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Each bubble on this egg waffle has the crust of a pineapple bun.
Natalie Lau Sze-wai is a 21-year-old entrepreneur who has combined two Hong Kong classics into one snack. Online videos of Lau’s pineapple bun egg waffles have millions of views. Queues outside Lau’s charity cafe, Chicken Egg Boy, can stretch for up to two hours.
“I just hope that I’m able to pay respect to the two original forms but also bring something new and fresh to the Hong Kong food scene,” Lau said.
Her playful creation has won fans from around the world.
“The biggest achievement so far is how far this has reached globally – seeing people from so many countries coming to try this,” she said. “It’s a great way to spread culture and knowledge about Hong Kong.”
A careful process
Perfecting the final recipe took more than 10 versions. Lau spent months experimenting with timing and temperature. She wanted the snack to have the best crunch and taste.
“The hardest part wasn’t perfecting it once. It was replicating success consistently,” she said.
Lau explained that even small details could affect the waffles. For example, flour stored in the wrong way would absorb too much water from the air.
The cooking procedure requires precision.
The waffle base must not be cooked all the way since it will be baked again with the pineapple crust in the oven. Each pineapple bun topping must have the same thickness to bake evenly. The snack’s time in the oven needs to be exact.
Most people might not realise that Lau’s precision did not start in the kitchen – it started in the lab.
Science was Lau’s first passion. She even pictured a future in research. But in 2024, her obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms made it impossible for her to pursue lab work.
Then, she turned to cooking. Lau started practising precise measurement techniques, such as pipetting, with everyday ingredients like sugar, water and flour.
“It was in these moments that I discovered the similarities between cooking and lab work, and that sparked my passion for culinary innovation,” Lau said.
Working at Chicken Egg Boy
Lau’s role changes from one day to the next.
“The most hectic period was right after we went viral,” she recalled. “We didn’t even have enough people in the kitchen, so I’d be back there making pineapple bun egg waffles. When the kitchen had enough hands, I’d step outside to help with crowd control.”
Training new staff is another key part of her role. She makes sure that every worker can make the waffles well.
Balancing business with purpose is also crucial. All profits from Chicken Egg Boy go to the Xu Shan Charitable Foundation. It supports underprivileged communities in Hong Kong and preserves local cultural heritage.
“The goal is for people to visit because they love the product and the experience, with the added bonus that their purchase helps the community,” Lau said.
She explained that she also tried to create job opportunities for young people from less privileged backgrounds. At Chicken Egg Boy, working with a labour-intensive product could help people access more career paths in the future.
For young people hoping to launch their own creative ideas, Lau’s advice is simple.
“Life is unpredictable, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” she said. “Sometimes, what’s ahead can be even better than what you originally imagined.”
