Hong Kong's Best Pancakes
Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, falls this year on March 4: the day before the Christian fasting period of Lent. Traditionally, making pancakes was a way for people to use up all that fattening milk and butter before their fast. In Hong Kong, of course, we never stop eating. If you don’t have time to beat your own batter, we’ve put together a selection of the best pancakes in town. But there’s no need to limit yourself to just boring old butter, lemon and sugar: The town is full of the fascinating and the flat…
Manifest Crêperie
In the States, this is what pancakes are all about: a stack of fluffy pancakes with crispy bacon ($58) or fresh fruit on the side ($55), drizzled with plenty of maple syrup. Satisfy your cravings at any time of the day at the 24-hour diner The Flying Pan along with bottomless coffee… bliss.
G/F, Old Bailey St., Central, 2140-6333, and 3/F, 81-85 Lockhart Rd., Wan Chai, 2528-9997.
The Classic Crêpe
Prefer your pancakes with a touch of European flair? Head to La Crêperie for a tasty disc o’ goodness (from $78), freshly cooked and filled with sugar, cream, chocolate or fruit. Don’t have such a sweet tooth? Try a Breton galette (from $98) instead, a savory pancake made from buckwheat flour. This version is traditionally filled with vegetables, cheese and meat. Wash it all down with a cold bowl of clear, crisp French cider.
1/F, 100 Queen’s Rd. East, Wan Chai, 2529-9280, and G/F, 69 Jervois St., Sheung Wan, 2679-4666.
Bing It On
You don’t have to go far in China to find a street cart selling jianbing, the Chinese breakfast favorite. Thin batter is cooked on a giant griddle before eggs, scallions and all other ingredients under the sun are thrown in and folded up. Ex-Beijing expat Brian Goldberg missed his morning jianbing so much that he opened Mr. Bing to bring the street food to the masses (from $20). On top of Beijing classics, he serves up variations with Peking duck, Nutella, and sausage, egg and cheese.