OneChineseInColombia’s pancake hunt in Bogotá

Recently I was going through a bit of a pancake phase, craving for the kind of soft fluffy American pancakes. So, I went on a holy grail of pancakes.

With such big American influence in the country, I still find it surprising that it’s not easy to find good pancakes. I guess Colombians still prefer their scrambled eggs, calentao, beef ribs broth or tamal for breakfast.

The last thing you want in your pancakes is undercooked sogginess. That, I’m sure most of us, if not all, would agree. So when I found myself paying COP 18.000 (USD 6.. Nothing is costly in Colombia after converting into foreign currencies but if I tell you you could get a breakfast combo for as cheap as COP 5.000, you will start to put things in context) for some sogginess at the forever undeservingly popular Bagatelle, whose popularity is really inexplicable except perhaps for being the ‘right’ place for the city’s politicians and businessmen to see and be seen when they congregate for their breakfast meetings.

So I decided to go on a pancake hunt, which means I had 2 breakfasts in the same morning, both of which were pancakes!!! I’m so proud I managed to pull that off! First up was Crepes y Waffles upon recommendation of a friend. They have 2 kinds, interestingly under the ‘healthy’ section, hidden at the very end of the menu. Being called ‘healthy’, they already have the upper hand as they make you feel less guilty! I went for the pumpkin pancakes sprinkled with granola and Greek yogurt. The verdict? Good! Good! Good! Nothing else to be said.

Second up was Ugly American. Yes it wasn’t so pretty. I had huge expectations because it was recommended by a friend who’s a master of ‘good life’. It tasted like Betty’s or Aunt Jemima’s pancake mix. Nothing wrong with that. It’s just that you would expect more from a high end restaurant, wouldn’t you? The only good thing about it was the size. It was HUGE! Yea it’s a real American place. The kids’ size (since if you recall, having had breakfast beforehand which was also pancakes, I didn’t think I could stomach more actually) came in 3 full size pancakes! God only knows how big the ‘real’ pancake is!

Subsequently I went back to C & W for the oat & apple pancakes with hot honey. Wasn’t as good as expected.. Though, the good thing I found this time is that C & W also do bacon (the crispy kind, with fat rendered) separately, so you can have your bacon pancakes!

If you know of any other places that would be up for the contest, let me know! I want pancakes!