Duck and Waffle IFC (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I don't know what hit me over the last weekend but I noticed a pretty big drop in fatigue this week. Rather than staying in my office, I decided to take off during lunch time to get myself some fresh air. I also decided that it’s a good idea to go for a nice meal somewhere. That turned out to be Duck & Waffle, which I haven’t visited in ages.

 
It was almost 2pm when I finally arrived but the restaurant was surprisingly full at this late hour. I guess everybody was trying to enjoy a late lunch today.

 
Grilled 18-hour pork belly – First up, some meat to whet my appetite. The fatty pork belly was slow-cooked for 18 hours before finishing on the grill. It was served with a Sambal glaze, pickled cucumber and kewpie.
 
The pork belly wasn’t bad but I thought it carried a little too many textures with it (actually on top). Different seeds, and what I thought was buckwheat…

 
Roasted fillet of sea bass – This was way better than the starter. Very simple cooking with
smoked pancetta, baby artichoke and garden vegetable vignole. Love the hint of mint as well. Sometimes less really is more.

 
Black sesame sticky toffee pudding – I have been missing Gordon Ramsay’s sticky toffee pudding since he decided to skip town at the beginning of the pandemic. But I knew exactly where to find my cure…..at Duck & Waffle IFC!

 
But just when I thought I had my mission accomplished, no such luck! While the original sticky toffee puddings are made with dates, and finished off with a toffee sauce and vanilla custard, this was a curveball thrown by the chefs here. What we had here was a sticky toffee pudding with a modern twist. The pudding was made with black sesame. Even the custard was sesame flavored so the taste was a bit one dimensional. The burnt honey ice-cream finally provided some contrasting flavors but not nearly enough to make a difference in my opinion. Yeah, I want my traditional sticky toffee pudding back!

No duck and waffle, no problem~

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$
Address: Shop 1081, 1/F IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station
Website: www.duckandwaffle.com.hk
Tel: +852 2267-6338
Opening Hours: 8:00am - 12:00am (Sun - Thu), 8:00am - 1:00am (Fri - Sat)