The tasty ‘tteok’ of the town

Korean Fried Chicken & Tteok ($9.95) feature bite-sized pieces of poultry and rice cake, all tossed in Pancakes &
Waffles’ famous housemade Korean sauce.

Breakfast foods reign supreme at Pancakes & Waffles, but the eatery, which has thriving locations at City Square and Waimalu Plaza shopping centers, also makes lunch items that truly hit the spot.

One such dish is the Korean Fried Chicken & Tteok ($9.95) — only available at City Square Shopping Center in Kalihi — which was inspired by a trip to Asia in 2019.

“We took a family trip to Korea last year and this combo was everywhere,” recalls vice president Juli Sung. “It was one of the trending foods, so we tasted many versions of it. We loved it so much, we knew we had make it.”

Bite-sized pieces of breaded chicken and tteok (Korean rice cake/mochi) are deep fried and tossed in the restaurant’s signature Korean sauce. All pieces are then topped with sesame seeds and green onions.

“Our Korean chicken is very popular already,” explains Sung. “The added chewy texture of the tteok makes it quite fun to eat and gives it a good balance. The flavorful chicken with a more bland tteok lightly coated in our Korean sauce go really well together.”

Tteok, she explains, doesn’t have the notable sweet taste of mochi, and has a chewier texture to boot.

“It can be a meal, pupu or maybe a snack,” Sung adds.

Other notable meals worthy of a trip to Pancakes & Waffles include the Clam Chowder in Sourdough Bread Bowl ($8.95), Waffle Eggs Benedict ($11.25) and Roast Pork with Gravy ($10.95) — all winners that have quickly grown to become patron favorites.