Bun Hut

My wife and I ended up at Bun Hut (at a different location, though — we were at one much closer to CBD) on the morning of New Year’s Day. We had headed out without much of a plan, but we shortly realized that it was unlikely there was going to be much open. As such, we decided to find a Chinese spot that was open so we could go experience Chinese food in New Zealand. Ordering was pretty straightforward, given that the buns that you could order were sitting inside a fridge /​heater, and after waiting for a few minutes, the food was out to us quite quickly thereafter.
As for the quality — the buns were alright, with more juiciness than I had expected. I do like the fact that the steamed buns were of smaller size than usual, making it quite a bit easier to eat. That said, the buns themselves weren’t all that fresh; they definitely did have a flavor that seemed to reflect that they were heated up and had been prepared at some indeterminate point in the past. The main redeeming quality, IMO, of the food was the Chinese omelet (for lack of a better description) that we had. I really liked the crispiness of the egg and flour mixed together, but with a dash of red pepper mixed in as well, it had a heartier and more flavorful taste than a lot of omelets that Western cuisine can offer. Given that it isn’t stuffed with anything else, though, it is a lot lighter and at least made me feel like I had eaten something substantial without feeling stuffed.
I would come back to have the ‘omelet’ again for sure, but I was a bit agnostic on everything else. Perhaps New Year’s isn’t the optimal time to come visit, but I did not get the sense that the food or the experience would be much different on a regular day.

I have been wanting to venture to other dumpling places in a long time and when I heard about the mini buns at bun hut I dragged fellow dumpling enthusiasts along with me for a weekday lunch.
There was next to no-​one in there on a Wednesday at 1pm which isn’t a great sign. There were a table of men who had clearly brought food from surrounding eateries which I thought was pretty rude! The staff didn’t seem to mind.
We ordered the pork and fennel and the pork, prawn and chives mini buns which were so yummy — the size means that the there is more meat to bun ratio and not as filling, the insides were packed with herbs not only meat which I really liked. we got some shredded pancakes with pork and cabbage which was ok — drowned in chilli oil, i wonder if the pancake mix was cheaper than the cabbage because there was f**k all greenery in it! We also got some dumplings that were not unlike the dumplings from Barilla or New Flavour and a seaweed salad that was refreshing albeit a little slimy. I wonder how long it had been sitting in the fridge for.
A really good experience bun-​wise, the rest was only ok. We left with that slimy feeling on our teeth, the kind that msg gives you. I would probably come back just for the buns but i’m a bit freaked out at the gunk that surrounded all the condiments.

Wooh bun hut! I love this place and im not entirely sure why. I think it’s because the first time I went I totally fell in love with their pretty little buns… I’d never had the pleasure of seeing so many bun on one plate… since then I think they’ve gone a bit down hill (just a wee bit. Or maybe I’m just more picky), but I still love coming here. There’s this disgusting vase in the corner with water that’s never been changed, it looks more like blood… probably breeding the next small pox virus which will wipe out the human race, but that’s okay, cause bun hut is cool. I like their cold dishes and the pork, prawn and egg buns. Yum.