Ninja Buns

As the lovely Vicky MacDonald highlighted at the recent Scran Salon event, the St Mary’s Market, which convenes just next to St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, has now focussed itself on innovative street food.

This means that established favourites like Mlle Macaron, Bespoke BBQ and Nusou have been joined by some new and emerging folks. Top of the list for a visit today were the fabulously named Ninja Buns.

Showcasing their take on the Taiwanese gua bao, a filled steamed bun, this was their first day of trading. For beginners, they seem to have developed a very efficient and extensible process. They were very much in control of things throughout my visit.

On offer today were three bun fillings: braised beef, pulled chicken or BBQ tofu. Buns were £3 each or £5 for two. I opted for the latter choosing chicken and beef as the fillings.

A rich reduction was painted on to the buns then the chosen filling applied before pickled veg and lime infused salad was applied with things topped off with crushed peanuts and fresh coriander.

The resulting item was a gloriously messy eat packed with a great blend of meaty depth and fragrant lightness. I marginally preferred the succulent chicken to the warmly spiced beef, but it was a close run thing.

So overall, it was wonderful to welcome Ninja Buns to the Edinburgh street food family. I’d heartily recommend a visit and look forward to trying their wares again, soon.