Bunny Chow · South African · Main Course

Bunny chow

Born in South Africa

“A hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry—Indian South African fast food, Durban-born and widely adapted.”

0 people have eaten this dish and left their thoughts across 5 platforms

8 in 10 mention culturally significant origin first

6 in 10 say it's worth it for the adaptable across communities

4 in 10 would come back the same week

Synthesised from Google · TripAdvisor · Reddit · Yelp · 1 food blog · Updated August 2026

The story the reviews tell

Bunny chow is a hollowed-out loaf of white bread cradling hot curry, born in Durban's Indian South African communities and now a fast food staple across the country. The bread becomes an edible vessel—soft interior giving way to crusty exterior—while a salad sits alongside to cut the richness. What started as a quarter-loaf version has spawned regional reinventions: skhambane, kota, shibobo, each name marking a community's claim on the dish.

What makes this version distinct

Bunny chow, often referred to simply as a bunny, is an Indian South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry and a serving of salad on the side. It originated among Indian South Africans of Durban. Throughout various South African communities, one can find cultural adaptations to the original version of the bunny chow, which uses only a quarter loaf of bread and is sometimes called a skhambane, kota ("quarter") or shibobo, a name it shares with sphatlho, a South African dish that evolved from the bunny chow.