‘Manis’ is bahasa for ‘sweet’ - this is a dessert pancake, similar to ‘min chiang kueh’, the peanut pancake! The spongey honeycomb shell is the same, but Indonesians have taken it further by using toppings such as cheese, chocolate shavings and even crushed Oreos.
:
Pancake Boss has been operating in Bugis Cube since 2015, but I only got to know of it recently thanks to #Burpple! It’s amazing how much variety they can come up with just pancake:
- the traditional with peanut, cheese and choco-rice fillings
- fruity if you like banana or jackfruit
- the specials which have unique toppings like ovomaltine and matcha kit kat
- Batman-themed fusion martabaks with flavoured bases like red velvet (Red Robin), charcoal (Dark Knight) and green tea (Green Joker)
- the most visually impressive 'pizza' with 4 or 6 toppings (including Smarties) on the round unfolded pancake
:
Featured here are Pandan Jack (left, $9.90) and the Boss Combo (right, $9.90). The latter is made traditional style with peanut, choco-rice and grated martabak cheese… Yes, Kraft has produced #MartabakCheese, a type of processed cheddar that’s unique to Indonesia, and one of the key ingredients that had to be brought over here by the owners. The pale salty cheese had my colleagues raving non-stop, and became the highlight of both pancakes. I love the pandan aroma in the green martabak, and while I've always hated jackfruit for its cloying sweetness, this was an exception. I could finally appreciate the distinct flavour from the small pieces embedded in the honeycomb - I suspect the pandan and cheese played their part.
:
Please note that each pancake is of a 20cm diameter, and only sold as a whole, which means you can’t buy just singular slices! It is cut up into 7-8 portions, so do care and share 💕
:
The #BurppleTastemakers have been travelling to Bugis often this week, because we’re gathering food finds under $15 for our upcoming “Tastemaker Guides”! Stay tuned for our recommendations, or hashtag #BurppleBestBugis if you have your own. No, we're not sponsored by anyone 😁