Pancake Day takes its namesake dish very seriously. It is possible to get old-fashioned pancake stacks topped with butter and syrup at the three-month-old restaurant near Shida night market, but it specializes in covering its signature confection with a rainbow of syrup, fruit, and vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
Bite-sized dollar pancakes (NT$150), for example, are heaped with raspberry and caramel syrup, diced honeydew, peach and banana, dried blueberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and dusted with a liberal coating of powdered sugar. Surprisingly enough, the combination of ingredients was not overwhelmingly sweet, and the warm, fluffy pancakes tasted especially good when used to soak up the syrup and melting ice cream. Other flavor combinations include fruit caramel (NT$130), fruit chocolate (NT$130), banana caramel (NT$130) and cinnamon apple (NT$140). The restaurant has already attracted a clientele of devoted sweet tooths. On each of my trips there, I witnessed diners pulling out their cameras or cell phones and taking multiple snapshots of their pancakes.
Pancake Day offers a less exciting but decidedly more wholesome savory menu. On a recent visit, my companion ordered a chili con carne burrito (NT$180), but discovered on his first bite that the staff had mistakenly given him the roast chicken version instead (a lapse in what was otherwise a competent and friendly service). The burrito was unexpectedly light, especially compared to the extravagance of Pancake Day’s breakfast options. The thin, toasted white flour wrap was stuffed with cilantro and cucumber in addition to the meat and served with delicious fresh oven-roasted steak fries.
Pancake Day’s menu lists a couple of salads under its “savory pancakes” heading. Not, fortunately, salad-topped pancakes, but salads served with savory buttermilk pancakes on the side, as if they were taking the place of dinner rolls. The roast chicken salad with Japanese dressing was plain old iceberg lettuce, but a heap of watercress on top and the extremely piquant mustard-based dressing added an unexpectedly nostril-searing, tear-inducing kick to the dish. A heartier alternative to the burritos and salads is the beef cheeseburger (NT$200).
On weekends before 6pm, Pancake Day serves a brunch that consists of two fat buttermilk pancakes, eggs, fries, a button mushroom salad in a light vinaigrette sauce and a choice of bacon, ham or “American-style” sausage. I ordered the latter and was presented with three giant links that more closely resembled hot dogs than the smaller sausage usually served with American breakfasts. They tasted better than hot dogs, though — the skin was taut and the meat inside was very salty and juicy. The mushrooms seemed a bit out of place, but served as a welcome counterpoint to all the carbohydrates and eggs.
The restaurant’s decor is sparse but cheerful, with birds painted in glossy white paint on bright yellow walls. The interior is outshone, however, by Pancake Day’s outdoor dining area, which is large enough for three tables, surrounded by potted plants and sheltered from the elements by a roof. The outdoor seating is unusual in the neighborhood and a great place to take advantage of natural light for photographers who want to indulge in some pancake portraiture.
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