Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Header image courtesy of @risebyclassified (via Instagram)
Cronuts may have caused quite the stir a couple of seasons ago, but they’ve got nothing on the latest croissant crossover craze that has swept over Hong Kong’s food scene—croffles!
Hailing from the streets of South Korea, croffle is the child of croissant and waffle, comprising a flaky croissant crisped up in a waffle iron, and topped with endless combinations of fixings like ice cream, sticky glazes, and fresh fruit. Though commonly made as an indulgent dessert, the fashionable pastry can adapt just as well to savoury variations too!
With a sea of local cafés introducing croffles onto their menus and adding their own spin to the trendy baked good, it can be difficult to decide where to spend your calories and hard-earned dough (pun intended), so we’ve rounded up the best croffles in Hong Kong that deserve a spot on your bucket list!
No, we’re not talking about the famous dessert shop in New York; Hong Kong’s Milk Bar is a stylish slice of Seoul tucked away down a quiet street in Sham Shui Po. Reverberating the overall chic, minimalist vibe, the café slings a simple selection of Korean-style drinks, croffles, and a daily cake.
Concise as the menu may be, every recipe is given much attention and care to ensure superior quality. Its signature made-to-order croffles use dough imported from France and come in a variety of sweet and savoury flavours, ranging from the classic ham and cheese ($50) to the trendy cream butter ($50) and purple sweet potato ($50)!
Milk Bar, 79 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po
If you’ve come here for full-on indulgence, then you’re in the right place. Although Al Forno Café and Bar is first and foremost a pizza place, the Italian pie is not the only baked carb they are piling high with unconventional toppings. A recent bucket-list destination for croffle fans, the eatery also doles out Insta-worthy croffles that are as decadent as they come!
Leaning more on the hearty-savoury side, standouts from their croffle menu include the burger-inspired AngBur ($148), featuring Angus beef patties, bacon, cheese, and crispy veggies; and the CoriMeat ($118) with luncheon meat, scrambled egg, and coriander. For a sweet treat to split with a friend, opt for the TiraBerry ($78), which comes layered with tiramisu, cream cheese, coconut ice cream, and berry kahlua!
Al Forno Café and Bar, G/F, 218 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay | (+852) 5474 2658
What better place to get your hands on a flaky croffle than an artisanal bakery and café that makes their own pastries in-house? Rise by Classified boasts an excellent repertoire of freshly made baked treats, but their star attraction is none other than croffles, available only at their Tsim Sha Tsui branch.
Keeping the flavour options simple to allow the pastry itself to shine, you can choose from toppings like banana and Nutella ($35), strawberry ($35), and ham and cheese ($35)—everything is freshly made by order to guarantee buttery flavour and crispy satisfaction. Pair your hybrid treat with a silky-smooth latte ($38) for the perfect midday pick-me-up!
Rise by Classified, locations across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon
You can’t miss this striking yellow school bus perched along Nathan Road, especially with the buttery aroma of freshly baked souffle pancakes and croffles wafting out from its storefront. A street-side dessert stand in Yau Ma Tei, am.pm pulls in continuous streams of sweet-toothed lovers who come for their vibrant menu of affordably priced croffles, which are all served on a popsicle stick for easy consumption.
You’ll find the textured hybrid pastry swimming in a creamy custard of your choice, with unique flavour options like D24 durian ($35), caramel pudding ($35), and tiramisu ($35). For an extra $10, you can add on a helping of Japanese 3.6 milk soft serve and revel in the tongue-tingling hot-and-cold sensation!
am.pm, Shop B, G/F, Grand Place, 560 Nathan Road, Mong Kok | (+852) 2725 4318
Pancakes may be the titular specialty at this Japanese dessert café, but epicureans would be remiss to overlook their equally rave-worthy croffles. A sister brand of the uber-hip Café Hachiko located in the same building, Pancake Hachiko is layering trend on trend with their one-of-a-kind 400 croissant waffle ($68), which—as you may guess—takes cues from the viral dalgona coffee.
The eye-catching dessert creation presents a smooth whipped cream base, topped with ice cream and a piping hot croffle dipped in either matcha, hochija, or chocolate sauce. Hankering for something a little fruity and bright? Their mixed berry croissant waffle ($68) will hit the spot with its delicate balance of sweet and tart!
Pancake Hachiko, 7/F, Ladder Dundas, 575 Nathan Road, Mong Kok | (+852) 9577 8705
A bright-lit, industrial-style café run by a Korean expat, Kactus Koffee fits right into Jordan’s unmistakably hipster café scene. Although many come for the Instagrammable aesthetics, it’s their best-selling blueberry cream cheese croffle ($60) that will have you waxing lyrical for days.
Served on a metal plate reminiscent of the olden days, the freshly pressed croffle is mounted with a blueberry jam, a dollop of luscious cream cheese frosting, and freeze-dried mixed berries to boot. If you have room for more sugary goodness, their vanilla ice cream croffle ($60) is also worth a try!
Kactus Koffee, G/F, 47 Man Ying Street, Jordan | (+852) 6796 1507
For a swankier take on the trendy Korean snack, head to this cosy coffee shop in North Point, where croffles come in crowd-pleasing portions and ever bolder combinations! Get your brunch sorted with their avo lobster croffle ($105), topped with lobster salad, creamy avocado, and maple mustard syrup; or the unabashedly indulgent mixed cheese and bacon croffle ($90).
On the sweet side, dessert lovers will surely be smitten with the banana croffle ($84), which steals hearts at first bite with its warm crispy pastry matched with crunchy caramelised banana, creamy ice cream, and molten Nutella drizzle!
Café Gen, G/F, Block B, Tung Fat Building, 31A Kam Ping Back Street, North Point
A wanderer, chronic overthinker, and baking enthusiast, Beverly spent much of her childhood in the United States before moving to Hong Kong at age 11 and making the sparkling city her home. In her natural habitat, she can be found baking up a storm in her kitchen, journalling at a café, or scrolling through OpenRice deciding on her next meal.
Top