Drink in focus: Egg Waffle cocktail at Avoca

Few snacks are as ubiquitous to our city as egg waffles, and if any bar were to reimagine classic Hong Kong snacks as cocktails, few are more appropriate than Avoca of Mondrian Hong Kong, situated in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui.

First seen in the 1950s, the egg waffle is comprised of eggs, flour, sugar and evaporated milk cooked in a waffle iron and best enjoyed fresh, when the snack is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It’s a popular streetside snack and comes in a variety of flavours like matcha, red bean, chocolate – even salted egg yolk.

The Egg Waffle cocktail is one of a series of cocktails on Avoca’s current menu that are inspired by staple Hong Kong flavours like those of the yuenyeung coffee and tea hybrid drink, cured sausage or lap cheong, and more.

“[The egg waffle is] a nostalgic quintessential Hong Kong treat and has been my favourite afternoon indulgence since childhood,” says Avoca head bartender Rolf Flaminiano. “We wanted to capture that comforting, familiar flavour in a drink that surprises and evokes wonderful memories for Hongkongers, and [offers] a delicious way to experience the city for visitors.”

Flaminiano and the team begin this cocktail by infusing Michter’s rye whiskey with egg waffles made in-house, which are then both blended with vanilla and sous-vided to extract as much flavour as possible. The result is then shaken with banana oleo, chocolate bitters, citric acid and egg yolk liqueur. (Banana oleo saccharum is a syrup made by macerating banana peels in sugar syrup.)

“This creates a rich, layered profile that balances sweetness, tartness and a warm whiskey punch,” says Flaminiano, “Banana oleo adds depth and aroma while supporting our sustainability ethos by repurposing banana peels into syrup instead of discarding them. The egg yolk liqueur brings a custard-like creaminess and nostalgic character, offering a more refined sweetness and longer shelf life than fresh yolks.”