Waffling

I often waffle between whether I like pancakes or waffles more. But is a silly argument because at the heart of it they are two completely different foods. Sure – there are similarities. People like them for breakfast, and butter and syrup are a perfect complement.

But consider the differences. First, waffles are crispy. Their texture is one to give the consumer a tactile delight in the mouth. But pancakes are essentially all about the spongy qualities, even though a crispy outer coating is a must. Let me put it this way, would you ever eat ice cream out of a pancake?

This is a round about way of telling you about a recent experience that I had concerning Hong Kong waffles. I won’t make the expense draw out – they were awesome! It makes me wonder why waffles have been perfected but my search for the illusive excellent pancake goes on?

During Chinese New Year a certain kind of waffle is often served. I discovered my example on the streets in Soho. Two ladies were pushing a handcart with a charcoal burning fire. The batter was poured directly into the sandwich griddle and placed directly over the coals. They were pulled out piping hot with some char on them.

The batter is made with coconut milk, which gave them a slight sweet taste. They were crispy and the smoke from the fire gave them a complex taste. No powered sugar or confection was on them. They were just served in a paper bag. And I couldn’t think of anything that would have made them better.

Last – the waffles griddle is separated into egg shaped portions. So it was so easy to pull off individual pieces. I think that is so people can share. But in the future Jennifer is going to have to get her own because they were that good.

Until next time – keep on flipping!