The Tasty Buns official company history claims that the first Tasty Buns shop was opened in Shanghai in 1937. Considering that Tasty Buns follows the McDonalds business model of a standardized product, minimally skilled labor, and franchised ownership combined with centralized corporate control and advertising, this claim is subject to debate.
Tasty Buns shops are bright, clean and well lit, staffed by employees who are encouraged by countless hours of training tapes to smile and appear happy. The music selection tends towards covers of light Chinese pop, with the occasional classic. Most of the songs picked for Tasty Buns shops reference food or drink, and employees not currently serving customers or otherwise occupied are encouraged to occasionally sing along. The food itself is primarily standard Chinese steamed buns of mediocre but consistent quality, with many shops featuring one or two manager's specials. Prices are relatively low, and Tasty Buns shops are popular with students and working families. Small restaurant owners often resent the opening of a Tasty Buns shop nearby, as the advertising power of the company is difficult to counter.
The corporate symbols of Tasty Buns include a pair of golden buns on a white background (this appears on the Tasty Buns sign) and the company's mascot, Miss Buns.
Rumors often circulate asserting that Tasty Bun includes addictive chemicals in its product, serves rodent or human meat, is part of a massive money laundering operation for the most powerful of Hong Kong's crime families, etc. These rumors are almost certainly untrue.
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