What filling is used in a dim sum sweet cream bun?

A dim sum sweet cream bun is filled with milk custard.

The sweet cream bun is a steamed Cantonese bun whose soft dough surrounds a smooth, sweet milk-custard filling. Its pale, creamy center distinguishes it from savory steamed buns such as char siu bao, which contain barbecued pork.

Milk custard is one of several sweet fillings found in dim sum. Other buns use lotus-seed paste, while separate desserts may feature red-bean paste or black sesame paste. Those ingredients are all familiar in Chinese pastry, but they are not the standard filling identified with the sweet cream bun.

Sweet cream buns belong to the broad dim sum tradition of offering both savory and sweet foods alongside tea. Dim sum menus do not necessarily follow a Western course order, so dessert-style items can be ordered alongside dumplings, rice-noodle rolls, or steamed vegetables. The bun’s “cream” refers to its custard-like dairy filling, not whipped cream spread inside a baked Western roll.