In complete contrast to the greens, and clear glass I spot as I walk into Fika in Adyar, there is a sudden burst of pink. The walls are a bright pink, there are pink and white boxes for packaging lining the shelves at the back, and the most conspicuous of all — a glass counter filled with buns in neat rows.
A young boy and his mother come in to pick up buns, and he immediately asks for the peanut banana ones. “This is a big hit among our younger customers,” says Sneha Chandrashekar, operations manager, Fika, as she introduces me to the swirl buns and stuffed buns.
Launched in October this year, Sneha says they went through a long process for nearly a year where they decided on flavours, zeroed in on how they could market the product. “While we were keen on experimenting, we also had to make sure that classic flavours like chocolate or coffee had to be done well. We worked on many versions of the chocolate buns until we got them right,” she says.
At Just for Bun, Adyar | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Just for Bun has seven sweet buns and one savoury bun on their menu, available through the day. We start off with the lone savoury bun — scallion and cheese, which is fresh, flaky and has a sharp, spice hit after a few bites.
The jam bun is fashioned like a Korean bun, and comes loaded with butter. The bun isn’t as packed with flavour as I expect it to be, and the milk bun, while soft and airy, is too mildly flavoured.
The coffee cream bun, stuffed with cream, strikes the perfect balance of being packed with flavour and yet isn’t too overwhelming. The winner though is the peanut banana one, which has their signature soft, airy bun with dollops of peanut butter cream on top complete with chopped peanuts for the added crunch.
While the menu also has tutti frutti buns, cinnamon buns, and strawberry cream buns, Just for Bun is currently experimenting with, and will soon bring out a Korean bun — which seems to be the flavour of the season given its skyrocketing popularity at gourmet bakeries across the city.
Customers have the option of sitting at Fika’s lovely outdoor space for a warm snack and tea, but a majority of their orders are for takeaway. Much like donuts sold at popular chains that one can take away in neat packages, Just for Bun has boxes and a cardboard takeaway bag.
For many of us in Chennai, an after-school snack meant making a beeline to the neighbourhood bakery and biting into soft jam or cream buns. It is this touch of nostalgia, Sneha says, that they hope to bring forth.
@Just for Bun, Gandhinagar, Adyar. Buns are priced from ₹120 onwards
