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In the Dim Sum place I usually go to (in the U.S), they call the pan-fried bun stuffed with Chinese chive and shrimp 韭菜馅饼. I came from Northern China and the shape and size of that bun are, by any standard, 包子 rather than 馅饼. I wonder if this is normal in Cantonese or just that restaurant. If it's normal, is the distinction between 包子 and 馅饼 cooking method (pan-fried vs. steamed) rather than shape and size?

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I have seen those before too. It's possible that 馅饼 has come to mean any pan-fried pastry with fillings. Were they flat on both sides or just on one side? – deutschZuid Feb 18 at 5:43
@JamesJiao they look just like 生煎包. Maybe both sides are cooked but the bottom is apparently pan-fried much deeper than the upper side. – NS.X. Feb 18 at 7:19
Can you post a couple of pictures? – trideceth12 Feb 18 at 13:43
@trideceth12 Found this picture on Yelp, on the plate to the leftmost. s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/W8e5f37JGPXZVOrSJJmT-w/l.jpg – NS.X. Feb 19 at 2:04

1 Answer

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Yeah. 包 (usually sans 子, most of the time, or sometimes as 包仔, and sometimes as 鮑[仔]) is a steamed bun, whereas 餡餅 is baked/pan-fried.

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Thanks for the answer. Could you be explicit on whether shape is a factor or not? – NS.X. Feb 19 at 4:37
I don't think shape is much of a factor, really... I'll look at some menus in the coming days and see if I can bring some examples. – dda Feb 19 at 4:47

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