MoMo & Coco

HK’s Best Modern Viral Bubble Egg Waffles

Introduction

 

Time has flown by – it is hard to imagine that it has been nine years since we wrote our guide to NYC’s best bubble egg waffles. Invented in Hong Kong around the 1950s, the bubble egg waffle or gai daan zai in Cantonese speak, is being continuously reinvented. From cradling giant scoops of ice cream and sprinkled with an assortment of toppings in New York to being infused with a multitude of creative flavours in Hong Kong, it’s an example of traditional foods being revitalized and renewed, but never forgotten. In this latest guide of Hong Kong’s most iconic desserts, we trekked down the most interesting egg bubble waffle flavours on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon side. Let us know if we missed any!

 

Pineapple Tart Bubble Egg Waffle from Modos

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Modos, Mong Kok.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $24-35)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Pineapple Tart, Lava Honey, Pandan.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Overall best modern bubble egg waffles. Nestled in the labyrinth that is Mong Kok’s Argyle Centre, Modos is our favourite spot in HK for creative bubble egg waffle flavours. Made to order, Modos’ bubble egg waffles are well-balanced between spongy interior and slightly crunchy exterior. The “bubble” area is also perfectly-formed larged domes. We highly recommend the “Pineapple Tart,” akin to eating a multitude of mini new year pineapple tarts. The softly-hued green “Pandan” egg waffle is more subtle in flavour, by contrast.
 

Crunchy Ovaltine Bubble Egg Waffle from Ice Puffs

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Ice Puff, Mong Kok.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $33)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Ovaltine.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Best for crunchy bubble egg waffles. Also located within the Argyle Centre maze, Ice Puffs is another bubble egg waffle spot worthy of your stomach space. The menu is smaller compared to Modos, and errs towards savoury too. Of the very few sweet flavours on offer, check out the “Ovaltine” — it’s just a little chocolate-y, but not sweet, and altogether a satisfyingly crunchy afternoon snack.
 

Brown Sugar Mochi Bubble Waffle from Mammy Pancakes

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Mammy Pancakes, various locations on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $30-45)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Brown Sugar Mochi.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Best for extensive menu of savoury and sweet bubble egg waffles. Scattered in many locations across the city, Mammy Pancakes is to the bubble egg waffle what Hashtag or Bakehouse is to the egg tart – revitalizing iconic Hong Kong sweet treats for the younger generation. Its flavours skip around from traditional such as red bean to matcha to bubble tea pearls. Mammy Pancakes’ “bubble” waffles are more like a long tear drop, instead of the typical spherical bubbles. They are substantially sweeter than most of the other bubble egg waffle purveyors on this list, and texture-wise, they are consistently simultaneously crunchy and soft. It’s little wonder many of their locations have long queues.
 

Starry Cereal Bubble Egg Waffle from More Eggettes

  • ☑ Dessert destination: More Eggettes, Prince Edward.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $40)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Sweet Potato Starry.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Best for “to feel like a local.” A little north of Mong Kok, at the border of the commercial and residential area, More Eggettes is a very old-fashioned corner store serving a selection of old-style Hong Kong street snacks. The bubble egg waffles here distinguish themselves from the others by being filled with starry cereals for extra crunch.
 

Pineapple Bun Bubble Egg Waffle from Chicken Egg Boy

  • ☑ Dessert destination: Chicken Egg Boy, Sheung Wan.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $59)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Pineapple bun.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Best for 2-in-1 dessert, and IG “check in” dessert spot. What happens if you combine the egg bubble waffle and a pineapple bun together? A little shopfront in a less hectic part of Sheung Wan opened up around the time we relocated to Hong Kong last year and did just that, and the crowds have lapped it up ever since … even though the bubble waffles here are almost 2-3 times the price of the other bubble waffles on this list. Each bubble here at Chicken Egg Boy is very perky, and taste-wise, it’s significantly less doughy than the traditional bubble waffle, possessing instead a crispy texture characteristic of the surface of a pineapple bun to offset all that carbohydrate intake. Somewhat interesting, but overall, undeniably excellent marketing.
 

Double Milk Custard Bubble Egg Waffle from The Captain’s

  • ☑ Dessert destination: The Captain’s, Central.
  • ☑ Budget: $ (HKD $39)
  • ☑ Must eat flavour: Double Milk Custard.
  • ☑ Short and sweet story:  Best for super soft texture. Similar to Chicken Egg Boy, we spotted The Captain’s bubble egg waffles through IG. After seeing it repeatedly, we thought it might be worth checking out. We were thoroughly surprised when we visited the shopfront, squished under a set of stairs and adjacent to a lift lobby. Putting aside the curious location, The Captain’s bubble egg waffles are more akin to an ordinary Western-style waffle in overall texture. That is, whereas the bubble egg waffles from Ice Puff and Chicken Egg Boy above are situated on the peak crispy end of the spectrum, The Captain’s bubble egg waffles skew towards the opposite side of the spectrum, being super soft with no crunch at all. Inside each bubble, there is a spoonful of double milk custard, but for us, this custard had barely any flavour.
 

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