I don’t often go into London these days but on a recent jaunt into the city with my sister, we decided to explore what foodie delights are now being served in Spitalfields Market which seems to be going more and more upscale.
Having changed from a long-term vegetarian to a vegan this year I have discovered it can be tricky to find meals to cater for both my omnivore sister and myself but having done a bit of research beforehand I discovered a number of vendors in Spitalfields Market offer vegan food and I was determined to try them.
The first stall that caught my eye was Yum Buns, who offer handmade steamed buns and dumplings ‘yumplings’ with various combinations of flavours and ingredients including two vegan options. Yum Buns was founded in 2010 and ran as a stall at Hackney’s Broadway Market before moving into events and festivals, pop-up shops and even winning the People’s Choice at the British Street Food Awards 2016.
Now there are three outlets of steamed bun goodness in East London: The Kitchens, Spitalfields Market and Giant Robot in Canary Wharf, and on weekends at Dinerama in Shoreditch, Hawker House in Canada Water and Public in Woolwich.
Yum buns are soft fluffy folded buns which are steamed, then opened and filled them to order with delicious fresh ingredients. The Yumplings are steamed dumpling packed with tasty fillings and dressed with punchy oils and crunchy toppings.
I was really glad to have discovered Yum Buns in Spitalfields as I simply love these fluffy, soft steamed buns which are the perfect carrier for all manner of flavours. On the menu are five different buns; pork, chicken, fish, tofu and mushroom. I chose the vegan tofu bun which comes with crispy aromatic tofu, black bean mayonnaise, garlic choy sum and chilli pickles. My sister chose the pork bun which is made up of slowly roasted pork belly, cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce.
It’s safe to say that I was in bun heaven; these are definitely the soft and fluffy buns I was craving when I spotted the Yum Buns stall. I loved the crispy tofu and its morish sauce and accompaniments which packed a punch. In fact, I would have quite happily ordered a dozen! My sister was equally taken with her pork bun.
I am certainly going to be coming back to Yum Buns in the future and recommend them to anyone looking for a simple but satisfying meal on the go in East London.
Have you tried the steamed buns from Yum Buns?
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