butterfly bun

morning walks to the market will consist of buying fried doughs. long ones and butterfly shaped ones. some days when my gran is too tired to walk, our neighbour will offer to buy them. one time, a friend of hers from our previous neighbourhood came to visit. my gran came to my room shortly after, handed me a butterfly bun and said "aunt bought this for you". her body language tells me that she wants me to eat it while it's still warm. she must have shared with the neighbours that 'huay ji' is my favourite.

when asked about the mandarin translation, gran thought for a while and managed to convey these meanings - 'huay' means flower and 'ji' means fry. however, she doesn't seem too sure and it does boggle me that the hokkien term doesn't seem to match the english term. but the dough does look somewhat like a butterfly. oh well, what matters most is the soft fluffy interior when one bites into the crispy exterior; and my gran's sweet gesture.