Egg Waffle (Gai Daan Jai)
Photo: Hwo15OOFA · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Gai daan jai (literally little eggs) emerged in 1950s Hong Kong as a way for grocers to use broken eggs: a sweet batter cooked in special hinged cast-iron honeycomb moulds over a charcoal stove. Mammy Pancake and Lee Keung Kee's North Point stall are the modern reference; Mammy's earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand listing. The bubbled-bottom and crispy-edge contrast is the signature; the same iron is now used for Hong Kong sweet variations with red bean, taro and ice cream.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 15 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 120g plain flour
  • 40g custard powder (Bird's brand if available)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100g caster sugar
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 60ml evaporated milk
  • 120ml whole milk
  • 60ml water
  • 30g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for brushing the iron
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Egg waffle pan (Hong Kong honeycomb cast iron, sold online and at Asian kitchen shops)

Method

  1. Whisk flour, custard powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
  2. Beat eggs, evaporated milk, whole milk, water, melted butter, and vanilla in a second bowl.
  3. Pour wet into dry, whisk to a smooth thin batter. Rest 20 minutes; the resting is what gives the puffed bubble interior.
  4. Heat both halves of the egg waffle iron on a gas hob over medium heat, flipping every 30 seconds for 4 minutes until smoking hot.
  5. Brush both sides of the iron generously with melted butter.
  6. Ladle about 100ml batter into one half until it fills the bubble wells. Close immediately and flip 20 seconds in.
  7. Cook 90 seconds on one side, flip and cook another 90 seconds. The waffle is done when golden with crisp tips.
  8. Open carefully, lift out the waffle, fold like a magazine while still warm. Eat immediately.

Tip from the editors. Without a Hong Kong egg waffle iron you cannot make these; a regular Belgian waffle iron makes a completely different product. The iron costs under HK$300 from any Asian housewares shop.

Where to eat egg waffle (gai daan jai)

Egg Waffle (Gai Daan Jai) in Hong Kong

Mammy Pancake ★ 4.5

$ CantoneseTsim Sha Tsui

Mammy Pancake on Carnarvon Road in TST sells Michelin recommended egg waffles from around HK$28 each, the cheapest Michelin guide listing in Hong Kong.

TryOriginal egg waffle

TipOriginal is the budget pick at HK$28; pricier sweet potato, matcha and chestnut versions run HK$40 plus.

Directions

Lee Keung Kee North Point Egg Waffles ★ 4.5

$ Street foodNorth PointCash only

Lee Keung Kee on King's Road in North Point is the Michelin recommended Hong Kong egg waffle shop, baking gai daan jai over open cast iron grids on a busy.

OrderOriginal egg waffle, hot from the grid.

TipStick to the original flavour; the Tsim Sha Tsui branch on Nathan Road has the longest tourist queue.

Directions

Kee Tsui Cake Shop ★ 4.0

$ Street foodMong KokCash only

Kee Tsui on Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok is a traditional Cantonese cake shop open since 1984, making wife cakes, chicken biscuits and walnut cookies by hand.

OrderWife cakes and walnut cookies.

TipPick up the walnut cookies and a box of wife cakes; both pack flat for travel home.

Directions

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