Hi, MJ. This posting of yours triggers some interesting comments from your fellow bakers. Great reading! Tiger Bread, Melon Pan, or Pineapple Bun, whatever you call these, they look good in these photos! I used to make these more often when we lived in a neighborhood where children were free to visit each another and could safely play in front of the houses. May I put in my bit of comment regarding Melon Pan and Pineapple Bun? The key ingredients for the topping of these buns are pretty much the same as what you use here. (No rice flour.) I put vanilla extract in mine. (But I think lemon zest is a breakthrough variation!) The primary difference is how the topping is scored. The Melon Pan scoring lines go horizontal. The Pineapple Bun goes crisscross. (Can you imagine the respective fruits of their namesakes?) The scoring is done before the topping goes on the bun. Firstly we need to make the topping into a flattened circle. This could be easily done, as follows: Divide the topping into individual pieces, and roll each piece gently between palms into a smooth ball. Place the ball between sheets of wax paper or Stretch-tite, and run a rolling pin lightly over the ball. The ball is flattened to fit over the bun. Score, top, and ready for the oven. So Melon Pan has no melon and Pineapple Bun has no pineapple. But, as bakers everywhere would agree, recipes are made to be improvised. I don't see why we can't add melon puree, pineapple jam, or something like these into the buns. (Some dim sum houses serve Pineapple Roast Pork Buns. Now they do put roast pork in those. Another popular offering from Asian bakery is Pineapple Buns with some sweet filling, such as red beans, taro - what they use to make "poi" in Hawaii - all mashed into a paste. ) I first made these over forty years ago, using a recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. They simply called these Pan Dulce. And indeed they can be found at Mexican bakeries here in the Bay Area. (But, not so good, unfortunately.) I no longer have this recipe. But I remember one variation is to add cocoa powder into the topping mix. Maybe a bit more sugar to offset the bitterness of the cocoa. Quite good. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us all Anne. So many variations to try. I've made Char Sui buns, but never with a topping like this. Time to plan out more blogs!! ~ MaryJane

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