[Pictured above: Pan Dulce Image (c)2009 Chelsie Kenyon licensed to About.com]
Pan Dulce (also known as “Conchas” - meaning shells - referring to the shell-like pattern on top), a traditional and delightful Mexican sweetbread, has absolutely no preservatives and is a definite yummy for the tummy (especially with a cup of coffee)! Visit any local panadería (bread shop) in Mexico (or in North America for that matter), and you'll be sure to get pan dulce. In fact, Casa Pan Dulce Bakery is the largest bakery in San Pedro, Belize, where the residents are mostly of Mexican descent and speak both Spanish and English. California resident and OBG Advocate Sherry Trujillo has this to say about this chewy Mexican delight: "My daughter would often complain of missing [authentic] Mexican food while living in Texas. Her boyfriend brought her to many "Mexican" resturants in Texas trying to alleviate some of her homesickness. It didn't work. He is now visiting California for the first time, so I brought him to a panadería. He had never seen pandulce. Now he understands what his girlfriend was missing from home!"
Not to be confused with Mexican pan dulce, melonpan - also known as melon bread - (pictured above) are sweet bakery products from Japan, but also popular in Taiwan and China. They are made from an enriched dough covered in a thin layer of crispy cookie dough. Their appearance resembles a melon although they are not traditionally melon flavored. Melonpan is so popular in Japanese culture that (1) there are melonpan competitions; (2) a Japanese children's character - Anpanman - has a sidekick named Melonpanna who is a heroine with a melon bread bun for a head; (3) a Japanese game show has melon bread that accompanies the prize; and (4) a Japanese video game has a character called "Melon Bread."
A pineapple bun (pictured above) is a kind of sweet pastry popular in Hong Kong, Macau, some other areas in southern China, and in Chinese communities in North America. They can also be found in bakeries in Taiwan. It is known in Cantonese as bo lo baau, in which "bo lo" means "pineapple", and "baau" refers to a kind of bun-like item in Chinese cuisine. It is commonly found in Chinese bakeries, and is mentioned quite frequently on TV, radio and films in Hong Kong.
Melonpan and pineapple bun from Hong Kong are very similar. By comparison the Japanese style is lighter in weight and taste, slightly dryer and has a firmer outer layer (including top cookie crust) which resists to flaking unlike its Hong Kong counterpart which should be treated with care as the top cookie crust tends to flake easily. The Hong Kong version is also more moist and is generally soft on the outside and inside and has a stronger butter flavour.
[SOURCE: Wikipedia & see links]
