The secret to great Hong Kong chequered waffles and 9 of the best places to eat them – slathered in peanut butter, condensed milk, butter and sugar

Hong Kong’s chequered waffles aren’t as well known as egg waffles, but became popular in the 1970s thanks to the increasing availability of electric waffle irons

To mark International Waffle Day we reveal some of the best places to eat the fluffy delights, in flavours from chocolate to coffee to matcha green tea

Reading Time:4 minutes

Eggs Bakery serves chequered waffles that are particularly soft and pillowy. What’s the history of this favourite Hong Kong snack, and where are the best places to eat them? Photo: Erica Fong

Published: 7:15am, 25 Mar 2023Updated: 11:02am, 13 Jun 2023

Waffle lovers in Hong Kong are truly spoiled. From the ubiquitous egg waffle to Belgian waffles and croffles – croissant-waffle hybrids – the waffle craze shows no sign of slowing.

After all, who doesn’t love these piping hot, crispy vessels for all things sweet or savoury?

International Waffle Day is celebrated on March 25, and to mark it we take a look at the history of waffles in Hong Kong – specifically chequered waffles, or gaak zai beng to call them by their Cantonese name.

Not to be confused with gai daan zai – egg waffles, also known as egg puffs, eggettes or bubble waffles, which originated in the 1950s and have since become an icon of Hong Kong street food – chequered waffles are flatter, eaten folded, and aren’t as well known.

Hung Hom Egg Waffle’s master waffle maker Ng Wai. Photo: Erica Fong

Most shop owners in Hong Kong are unsure of the chequered waffle’s history, other than its rise in popularity during the 1970s thanks to Western influences and the increasing availability of electricity.

“Egg waffles were cooked over charcoal, but chequered waffles were cooked on waffle irons using electricity,” says waffle master Ng Wai of Hung Hom Egg Waffle, in the Hung Hom neighbourhood in Kowloon.