Mẹ (2018)
Mẹ, mother in the northern Vietnamese dialect, follows two generations of moms as they create a new dish for the family restaurant. Reimagining their parent’s pho shop, the next generation carries on the family legacy through Vietnamese cuisine.
THE
bubble
waffle
PART 03
The Bubble Waffle also known as an Egg Waffle is a night market, street food classic. With origins from Hong Kong and Macau, it’s signature shape consisting of circular bubbles are formed from custom waffle irons.
These came onto the scene in the early 2000’s with the arrival of the night market’s in Vancouver’s Chinatown and Richmond. Derek describes one of his favourite memories of the bubble waffle reminiscing about the infamous “Bubble Waffle Man” of the original night markets. An energetic man of South Asian descent, he was a crowd favourite, as he worked two waffle irons all while bantering in Cantonese.
Fast forward to today and the bubble waffle has evolved into various different flavours and forms. We visit the Bubble Tea Shop and try the various iterations of bubble waffle from Matcha to Oreo.
Next we head to Vancouver’s Chinatown and visit a new shop to the scene which serves up the Korean Hoduya Walnut cake. With similar components to the bubble waffle, the Hoduya Cake comes in the shape of a walnut and stuffed with red bean paste. We talk with the owners about where the idea came from and why they decided to open up shop during these tough times for food establishments during the era of COVID-19.
For our last stop we visit the Richmond Public Market where Peanuts has been operating since the inception of the market in 1995. Bringing their famous Taiwanese wheel cake to Vancouver food eaters, they explain why they’ve kept their prices virtually the same since they first opened in the 90’s.
As you can see, things can get pretty wild and creative with the bubble waffle.
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"Do you know the Bubble Waffle man?"