fillings •
Banana roll – Rolled flavored
glutinous rice, not cooked any further after preparation •
Baozi – Generic term for a steamed yeast bun, with various types of fillings •
Beef bun – Usually filled with
ground beef, sometimes flavored with
curry; sometimes sprinkled with black sesame or
poppy seeds •
Black sesame rice cake – Flat glutinous rice patties filled with black sesame paste •
Cha siu bao – Steamed or baked bun, filled with
roast pork and optionally, sweet
onions; sometimes indicated by a red dot •
Chicken bun – Steamed or baked bun, usually filled with shredded chicken and black mushroom slivers; sometimes sprinkled with a few white sesame seeds •
Cocktail bun – Usually filled with a sweet shredded coconut paste •
Curry beef turnover – Flaky pastry crust with a curried ground beef filling •
Dowry cake – Large sponge cake, often filled with
lotus seed paste •
Fa gao – Yeast rice flour cupcake or sheet cake, fermented overnight to develop flavor before steaming •
Ham and egg bun – Bun filled with a sheet of
scrambled egg and a slice of ham •
Huangqiao sesame cake – Small dough balls rolled in sesame seeds •
Husband cake (老公饼) •
Jin deui or
zi ma qiu – Deep-fried hollow ball of glutinous rice, coated with sesame seeds, and optionally with a sweet red bean or a savory meat filling •
Lotus seed bun – Steamed bun filled with
lotus seed paste •
Mahua or fried dough twist – Very different from
youtiao, with a more solid texture •
Mantou – Plain, slightly sweet, steamed wheat flour yeast buns (unfilled); the traditional basis for Chinese steamed buns (baozi) with fillings •
Mooncake – Traditional variations are heavy lotus seed paste filled pastry, sometimes with 1–2 egg yolks in its centre. Modern variations have altered both the pastry crust and filling for more variety. These are specially featured at the
Mid-Autumn Festival, but may be available year-round. •
Nuomici – Sweet glutinous rice dumpling with different fillings such as sweet
red bean paste,
black sesame paste, mango, and peanuts •
Osmanthus cake – Flower-scented sweet cake •
Paper-wrapped cake – Spongy and light, these are plain chiffon cakes wrapped in paper; sometimes simply called "sponge cake" •
Peanut butter bun – Sweet bun filled with peanut butter •
Pineapple bun – Does
not contain pineapples, but derived its name from the "pineapple-like" criss-crossed scored appearance of the top surface, which is a tender crispy, sweet, golden crust. The pineapple bun may be filled with
custard or
red bean paste. •
Pineapple cake – Round or rectangular block shaped
shortcrust pastry filled with pineapple jam. () •
Rousong bun or "pork fu" bun – Dried fried fluffy meat fibers in a bun, sometimes with whipped cream added •
Sausage bun, also called "hot dog bun" – Steamed or baked bun, always includes a piece of sausage or hot dog •
Sachima – Sweet Manchu pastry made from flour, butter, and rock sugar; consists of crispy, fluffy fried strands of batter •
Sou – Triangular, puffy flaky pastry with various fillings •
Taro bun – Baked or steamed bun filled with sweet
taro paste; sometimes indicated by a few sliced almonds on top •
White sugar sponge cake – Steamed cake made with sweetened rice flour •
Wife cake – Round flaky pastry with a translucent white
winter melon paste centre •
Youtiao or "Chinese cruller" – Deep-fried dough strips •
Zongzi – Sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaves, often filled with savory meat, red bean paste, peanuts, or other fillings ==Western-influenced pastry==