Firefighter, ice climber crowned ‘king and queen’ of annual Cheung Chau bun scrambling contest

A female ice climbing athlete and a fireman have won the annual bun scrambling competition on the outlying island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong.

Nine-time champion Jason Kwok Ka-ming reclaimed the title as "Bun King" since his last win in 2019, while two-time champion Janet Kung Tsz-shan successfully defended her title as "Bun Queen".

In the final round, Kung scored 446 points, beating out the other two female contestants, while Kwok took home top honours in the male category, pocketing buns worth 1,131 points.

Meanwhile, last year’s champion in the male category, Yip Kin-man, is the winner of the "Full Pockets of Lucky Buns" awards, pocketing the most number of buns at 170.

Over 100 people queued early to get free tickets for the event on Monday night. One attendee surnamed Cheung said he arrived at 5 am on Monday.

"I want a good spot. I've been watching the contests for more than a decade," he said.

"I'm not a Cheung Chau resident, but after all these years, it's just second nature. If I skip watching it, I get this itch. It's like catching up with old friends every year. No matter how long it takes to stand in line to watch the event, I don't care. I can tough it out." Cheung added.

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