Square Flaky Biscuits 方块酥

Square Flaky Biscuits (方块酥) are layered biscuits associated with Chiayi City (嘉義市). Flour, butter or lard, sesame and sugar form the local snack, which originated on Min Guo Road (民國路), near a military dependants' village.

Layers and a square shape

The city's memory collection describes a biscuit built from multiple stacked layers. Early pieces were square and about palm-sized, convenient to take out and eat when hungry. Makers later reduced the size to suit changing preferences and developed different flavours; the biscuits also became a snack to accompany tea.

Different accounts from local bakeries

The collection records competing maker accounts. Lao Yang (老楊) credits founder Dai Dake (戴大可) with adapting military-village shaobing (燒餅) into a crisper biscuit. Endian (恩典) credits Dang Changfa (黨長發) with combining northern flatbread and southern flaky pastry and naming the result after its square shape.