In the midst of the usual, boring and omnipresent brands is the City is BunCo and it’s not one of those places, says Federica.

Bringing Taiwanese bao buns to London with a Turkish touch in the shadow of the Monument, BunCo specialises in fresh steamed buns revolutionising traditional recipes from East to West.

In addition to the classic bun, BunCo presents colourful bun choices using the likes of basil, beetroot, squid ink, spices and whole wheat.

They use only natural ingredients to colour the buns (no added artificial colouring, sugars or additives), which makes them healthier of course.

We went ahead to try out their buns and were pleasantly surprised at the variety of choice they offer.

The formula is quite standard: you choose your bun’base’, then the filling, and a side. They also have bowls with rice or grains as well as a breakfast menu.

By the time we visited (just after 1pm) our first choice of smoked salmon had run out, so we opted for a squid ink bun with pulled pork and a basil bun with tuna salad.

The squid ink, pulled pork was delicious, flavoursome but not over rich, as it can sometimes be. The basil bun has a light herby hint and the tuna filling generous but with too much raw onion for our liking.

We also had pulled pork in a spicy bun which was a double whammy of flavours and a basil bun with chicken kebab, which was also a bit too heavy on the onions.

Overall the buns are incredibly light and fluffy.

We shared a bowl of decently cooked chips and an over crunchy coleslaw upstairs in the small sit in area; there are also some tables outdoors, which get packed on a nice day, but most people take away their lunches.

We really enjoyed BunCo – something quite original and different from the rest of the nearby offerings and a reasonable lunch deal (two buns and a side for around £7).

They could do better on single use (plastic cutlery, non-compostable containers), but overall BunCo are a solid option for a satisfying lunch.