Initially I was quite skeptical of purchasing electronic items from Taobao as you know, that’s no warranty or refunds if it doesn’t work. So I started off by buying something relatively cheap, a Takoyaki machine which costs around sgd10 before shipping. And it was all good when it came. At least it was in working order and did not trip the power in the house!! Refer to my facebook post here if you are keen to know how it looks like. The only setback is that you have to use an adapter for all their electrical items.
And I have always wanted a Belgium waffle maker, not the usual squarish/rectangular domestic kinds which we can find locally. I wanted those akin that from the ice-cream store, like Gelare ! The thicker and crispier outer texture with a soft dough within and pairing it with ice-cream… it’s just heavenly ~ that kinda !! So I started sourcing locally and the nearest I can find is from Tott, but costs something like almost sgd400. Even during sale times, the cheapest I have seen is probably close to 300. The same brand is offering at Amazon at a much cheaper price though, which I did give it a thought, however electrical items from the States are even more cumbersome, on top of an adaptor, you would probably need a transformer as well. So the thought was scrapped.
Then there came Taobao !! Hahaha.. After much contemplation since last year till now, I finally gotten my hands on the Belgium waffle maker I wanted. It costs around sgd40+ before shipping, but purchase as usual, is made at your own risk without warranty or after sales. 
And it came by sea and I had it tried out over the weekend.. and I must say it’s really awesome. It does churn out the ice cream café’s style kind of Belgium waffles. I topped it with my favourite ice cream from Baskin Robbins, the cotton candy and hockey pokey flavors. I prefer to get my ice-cream from the boutique stores itself, as they are generally better in quality as the stores get replenished faster than supermarkets and you get to mix 2 different flavors in one pint.
Whoever started with pairing warm waffles with cool ice cream has had to be a genius ! Hahaha… The duo make perfect complements yeah !
Do pardon for the poor pictures, as the weather was just too hot and the ice cream was melting.. and I am a tortoise when taking pictures using my camera… so the picture effects wasn’t that fantastic…
As you can see, the Belgium waffles does have that kind of thickness that ice cream café serves…
The machine allows you to turn it 180 degrees when you are cooking the waffles and it came with a dripping tray that allows you to catch the overflowing batter.
Here’s the taobao link for the waffle maker for anyone who’s interested.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=40102041046&spm=2014.12193480.0.0
An update about the cleaning part which some people has been asking me… basically the cables and the waffle iron is non detachable. Only the dripping tray is removable which you can washed under the tap. As for the waffle iron, you can simply clean it with a damp paper towel or non-scratch cloth and it leaves no stains. :)
The only pity is, I probably unmould the waffle too early, so the colours look abit pale for my liking. As this is the first time I am using the machine, I was quite cautious with the cooking time, fearing that anything longer will burn it ! Hahaha, So i was quite gan chiong and took it off once I see it browning. I would try to cook the waffle slightly longer on higher heat the next time. For this, I sourced the web for a recipe and I realized most of them are more or less similar. Hence, I took a standard one and tried it out. :)
Belgium Waffles (The Ice Cream Cafe's Style)
Ingredients
- 1 egg yolk and white to be separated
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 60 g butter melted
- 40 g sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 160 g plain flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 120 ml milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolk and sugar. Beat in the vanilla extract, butter and salt. Alternately mix in the flour and milk until all is blended well.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they have formed soft peaks. Fold egg whites into the batter and mix well.
- Spray the preheated waffle iron with a non-stick cooking spray. Pour the batter onto the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown and fluffy.
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