The Scent of Queues: How Master Bun Pastry Is Winning Over London with Chinese-Inspired Creative Baking
Chinese Pastries Land in London, Spark a 'Baking Craze'
In a city renowned for its culinary diversity, a new wave of flavor is redefining what dessert means to Londoners. Master Bun Pastry — a beloved bakery brand with over 300 stores across China — has quietly ignited a unique baking phenomenon with the launch of its very first UK store in London's Chinatown. Combining traditional Chinese craftsmanship with a modern twist, the brand is bringing 'Eastern creative baking' to the heart of the British capital.
The Eastern Sensation Changing British Taste Buds
Unlike the typical structure and taste of Western desserts, Master Bun Pastry's products showcase the uniquely Chinese combination of crispy, chewy, savory, and sweet. Its signature bestseller, the 'Meat Floss Chiffon Bun,' blends seaweed, pork floss, and a fluffy chiffon base into an irresistible multi-layered treat. Other crowd-favorites include chocolate mochi puffs and chewy choux pastries with creamy centers and crispy shells — textures and flavors that many UK customers say they've never experienced before.
From First Bite to Loyal Fans: Real Customer Stories
'Our first few weeks saw long lines forming outside the shop — many people were drawn in just by the crowd,' says the store manager. 'One young British customer tried a chocolate puff, bought five boxes on the spot, and came back ten minutes later for more.' Regular customers now include local residents of Asian heritage, and even Chinese students in France have brought boxes of meat floss buns back to Paris. Some long-time Malaysian and Hong Kong customers in the UK even call ahead to reserve their favorites — 'just in case they sell out.'
Social Media Drives Organic Hype and Cultural Connection
Master Bun Pastry's success is no accident. Riding the wave of Asian baking and Gen Z's cultural curiosity, the brand naturally fits into London's urban landscape — a city that celebrates diversity and innovation. Without traditional advertising, the brand has gained traction through organic user-generated content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Xiaohongshu. Customers snap photos, post reviews, and film taste-test videos, forming a grassroots cultural bridge between Asian and local communities.
Product Philosophy: Reinvention, Not Replication
The founding team at Master Bun Pastry emphasizes that they never simply copy traditional Chinese pastries. Instead, they draw inspiration from Cantonese bakeries, Jiangnan sweets, Japanese wagashi, and blend it with British aesthetics and the evolving tastes of younger consumers. 'We see our work as a kind of cultural experiment — something delicious, playful, and memorable — to reimagine the role of Chinese pastries in the global dessert scene.'
What's Next: Rooted in the UK, Aiming for the Mainstream
Master Bun Pastry is already in the early stages of expansion. The brand plans to open 15 additional directly operated stores in major UK cities including Manchester, Glasgow, and Birmingham over the next three years. They are also exploring collaborations with local department stores, commercial developers, and lifestyle brands.
More Than Just Desserts — A Cultural Resonance
For lovers of Chinese pastries, dessert influencers, international students, and curious local foodies, Master Bun Pastry offers more than just a puff or mochi — it offers a modern expression of taste memory and cultural fusion.
More than just a bakery from China, Master Bun Pastry is a cultural vessel — a warm, delicious experiment in flavor, identity, and belonging.
TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Grandson of Moorcroft founder buys bust firm
Moorcroft Pottery, which stopped trading at the end of April after more than 100 years in business, has been returned to family ownership. The company has been bought by Will Moorcroft, whose grandfather William Moorcroft built the factory on Sandbach Road in Cobridge in 1913, with support from London department store Liberty. The firm had remained in the family until 2006 when Mr Moorcroft's father retired. "It's nice to have the opportunity to bring it back into the family fold," Mr Moorcroft said. "I'm very proud to have been able to pick up the keys." Mr Moorcroft said he would like to see "as many of the staff as we can bring back" but that he was unable to guarantee all 57 workers would be able to return. "We'll do our best to make it work, and get everybody back who wants to come back doing what they do best, which is producing beautiful Moorcroft," he said. He added that they were considering moving production away from the site in Burslem, moving the firm solely to the original factory on Sandbach Road. The brand was popular with US presidents and British prime ministers, and has a following among collectors around the world. After winning a number of prestigious international awards, Moorcroft was appointed as potter to Queen Mary in 1928. The firm's royal patronage continued when the late Queen Elizabeth II added Moorcroft designs into the Royal Collection. In March, bosses at the firm warned of redundancies, stating their energy costs had gone up by almost £250,000 over the past two years. On 30 April they issued a statement that the company was to be liquidated. Mr Moorcroft said issues such as energy costs and global markets did weigh heavily on his mind, and that refreshing the brand would take hard work. "The faith in the product is there," he said, "we just have to ensure that we can get the collectors – new and old – to keep the faith." He added that he felt it was a family firm, not only in terms of his personal connection, but also through that of the skilled pottery workers who were part of the company. The company's local roots are also an integral part of its heritage, he said. "It's made in Stoke-on-Trent, it's got the backstamp to show that, all the staff are local, it stays local and for the city it's fantastic news for it to be continuing." He said his plan was to resume production, ensuring the brand and its products continued to be made along with the potential for new designs and new products. "It's all handmade, it's an iconic brand that over time has reached every corner of the world," he said. "I think to have such a product, to carry on its existence, is tremendous for everybody." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Pottery firm goes bust after more than 100 years Minister pledges support to pottery industry Pottery firm plea to help industry 'on its knees' Pottery boss 'optimistic' for industry's future Moorcroft
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Starmer's Chagos surrender ‘will cost £5bn more than feared'
Sir Keir Starmer's deal to hand over the Chagos Islands will cost taxpayers £5 billion more than previously feared, the Tories have claimed. The Prime Minister last month signed the agreement to cede the archipelago to Mauritius and then rent back the military base on Diego Garcia, its biggest island. It had been calculated that the lease for the airbase, to be paid over the course of almost a century, would set the UK back at least £30 billion. But ministers have now admitted that the inflation figure they are using to calculate payments for future years is higher than previously thought. Mauritius, which has a GDP roughly the size of Leicester's, is going to use the huge windfall to deliver massive income tax breaks for its people. Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said: 'Rachel Reeves has been unmasked as the 'spend today, tax tomorrow' Chancellor. 'It's a damning indictment of this government that not only are British taxpayers footing the bill for Mauritians to have their income tax cut but the costs of this terrible deal grow day by day. 'It is yet another kick in the teeth for hard-pressed British taxpayers who are already preparing for another tax raid later this year thanks to Labour's incompetence.' Downing Street has claimed Treasury calculations show the total cost of the Chagos deal will come in at £3.4 billion in real terms over 99 years. However that figure has been widely disputed, with critics saying the true tally once inflation and other payments are taken into account will top £30 billion. Those calculations were based on inflation averaging out at the Bank of England's target rate of 2 per cent across the entire century of payments. But this week Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said that for most of the period the Treasury is assuming inflation will run at 2.3 per cent. That would add £4.8 billion more than expected, according to Tory calculations, taking the final bill to the taxpayer up to just over £35 billion. Ministers have confirmed in response to written questions that the cash will come out of the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office budgets. It could therefore count towards the Government's aim of spending at least 3 per cent of GDP on defence by the middle of the next decade, as well as any Nato targets. Under the deal, the UK has given up sovereignty over the Chagos, a remote Indian Ocean archipelago, to Mauritius after 200 years of British rule. Mauritius has agreed to lease back Diego Garcia, the biggest island in the chain and home to a British-US airbase, for the next century. The agreement has been criticised over both the cost and security implications, with Mauritius growing closer to China, Iran and Russia in recent years. Ministers have justified the pact by arguing the UK could have lost a future international court case brought by Mauritius, which claimed sovereignty. They said that would have put the future of the base, which was used by jets operating during both Gulf wars and the Afghanistan war, in doubt. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Cuomo campaign aide who worked for companies tied to Chinese Communist Party quits after Post queries
A mayoral campaign aide to Andrew Cuomo resigned after The Post questioned the years he spent working for companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party and his meteoric rise through the Democratic Party, which alarmed local politicos and national security experts alike. Dr. Lining 'Larry' He stepped down from his role as Cuomo's Asian outreach director Friday, a week after The Post reached out to him and the Cuomo campaign about his extensive business ties to his native China. He had served as an executive for a powerful state-owned conglomerate that has CCP cells embedded in its corporate hierarchy, records and news reports obtained by The Post showed. These links, along with his association with a NYC political operative with known Beijing ties, worried experts who study the CCP's international influence efforts, which China calls the 'United Front.' 'His position as an Asian community liaison fits with a tactical pattern that such actors are using to gain political legitimacy and influence,' said Dr. Audrye Wong, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute and United Front expert. He's links to Beijing include: As director of asset management of the state-owned Guangxi Beibu Gulf Investment, He pushed both California and Australia for deeper economic ties with China. He served from 2013 through 2015 as the former board chairman of Guangxi Beitou Petrochemical Company, a joint venture with state-owned Chinese oil giant Sinopec, according to a bio on the website of a commodity trading firm where He was a managing partner. The company's current corporate organization chart shows it has an official Chinese Communist Party cell embedded in its leadership. A regulatory consulting firm called Penshare-Banyu Technology, based in Chongqing, listed He as a partner. After The Post reached out to He, Penshare-Banyu deleted his picture and profile from its webpage, though it remains visible on Google. He owns import business InterStellar Enterprise, which ships plastic bottles into the U.S. from a manufacturer based in Shenzhen. His wife, Jing Lei, formed a new company weeks after the couple moved to Brooklyn that import manifests show brought in roughly 8.5 tons of plastic bottles from China in May alone. 4 He denied any ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 'I've never been an asset beholden to the Chinese government,' He told The Post. Kings County Democratic County Committee/ X The Post found He, 48, did not disclose any of these business relationships on mandatory filings he made as chief-of-staff to Assemblyman William Colton (D-Brooklyn), a job he started in late 2023 while living in upstate New York. The Cuomo campaign did not answer what sort of vetting process He underwent for the liaison job, and admitted He failed to properly disclose his business dealings to the Assembly, sending images of what it said were corrected filings in response to The Post's questions. 'Larry is a district leader and a known quantity in the community who does his job well,' said Cuomo spokeswoman Esther Jenson, who said any links to the CCP amounted to 'guilt by association.' He vehemently denied to The Post any involvement with the United Front or the CCP. 'I've never been an asset beholden to the Chinese government and oppose any and all foreign government influence in our political process,' He told The Post. 'Becoming an American citizen remains one of the highest honors of my life. The fact the CCP has been trying to assert itself is undeniable and something our community always looks out for.' He acknowledged his relationships with the various Chinese state entities, but said he left the jobs in 2015 because he disliked the 'bureaucratic' work and moved back to the U.S., where he had gotten his doctorate in the 2000s and where his wife and son lived. And He denied Australian news reports that he repeatedly visited the country to push import deals, and insisted he had only done 'startup training' at the Chongqing-based Penshare-Banyu, despite being listed on its site as a partner in the firm. 4 Andrew Cuomo's campaign praised He. POOL/AFP via Getty Images In October 2024, He was photographed attending an October celebration of the 75th anniversary of the birth of the People's Republic of China, alongside Brooklyn activist John Chan — who Wong has identified as the big wheel in the CCP's New York machine. Chan, 70, a one-time gangster who pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin and human trafficking, has participated in CCP events in the United States and China and publicly battled American policies supportive of the freedom of Hong Kong and the persecuted Uyghur ethnic minority. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed his activism on a webpage titled 'Activities of Overseas Chinese Affairs and Chinese-Funded Institutions,' according to the Washington Post. Critics have accused Chan and his operatives of trying to oust anti-Beijing members of the New York State Assembly, and have warned of pro-CCP agents working to infiltrate local Chinese community events. Chan has never faced formal allegations of spying but the FBI questioned him ahead of his trip to a CCP event on the mainland last year, according to the National Review, though no details of this interview have emerged. Chan did not respond to multiple requests for comment. He admitted that he knew Chan from community events, but denied having any formal relationship with him. Wong acknowledged that these connections, like He's business ties, do not prove he works for Beijing — but mark him as a figure with definite 'political connections,' and likely a strong understanding of the CCP's aims and interests. 'Someone with his background who is active in local politics or American politics, that is something politicians like Cuomo should be aware of and should be mindful of,' Wong said of He. 4 Larry He and John Chan were photographed at this rally for district leaders in the 49th Assembly District. Obtained by the New York Post After moving permanently to the U.S. from China in 2016, He bought a $317,790 five-bedroom home the Syracuse suburbs with his wife, a longtime professor at the local state university, records show. He formed his import firm there in 2018, and held the role of managing partner at OneStream Capital, which is headquartered in the town where he lived and was founded by a veteran of the Beijing-controlled China Venturetech Investment Corporation. He took his job with Colton in December 2023, and told The Post he moved to Brooklyn for the gig, even though he kept his upstate home. It wasn't until November 2024 that He registered to vote in New York City, listing a rented condo on Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst as his residence and attesting on the form that he had never cast a ballot in his life. He said the registration coincided with him becoming a citizen. Barely a month after becoming a New York City voter, the Kings County Democratic Party — led by Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn — appointed He as a district leader. Just days after the appointment, He and his wife bought their own $830,000 condo on Kings Highway. In March, He was named to Cuomo's campaign — stunning community stalwarts. 'I have experience in the Brooklyn community for 20 years, and I have no idea where he comes from,' said one Chinese-American activist, who works with immigrants in Bensonhurst and Sunset Park, and who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals. 'When I asked for more information about this person, it's a mystery. Nobody knows where he comes from.' Cuomo and other local pols have been a target of alleged CCP influence operations in the past, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In September, federal prosecutors accused Linda Sun, who served as a Queens community liaison to Cuomo and Gov. Kathy Hochul in Albany, of working as an unregistered foreign agent for Beijing. Cuomo's team has told The Post Sun had minimal access to the then-governor. Last summer, the feds arrested two accused Chinese agents who allegedly worked to subvert Taiwan-born pastor and freedom activist Xiong Yan's bid for a New York congressional seat. In February 2024, the FBI raided the home of Winnie Greco, a longtime ally to John Chan and an aide to Mayor Eric Adams. These are all reasons Cuomo should be more cautious vetting his staff, said Yaqiu Wang, a veteran human rights researcher who has studied the United Front and the CCP's transnational influence operations. 4 Chan has participated in CCP events in the United States and China. NYP 'At this point, it's hardly surprising that individuals with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party are working for politicians in New York,' said Wang. 'Allowing CCP-affiliated individuals and entities to influence American electoral politics isn't just a national security threat—it's a human rights issue. New York has long been a refuge for people fleeing repression in China: pro-democracy activists, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others who came seeking a place where they could speak freely,' she added.
