Too frequent, too familiar – yet there’s nothing to corrode or dispute the popularity of a fish bun. (It might be heinous to even call it that, since it is better known and loved as the “maalu pan”). Like we said, it’s all too common, and in the course of our hunt for a perfect one, we checked in at some of the more established bakeries/patisseries in Colombo.

While most of them were fresh and would make a great snack anytime of the say, the Green Cabin one proved to be a disappointment – especially since the place is usually known for its good food.

BreadTalk served a great one, but a fish bun is still a fish bun, and no one can find a good enough reason why it needs to be sold at 140/=!! Out of the places we did not visit on this round, Family Baker, located in Mount Lavinia is a bakery that serves yummy savouries. 

You perhaps think that the bakery near your place sells the best fish bun – do let us know, so we can share your recommendations with our other readers. If you also want anything particular reviewed on this space, also let us know and we’ll be glad to go on a hunt for it!

 

---

 

	Fish Bun - Sen-Saal (No.366, Union Place Hyde Park Corner, Colombo 02)
Taste	* * * * *
Price	Rs.60
Value for money	High
Variety	Sen-Saal serves a brown fish bun (Rs.65), garlic fish bun (Rs.60) and a prawn fish bun (Rs.85).
Overall	The regular fish bun which we sampled was served hot and when you bite into it, you find a delicious paste comprising of fish, potatoes, onions and little pieces of carrot which we found to be rather peppery in taste and a welcome change from the regular fish buns you find at roadside bakeries and shops. Two thumbs up.

 

	Tuna Bun - BreadTalk (No.33, Park Street, Colombo 02)
Taste	* * *
Price	Rs.140
Value for money	Low
Variety	Apart from the Tuna Bun, another fish bun named What-A-Fish is available and it is priced at Rs.120.
Overall	Despite this bun having a very tasty, creamy tuna paste which our taste buds quite enjoyed, we weren’t too crazy about this bun mainly because the bun tasted very sweet, as though liberal amounts of sugar had been used when making the dough. However, if you don’t seem to find that an issue, you would enjoy it best for breakfast or a teatime snack.

 

	Fish Bun Green Cabin (No.453, Galle Road, Colombo 03)
Taste	*
Price	Rs.60
Value for money	Low
Variety	None
Overall	This bun didn’t have much filling, and there was practically no fish in the filling and even then, the taste was rather disappointing. We found this fish bun to be a major disappointment because Green Cabin is well reputed for its pastries and baked goodies but from this experience, we came to the conclusion that they probably do not place any focus on their buns. Not recommended at all.

 

	Fish Bun - The Fab (No.474, Galle Road, Colombo 03)
Taste	* * * *
Price	Rs.60
Value for money	Average
Variety	None
Overall	Although the bun is dry when you bite into it, the filling inside more than made up for it as it was one of the most tastiest we’d come across when doing this review. Made with fish and little bits of carrot, it wasn’t too spicy and just perfect - much like a rather comforting bun for breakfast, teatime or a snack in between meals. We’d definitely go back to Fab for this fish bun.

 

	Fish Bun Little Star (No.274, Galle Road, Mount Lavinia)
Taste	* * * * *
Price	Rs.50
Value for money	High
Variety	None
Overall	This proved to be slightly different as the first bite ensured a mouthful of delicious fish paste whereas you have to take a second (or third bite) to actually taste some filling in the other buns we ate for this review. The filling is not spicy at all, and although on the salty side, it grows on your taste buds, and is probably one of the most tastiest fish buns we’d eaten. Soft, warm, filling and well worth the Rs.50 spent.

 

 

Our Picks: Sen-Saal and Little Star

 

 

 

By Nivedha Jeyaseelan and Sarah Kellapatha