Fun Buns is an evening restaurant on Heretaunga Street East with a menu designed around handmade bao, shared plates and inventive drinks. Its approach suits diners who prefer to assemble dinner from several smaller dishes instead of following a fixed starter-and-main sequence. A pair of bao can form a compact meal, while a table can range widely through the menu and pass plates around. That flexibility gives the Hastings venue an informal, social rhythm without reducing the food to simple bar snacks.
Bao provide the restaurant's signature format, pairing soft steamed buns with fillings that range from rich to crisp. Classic pork, pulled or panko-coated pork, fried chicken and tofu give both meat eaters and vegetarians distinct routes through the selection. Because the fillings use different cooking methods, an order of several bao can move between slow-cooked tenderness, fried crunch and the cleaner texture of tofu. They are easy to share, but varied enough to reward choosing more than one style per person.
The sharing plates give the kitchen room to work outside the bun. Tea-brined fried chicken comes with a choice of sauces, while dumplings bring a different kind of wrapper and bite. Lamb massaman with fried potatoes introduces a deeper curry profile, and cheesy corn or cauliflower adds comforting vegetable options; vegan choices keep the shared format open to a wider table. Mixing these plates with bao creates a meal of contrasts rather than a procession of dishes that all feel the same.
The drinks list follows the food's lively flavour combinations. Cocktails draw on ingredients such as yuzu, pandan, lemongrass, Korean chilli and soju, linking citrus, spice and aromatic notes to the meal rather than treating drinks as an afterthought. Mocktails and beer provide alternatives for different occasions and preferences. A citrus-led drink can cut through fried chicken, while a softer aromatic choice can sit beside bao or dumplings, completing the playful, share-focused experience that defines Fun Buns.
Address: 300 Heretaunga Street East, Hastings 4122, New Zealand
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