Greetings! Hope everyone is staying warm in this winter season. As the weather is getting colder, it is the best time to explore some local hot food and street snacks! This time, I'll specifically focus on egg waffles, also known as eggettes/bubble waffle (Chinese name: 雞蛋仔, direct translations means tiny eggs).

If you have no idea what an egg waffle is, it is a popular Hong Kong street snack that looks like bubble wrap but tastes like a waffle. It is primarily made out of egg, flour, sugar, milk and usually range around HK$10 - HK$20 (depending on how sophisticated the waffle is). The best egg waffles should be crispy and dry on the outside, but chewy and flavourful in the inside. If the waffles feel soggy and tasteless, I will recommend you to throw that out and search for a better place (like the ones below!). In the past few years, we see a surge of local eateries start selling these egg waffles with unique flavours in unthinkable combinations! Today I'll share with you some of the shops that caught my eyes (and tastebuds).

First chain I want to introduce is the Modos - a rising snacks eatery that is known for their creative re-inventions of egg waffles and grid cake waffle (格仔餅). They are famous for a variety of egg waffle flavours, including pandan, lava honey, Jacob's orange chocolate, Uji green tea flavour etc.

I have personally tried a few and crown the lava honey as my favourite and most innovative one. Apart from simply using a flavoured batter to create the waffle, they included a honey popping boba inside each eggette. So that when you bite the eggette, the boba will burst inside your mouth and release the sweet honey lava to create a very unique eating experience. The warmth of the honey boba is right on, so it won't be too hot that burns your tongue, or too cold to be enjoyable.

The Jacob's orange chocolate also garners some good reviews, as the zesty orange balances out with the sweet chocolate, along with the half-melted chunks of chocolate chips, it is definitely worth a try. If you are a fan of the cheese, make sure to try the red cheddar cheese flavour with flowy inside.

For those of you who are enjoys challenging your palette, you can also try their Russian borscht, sweet ginger or spicy meat floss and shrimp paste egg waffles!

In addition, they have 3 flavoured grid cake waffle: hazelnut fillings with crunchy toppings, green tea waffle filled with red bean paste, and cinnamon apple fillings. These will fill you up instantly if you're getting hungry on the streets!

Currently, the chain has 5 branches located in Causeway Bay, Mongkok, Hong Hom and Yuen Long. Just be aware that all the egg waffles are made as you order, so it will take about 5-10 minutes of wait until the snack is ready (will be longer when there is a line).

This shop has a humble start in innovating on one of Hong Kong's favourite delicacies with different types of desserts. First opened its business in the bustling Wan Chai, it has developed a fondness with many of the city's sweettooth, with its white tiles and cutesy personality that made it stood out clearly.

Oddies Foodies is well-known for combining the egg waffles - the staple of this little shop - with a variety of dessert textures and flavors to create new experiences. Upon walking into the front door, you will see the menu of the signature egg waffle + Italian low fat gelato combo, but with many twists beyond your usual expectation. The soft and creamy gelato goes extremely well with the crispy egg waffles, and the contrast in textures along with the complexity of sweet and savoury are what make their desserts so unforgettable.

My three all-time favourites are Night Wolf (with brownies, dark chocolate and vanilla gelato and passionfruit panna cotta), The Mob (with mochi and homemade matcha ice cream) and Chuckies (with milk gelato and cream cheese). The choices do not end there. There are different flavours for the egg waffles themselves - both savory options (or the outright unusual Chinese sausage option, but don't judge before you try)!

Following its success, it has moved into the hipster area of Gough Street, with some unique additions in store, like one Jar Leto, where different kinds of desserts and gelato are served in a jar. Just fancy an ice-cream? No worries! Try out their one-of-a-kind gelato collection (ie. Dark Matter with 80% dark chocolate, Interstellar with mango and strawberry, T-O-T with milk tea and oatmeal raisin cookie chunks etc.) and you'll soon find yourself on cloud nine.

Beware that there's usually a slight wait for the dessert, as anything goods takes time! And remember to bring a friend with you as these Oddies creations are much bigger than you think!

On top of the two stores introduced above, there are still loads of wonders within this city that play with egg waffles.

1) WOFT
Only think that you can get egg waffles off a street vendor? Now even bars serve egg waffles as one of their snacks to go with the drinks! WOFT, a bar focuses on Hong Kong fushion Tapas, craft beer and a cozy environment. It's the best place for a catch-up with your dear chummies, or just a comfy dinner with a significant other.

They are now serving egg waffles in very local tastes, like shredded conpoy (dried scallop) flavour, satay beef flavour and even fermented bean curd flavor! According to their owner, the spicy takuan (picked raddish) flavor is most popular amongst customers, as the saltiness matches well with the craft beers or cocktails served at the restaurant. Give this a try when you have a chance!

2) MORE EGGETTES
You may have an illusion right now that I only fancy the posh/hipster stuff. Not true. Starting in the humble industrial district of San Po Kong, the shop's grassroot craftsmanship on the simple eggette has earned itself a lot of publicity recently.

Ever imagined having a star on your eggette hump and having two flavors at the same time? That's what they're delivering. I have tried the taro and honey star flavor, where you have the crunchy honey star (yes, the all-time favorite cereal) coming out of each eggette amid the taro aroma. Again, the stars gave the whole presentation extra kudos. For a savory option, why not try seaweed plus pork floss? You will find the eggette filled with pork floss with a touch of corn, which gives a big contrast with the sweet outsides.

This is a wrap for the review of my favorite egg waffle places in Hong Kong! Let me know if you have tried any of the above places and enjoyed it!

At the same time, I can't believe this will be my last column for NewsSquare. It has been a wonderful journey and I enjoyed reading all of your comments! Hope you also found some fun places and eateries to visit in Hong Kong through my columns in the past year. Until next time!