"Whooee!! We'd better put some toilet paper in the fridge for tomorrow morning" (????!)

I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you all about how excited I am about the food in SA. There is even a Wikipedia entry focusing exclusively on South African cuisine. Amongst all of these amazing foods, there is one dish indigenous to Durban that I am particularly excited about and it's called... Bunny Chow!


Durban has the largest Indian population in all of Africa (possibly even the largest Indian population outside of India!), and the cuisine has been greatly affected by this influence. The Bunny Chow - or Bunnies, as I have learned they are called - is shrouded in mystery; both the origins of the dish and the etymology of it's curious name are unknown. In doing some web research I stumbled upon this hilariously crude/amazing site, which shared the following information:

The Bunny Chow has earned itself an enduring place in the affections of Durbanites and there are many of us who couldn't exist for very long without them.

Bunnies are mostly made with quarter-loaves of bread but you can ask for a half or full loaf if you're very hungry. There is a taboo when it comes to ordering a Bunny and that is that you can't mention the word Bunny. You should ask for the Bunny you want based on its size and the curry it is to contain as in: Gimme a quarter beef! They'll know what you mean.

The Bunny Chow should always be eaten with the fingers starting with the lump of bread, or virgin, on top [see the labeled diagram above]. Aficionados treat the virgin as an appetizer for the main course and it is considered very bad form to seize and eat someone else's virgin without their express invitation. You should then help yourself to the curry and tear pieces off of the side of the loaf and dip them in the gravy. The trick here is to avoid tearing off pieces of loaf which are below the current gravy line otherwise you end up with a steaming-hot mass in your lap. For much the same reason you should check whether your Bunny Chow was made from the end of a loaf or whether it is a Funny Bunny made from the middle and, hence, without a crust at the bottom. A Funny Bunny isn't any less tasty but you do have to be careful to support the base in case it gives way and gives onlookers something to laugh about; you begin to see how it got its name?

While eating your Bunny you may sweat and blow your nose often, Say "Whooee!! We'd better put some toilet paper in the fridge for tomorrow morning" , drink beer, a soft drink or milk and throw your mutton bones, if applicable, at passing yachts, if available. You may not betray that you're in pain if the Bunny is too hot for your taste. Just relax and think of those nice endorphins you're going to get when your brain finally gets into gear. Steer clear of the gravy if you are in real difficulties as experience has shown that it is the hottest part of the curry. Stick to the meat and, after a decent interval, scrunch up your Bunny in its wrapping and fling it quickly into a bin saying, "Damn, but I could eat two more of those."

I don't have time to write more just now, but just close your eyes and imagine how appealing this all sounds. Then go put some toilet paper in the fridge for tomorrow morning. When you come to visit, let's be sure that we share one of these delicious treats. But don't you even think about touching my virgin.

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