Lincoln Tan discovers Auckland's hidden restaurant dishes - bunny chow

Melvin David scoops lamb curry into a hollowed out bread to make bunny chow. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Herald ethnic affairs reporter and dedicated foodie Lincoln Tan introduces you to a world of hidden restaurant delights around Auckland.

"Bunny man" Melvin David, 59, is the go-to guy when South Africans in New Zealand crave curry and samosas.

For more than a decade, David has been serving up a South African street favourite called bunny chow.

It's nothing to do with rabbits, but a dish that originated among Indian South Africans in Durban, the country's third-largest city. It's a hollowed-out half loaf of bread filled with curry.

Bunny can come with different curries, but David's preferences are lamb or mutton.

"New Zealand has the best lamb in the world so why use other meat? I get it fresh and cook them on the same day that I sell them," David said.

Melvin David's bunny chow features lamb curry in a hollowed out loaf with a side of pickled vegetables. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

He moved to New Zealand in 2002 with dreams of being a musician and restaurateur.

"I like making music and I like cooking, because both of these can make people very happy," he said.

He started making bunny chow when he couldn't find it to buy. But when friends got a taste, they suggested he went into business.

Bunny chow is available at just a few South African eateries, including D'urban Delites on the North Shore and Klasiq Kitchen in Panmure.

There are many stories about its origins. One says it started as a dish served to black people banned from restaurants during apartheid.

Melvin David's bunny chow is his way of continuing his mother's legacy. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Another is that the first place to sell bunny chow was a South African restaurant called Kapitans, run by people from India's Bania caste.

What was known as Bania food got changed to bunny chow.

David's version is that it was created by a vendor who had run out of takeaway containers, so hollowed out a loaf to hold his curry.

"The great thing about bunny is that you don't need any utensils. The bread holds the curry, which you just slowly tear apart and eat with the curry."

Bunny chow was part of everyday life when he was growing up in Durban.

"It was very popular when we were students. We ate it as a shared meal and bunny is also considered one of the cheaper street meals that almost everyone can afford," he said.

Every September, cooks in Durban compete for the title of top bunny chow maker at the Bunny Chow Barometer.

Bunny chow originated among Indian South Africans in Durban. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Married with two adult sons, David learned to cook it when he left his family home and moved to Johannesburg for work.

"I was living with a group of bachelors who couldn't put a decent meal together, so I rung my mum and said, 'Please teach me how to cook'.

"She knows curries are my favourite, and I listened attentively on the phone as she gave me a step-by-step instruction on how to cook them."

David's mum died recently. He was not able to travel home because of Covid-19 border restrictions.

But he sees his bunny chow and samosas as his way of continuing his mother's legacy. Some weeks, he gets up to 50 bunny orders, as well as selling almost 1000 samosas.

He used to have a takeaway business, but now cooks at a commercial kitchen for delivery or collection from his east Auckland home.

"I never expected it to be so popular here, but I'm happy with how it's selling," David said.

• Melvin David, https://www.facebook.com/melvin.david.5623