I have a passion for pancakes, whether they are French crepes, buttermilk pancakes, Chinese pancakes or even Indian apom and thosai (yes, they are pancakes!).
Pancakes are often thought of as dessert, or as breakfast, the sweet kind. But savoury pancakes can make a delicious meal for lunch or dinner.
There are some quirky, “crossover” pancakes at Wicked Pancake Parlour in Damansara Heights which make a good lunch or dinner. Share the pancakes with someone and you can go on to the dessert ones.
Much Room for Mushrooms
Much Room for Mushrooms has creamy mushrooms with beef bacon bits nestled in a crepe. Crispy fried mushrooms are the topping, together with curry leaves and spicy croutons. Take a bite, and it goes from crispy to soft, tender mushrooms inside the pancake. There is the tingle of chilli in the croutons, which went well with the creamy mushrooms.
Anything with eggplant gets me and I said yes to the Moussaka! Pancakes with roasted eggplant, sautéed mushrooms, cheese sauce, minced spiced beef and fresh pomegranate. The fluffy pancakes laid with eggplant slices, béchamel sauce, mushrooms and minced beef spiced with cumin were delicious. A sprinkling of pomegranate gave them colour and a welcoming fruity sweetness.
Banaffogato — pancakes with banana, coffee cream, caramel sauce, French vanilla ice-cream
Banaffogato Pancakes with bananas, caramel sauce, dried cranberries, coffee cream, mixed nuts and vanilla ice cream made a gorgeous dessert. There was a small jug of coffee cream to drizzle over the pancakes. I was a little restrained with it at first, then when it tasted so good, I emptied the whole jug of it over the pancakes. The smooth coffee sauce with a bitter edge was excellent. We loved the French vanilla bean ice cream on top of the pancakes too.
We have to remember that Jason Loo, one of the founders of Wicked Pancake Parlour and Yellow Brick Road is the head barista there, an award-winning one. So coffee here has to be excellent. Together with fellow founder and training manager Shaun Liew, they drive the two cafes with their boundless energy.
Popcorn Float — root beer with salted caramel ice cream topped with popcorn and butterscotch sauce
The pancakes should be enjoyed with one of the floats on the menu. If a root beer ice cream float makes you think of the A&W drive-in in PJ, then try this Popcorn Float with root beer, salted caramel ice cream topped with popcorn and butterscotch sauce. The Fatbaby ice cream sets it apart, as does the butterscotch sauce. You taste the sweet, the salty, then the buttery, toffeeish sauce.
Chef Eshia Kar Mun has also rolled out pancakes like the Chickity Chinese Chicken, with butter chicken, Apom Terbalik with crushed nuts, sweet corn, Hawaiian coconut and Gula Melaka with coconut candy ice cream, and Peter Pandan, with pandan pancakes topped with caramelised and fresh jackfruit, salted caramel ic cream and gula Melaka sauce.
Eshia Kar Mun, the chef behind those quirky, tasty pancakes
The pancakes are priced from RM14 (for the classic one with maple syrup) to RM26.
The Wicked Pancake Parlour is open from 11am to 4pm from Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 4pm on weekends. But the pancakes are served too at Yellow Brick Road downstairs, from the same menu.
Part of the parlour is furnished for children to play in, with toys, books and a “castle”.
Wicked Pancake Parlour and Yellow Brick Road are at 7 Jalan Batai, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03 5481 5033.