Egg waffle
An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle popular in Hong Kong and Macau, consisting of an eggy leavened batter cooked between two plates of semi-spherical cells. They are usually served hot, and often eaten plain, although they may be served with fruit and flavors such as strawberry, coconut or chocolate. It is referred to by its original Cantonese name, gai daan jai (雞蛋仔), and in English, an egg puff, bubble waffle, eggette, pancake balls, pancake waffle, egglet, and puffle. They are sometimes referred to as Hong Kong cakes in Chinatowns across America, especially in New York. One piece of egg waffle can have around 20 to 35 small round 'balls'.
Small ball-shaped egg waffle and large European-style waffles at a street food stand | |
| Alternative names | Bubble Waffle, Egg puff, puffle, gai daan jai, egglet |
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| Type | Pancake or waffle |
| Place of origin | Hong Kong |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk |
| Egg waffle | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 雞蛋仔 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 鸡蛋仔 | ||||||||||||
| Jyutping | Gai1 daan6 zai2 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Chicken egg + [diminutive suffix] | ||||||||||||
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Egg waffles are among the most popular Hong Kong "street snacks" and were ranked No. 1 in a 100 most popular HK street snack listing. They have been a favored street snack since their emergence in the 1950s, when they were made with coal fire heating and sold from street kiosks in Hong Kong.