Back in the day, waffles were utterly unheard of to the folks of Trivandrum, or for that matter, to the entire state. There came along Baskin Robbins and some random parlors that entered into the waffle venture about a couple of years ago. They served the slice, but only a very rudimentary and unoriginal version of it, and that too, for a mad price. The serving was so bogus that waffles never made it to the mental food map of the city. The simple snack was consequently outright alien that it would never pop up in any culinary conversation, not even by chance.
But waffles had its big break in 2017 when Paul’s creamery cropped up in the picture with their Jumbo waffles. Paul simply didn’t check-in seldom, but grandiose, with a bang. He managed to bring to the table the original Jumbo-size Belgian waffle at its best. Ever since then, sweet-tooths have been frequenting the place one too many times. The retailer is an out-and-out conspicuous street café- like straight out of an Italian setting, probably because they prepare the fresh Italian gelato, in unusual flavors.
Their interior too presented a blend of delicate, yet refined, European décor. Ashwood furniture, and the colour combo of pine & turquoise in the warm nimble was the ostentatious scheme, ahead of its time.
Customers who selected the waffle get to choose from some graceful add-ons such as their home-made inventive-flavoured gelatos and topping syrups.
The staff helps to choose your flavour of gelato by handing over a pinch of each to taste. The people at the counter were articulate about their products and gave a good picture to the customers before ordering. Me and my esprit de corps have been there quite a few times and always go for the Pistachio scoop and maple syrup. I sometimes wait at the counter to see the staff pour in the batter into the rectangular waffle iron and lock it in to cook.
Payment, as always, is up front. On the downside, I’m ever unhappy at the sight of the price, because it is unimaginatively and colossally hefty. A waffle with the choice of syrup and gelato scoop would cost above Rs 300. Moreover, the wait gets prolonged during rush hours as the creamery is attracting thousands by the day. But, on the bright side, in 15 to 20 minutes, I get to gorge on my crusty and enticing waffle.
The jumbo waffle is truly JUMBO- about 8 by 4 inches in size and embossed in the signature gridded pattern. Also, they are as crunchy as crunchy gets. The gelato, or ice cream as we commonly know it, is beyond mouthwatering, and so is the syrup accompanying the mixture.
Although Paul extracts a heavy toll, he introduced the city to the bonafide waffles and impeccably delivered the large-chunked, yummy and quality grub. But more importantly, he single-handedly upped the city’s waffle-literacy.
So now, the know-how was out there. Everybody grasped the authentic idea of what a waffle is or should be. All the pseudo replica outlets were at a loss now with Paul projecting big-time on the scene. But granted that Paul delivered the best, the creamery still was a tad away from becoming a family name due to the substantial price tags. As time went by, my visits to the Outlet was less than occasional because it burnt a sizable hole in my wallet on the dessert quota.
Without worthy contenders, almost 18 months passed and Paul shined away with no trouble. Somewhere during that time, I remember Bun Café introducing their own waffles. My experience with their fling was horrible. It was a spongy, cold, hexagon-shaped piece of bread with circular bubbles all over it. The waffle tasted plastic, and even the ice-cream topping, which was remarkably bland, didn’t make it any better- a false hope that went spiraling down at the first bite.
But to everyone’s disbelief, out of the blue comes a mid-sized savior. Last year, Belgian Waffle Co blazed their trail into the city at the Mall of Travancore. But since the mall was on the fringes of the map, most of the city-dwellers were still left unfamiliar to the lovely punch of the snack they offered. However, towards the end of the year, the franchise brought their waffle to the streets of the city near Sasthamangalam, a well-established commercial quarter. They presented a certain competition to the monopoly of Paul. A single waffle pegged at around Rs 100 to 150. It does not sound rock-bottom, but nevertheless, it was a generous cutback from the rest of the big-tickets and fakes.
I dropped by the outlet with my group one evening to get a taste of their best. The outlet had a yellow brazen signage outside, undoubtedly daunting on every passerby.
We entered the outlet to see a small, but elongated space inside.
The décor of the place was gorgeous. Yellow is the new pink for them. The walls were yellow, the lights were warm and the doodles on the walls were themed in lemon colour.
They had flavours from the classic segment such as honey and maple, and some among the contemporary segment to spice up the piquancy, like the cream-cheese alternates, chocolate departures, velvety variants, sandwich sort and many top-ups. We chose to go off-road from the customary lane and ordered the Belgium dark chocolate, kiki’n’cream and the red velvet options.
We paid up-front and waited for our munchies.
I scoped out the preparation area from behind the counter. The staff selected the right batter and poured it into one of their 4 circular waffle irons. I saw them select the three distinctive batters as per my order- dark Sangria brown, carmine red and a midnight-black batter. The waffles were cooked for 5 minutes, then taken out. They looked like a semi-circle having the webbed pattern on top. The edges of the waffle were then shaped a bit for more perfection and allowed to cool under a fan. The men then smeared matching cream on the surface. The kiki’n’cream was daubed with a blue substance, the dark chocolate waffle was spread with a jet-black chocolaty cream and the red velvet waffle was buttered with the white chocolate and cream-cheese mash. The slice was then folded into a quarter circle sandwich and speckled with a pinch of sugar dust. It’s a delight to watch the men at work.
They handed us our waffles in a small upside-down birthday-hat-shaped paper hold.
The Belgium Dark chocolate was very chocolaty- not darky-DARK chocolaty, but really dense-&-heavy chocolaty. It was like having about 10 Cadbury toffees all at once. The Red velvet was sublimely rich in cheese and subtle white chocolate filling- a soothing pacifier. The Kiki’n’cream tasted more like a cream cookie- a bonbon content. All were unique in their taste and were lip-smacking. The waffles were crispy on the outside, soft and flavoursome on the inside and the custom cream applied to each type of waffle is just an added refinement to the whole.
We munched slowly on our really heavy-on-the-tummy nibbles sending wooziness through the roof. I don’t know whether we trumped up a sugar rush or had light-headedness, but the feeling was so at peace. Till date, I’ve been there four times and every single time was a matchless magic. Sweetmeat lovers would definitely relish on their assortments.
Today more places are coming up with the precious tidbit, but are yet to carve out their niche in the waffle business. Kuppi, at Kazhakoottam, offers bubble waffles, but are not really shining in the business. Some juice bars and bakeshops have been doing it for over a few years, only to give more of a pseudo or Indian-version of the waffles.
With Paul’s Creamery as the Big Fish and Belgian Waflles Co as the small fish in the pond, the city can now choose from their choice of yardstick on the dessert menu. Paul has been unremittingly dialing up the choices of gelato toppings every day. Today, they’ve got cheese cake, whisky, blueberry, mascarpone, KitKat, Oreo, Cadbury, Ferrero rocher, Cadbury, maltesers, bubble gum and yoghurt. Additional choices of syrup are caramel, nutella and chocolate. Belgian Waffles Co has been unceasingly striving to deliver great deals on their product.
The benchmark is set and the unknown is now a recognized trinket. At long last, waffles have become a commonplace delicacy on every free spirit’s sweet-itinerary. Literally, food for thought to all the Local Guides.
I invite all Local-Guides Foodies to check out more on Food in and around my locality on my INSTAGRAM page.