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Alice Chan

We are well into 2025 but the pistachio frenzy of 2024 shows no signs of subsiding.
This is thanks largely to the global sensation that is the Can’t Get Knafeh It chocolate bar, commonly known as Dubai chocolate, which combines a rich pistachio cream filling with crunchy kataifi pastry.
Going nuts for pistachio is not confined to bakery display cases: its hues have been spotted on 2025 spring/summer fashion catwalks and red carpets from Los Angeles to London, and cult fragrance brand D.S. & Durga bottled the essence of the humble nut in a US$210 perfume.
With the amount of pistachio we have seen, it is amazing it was not named Pantone’s Colour of the Year.

Pistachio has dominated social media feeds recently in Hong Kong, too. In a city where no food is too niche to have its own Facebook concern group, you can bet there is one for pistachio people.
Created in October 2021, the Hong Kong Pistachio Concern Group currently has 78,000 members. The community mostly posted about Western-style confectioneries and desserts until last year, when there was a noticeable shift to members talking about pistachio-flavoured takes on traditional Chinese pastries and Hong Kong street snacks.
The Lunar New Year period has further powered pistachio’s rise, with old-school bakeries and restaurants all getting in on the trend by infusing the nut into classic celebratory food such as nin gou (sweet glutinous rice cake) and chewy nougat candies.
Although pistachio flavours are not widely used in Chinese cuisine, the nut is a popular gift and snack during Lunar New Year. The nut is called hoi sum guo in Cantonese – “happy fruit” or “happy nut” – as its split shell is said to resemble a wide smile.
Given the long-standing Cantonese practice of incorporating other nuts and seeds into tong sui (sweet soups) and sweet treats to help restore and regulate the balance of qi in one’s body, it is no surprise this versatile nut has successfully infiltrated the traditional Chinese snack market, too.
After all, it is not a huge leap to replace peanuts with pistachios in traditional recipes to capitalise on a trend and attract new customers. Here are just some of the ways Hongkongers have been happily eating this happy nut.
1. Cha guo at Beanmountain
This Michelin-recommended stall in Causeway Bay has been serving traditional Chinese-style cakes – made from glutinous rice flour, water chestnut or other starches – for over 20 years. In a nod to the owner’s Hakka heritage, cha guo (tea cake) features prominently in the pastry cabinet.
Traditionally, these stretchy, chewy blobs of steamed glutinous rice are stuffed with either sweet or savoury fillings – the latter include black-eyed peas, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp and daikon radish.
Now you can enjoy them with a pistachio paste filling, too. The pistachio cha guo are priced at HK$10 apiece, or HK$25 for three.
1 Canal Road East, Causeway Bay

2. Siu beng at Kadorar Bakery
Launched in September 2024, the pistachio siu beng (toasted glutinous rice pancake) has been such a hit that each customer can only buy six pieces.
Making the pistachio paste in-house is particularly labour-intensive – roasting and frying the nuts to deepen their flavour before grinding – so the bakery cannot scale up production. Fresh pancakes are available from 11.30am to 12.30pm daily at all outlets.
If all else fails, try one of their other pistachio-flavoured treats: soft serve, choux, or pudding-filled mochi bun.
69 Waterloo Road, Ho Man Tin; 54 Pitt Street, Yau Ma Tei; 1 Man Yuen Street, Jordan












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3. Lo mai chi at Min Fong Hong
This Tsuen Wan institution became even more famous last summer when its soft and pillowy lo mai chi (Hong Kong’s answer to mochi) and retro packaging popped up on social media feeds.
The star flavour is, of course, pistachio, which is only available in the afternoon. These lo mai chi cost HK$12 each, twice as much as the ground peanut and sesame options.
The nut is ground extra slowly so it does not become a paste, and cut with granulated sugar. This dry filling, and a dough with a high water content, make the fresh lo mai chi especially fluffy.
35 Tsuen Wan Market Street, Tsuen Wan

4. Put chai go at Mrs Fong Chinese Desserts
The eponymous Chiu Chow matriarch has over 50 years of cake-making experience. Today, the business is an all-family affair, with her children serving the long queues of customers while she and her husband make cakes from scratch daily, well into the early hours of the next morning.
Put chai go – rice cake made with white or brown sugar, often with red beans mixed in, steamed in palm-sized porcelain bowls – is one of the traditional specialities here, and a conspicuously green addition (HK$10) has been turning heads.
198 Temple Street, Jordan












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5. Gai daan zai at Eggcellent 852
Hong Kong’s famous gai daan zai (bubble waffle) has not escaped the pistachio treatment.
This punning, if not so humbly named, stall is one of the most talked about in the Hong Kong Gai Daan Zai Concern Group, whose members rate the shop for its waffle’s crisp shell and chewy interior.
Add to that a generous layer of pistachio paste and chopped US pistachios and you have got the ultimate afternoon treat for HK$42.
Shop 3, 33-41 Kam Hei House, Kam Fai Path, Yuen Long












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6. Gaak zai beng at Ka Fat
Hong Kong’s other beloved waffle – gaak zai beng, or chequered waffle – has been given the pistachio treatment. Run by partners in life and business, Ka Fat offers a choice of thick or thin waffle, the latter of which is crisp and almost biscuit-like.
The pistachio waffle (HK$39) features two kinds of pistachio paste mixed with chopped nuts that the couple fry themselves to give a rich but not too sweet flavour profile.
Shop 9, Fu Ho Building, 3-7 Kau Yuk Road, Yuen Long

7. Tong chung beng at Super Bowl King
This retro snack – sugar pipe wafer with desiccated coconut, toasted sesame seeds and sugar wrapped in a thin flour crepe – will take you back to a time when street vendors were plentiful across Hong Kong.
Pistachio tong chung beng (HK$20 each) were first spotted at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo, according to a member of the Facebook concern group, and it has since been seen by other members at various festivals and food fairs across the city.
Visit Super Bowl King pop-up stalls across the city

8. Dan bing at Dau Gung Gun
The Taiwanese enjoy dan bing (rolled egg crepe) with toppings ranging from cheese and ham to pork floss and fried dough sticks. But at this new tofu specialist, there is a sweeter take on the much loved breakfast staple that features pistachio paste, chocolate sauce and chopped pistachios.
Think the consistency and sweetness of Nutella, but with pistachio instead of hazelnut, for HK$42.
Shop 3-5, 43H Dundas Street, Mong Kok

9. Gok zai at Kwan Hong Bakery
A delicious and symbolic Cantonese festive treat, gok zai – flaky pastry dumpling, usually sweet – is shaped like a gold ingot in the hope it will bring good fortune in the coming year.
The classic filling is ground peanut with toasted sesame seeds, desiccated coconut and sugar, but this old-school bakery is not afraid to shake things up with a pistachio version, especially when it frequently draws queues around the block.
Bags are available at HK$100 for half a pound (227 grams) or HK$190 for a pound.
203 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po












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10. Daan gyun at The Forest Bakery
Lots of bakeries and brands have given the simple daan gyun (egg roll biscuit) a decadent makeover with pistachio, but none more so than The Forest Bakery, which added a creamy pistachio paste to fill the centre of the roll. Grab a box of five for HK$88.
Shop 111, Lok Wah Commercial Centre, 70 Chun Wah Road, Ngau Tau Kok




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‘Dubai chocolate’ pistachio trend reaches Hong Kong, with nut added to traditional snacks

Lo mai chi at Min Fong Hong, in Tseun Wan, Hong Kong. Photo: Instagram/ vienne_carpe.diem

A tray of pistachio siu beng (toasted glutinous rice pancakes) at Kadorar Bakery, in Jordan, Hong Kong. Many of the city’s bakers are featuring the popular nut in traditional snacks. Photo: Alice Chan

Pistachios are called hoi sum guo (happy nut) in Cantonese because they look like they are smiling. Photo: Shutterstock

A tray of pistachio siu beng (toasted glutinous rice pancakes) at Kadorar Bakery in Jordan. Photo: Alice Chan

Mrs Fong’s Chinese Desserts, in Jordan, has been making traditional sweets for more than five decades, and its new pistachio put zai go (rice pudding in porcelain bowls) is gaining attention. Photo: Alice Chan

Sugar Bowl King’s tong chung beng, sugar pipe wafer with desiccated coconut, toasted sesame seeds and sugar wrapped in a thin flour crepe. Photo: Alice Chan

Dan bing is a traditional Taiwanese rolled egg crepe that is usually savoury, but Dau Gung Gun in Mong Kok has created a sweeter version with pistachio paste, chocolate sauce and chopped pistachios. Photo: Alice Chan

Kwan Hong Bakery’s golden pistachio gok zai are generously filled with the rich green nut. Photo: Alice Chan

Is snake soup as good for you as many Chinese believe? To me it’s hot and that’s enough

Snake soup at Ser Wong Fun restaurant in Hong Kong’s Central district. As the Year of the Snake begins the dish is popular, not because of the Chinese zodiac but because of the weather. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Medicinal properties have long been ascribed to snake soup by Chinese people. Photo; Shutterstock

Snakes hang from a wooden cabinet marked with the Chinese characters “poisonous snake”, at a snake soup shop ahead of the Spring Festival in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

What is turnip cake, why is it a Lunar New Year special and what makes a great one?

The “Ocean Treasures Daikon Radish Cake” from Daishijie. Nowadays, many big brands and luxury hotels make their own versions of lo bak gou. Photo: Dashijie

Lo bak go are usually pan-fried, but some versions are steamed. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Michael Lui used to shred radishes as a child to help his mother prepare lo bak go. Photo: Word by Word

Lo bak go with XO sauce cooked by chef and writer Susan Jung. Photo: Jonathan Wong

May Chow recently launched her eponymous food brand, with her first line of products helmed by radish cakes. Photo: May Chow Projects

Chow’s classic turnip cake. Photo: May Chow Projects

Chai tow kway is stir-fried with eggs and other ingredients. Photo: Lion City Coffee

The origin of spring rolls, and why Chinese people eat them to celebrate Lunar New Year

Fried spring rolls are considered by Chinese people to be an auspicious food to eat at Lunar New Year. Photo: Shutterstock

Wrapping spring rolls for a wedding. Photo: Getty Images

Fried spring rolls with red and white sauces. The snack evolved to the form we know today only in China’s Qing dynasty, some 1,000 years after it was first documented. Photo: Getty Images

The cover of Lin’s book. 

Grace Lin, the author of Chinese Menu: The History, Myths and Legends Behind Your Favourite Foods. Photo: Grace Lin

A painting of Cai Fuyi, a government minister in Ming dynasty China whose wife some credit with inventing what is known today as the spring roll. 

Vietnamese prawn spring rolls wrapped with fresh rice paper. Shutterstock

Indonesian lumpia, spring rolls in the form of a rolled omelette filled with bamboo shoots, meat and other ingredients. Shutterstock

Lumpiang Shanghai are Filipino spring rolls with a filling of minced pork, their name a nod to the snack’s Chinese origin. Photo: Shutterstock

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‘Dubai chocolate’ frenzy has pistachios trending globally. In Hong Kong, bakeries have used the nut in traditional pastries and snacks


‘Dubai chocolate’ frenzy has pistachios trending globally. In Hong Kong, bakeries have used the nut in traditional pastries and snacks.


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‘Dubai chocolate’ pistachio trend reaches Hong Kong, with nut added to traditional snacks

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Dubai chocolate’ frenzy has pistachios trending globally. In Hong Kong, bakeries have used the nut in traditional pastries and snacks

‘Dubai chocolate’ frenzy has pistachios trending globally. In Hong Kong, bakeries have used the nut in traditional pastries and snacks