Orange Pancakes in Hong Kong , by Paula

ORANGE PANCAKES AT THE PENINSULA HOTEL, HONG KONG


When I was a brand new flight attendant for Pan American and on reserve, one of my first fights out of LAX was to Hong Kong. Flights to Hong Kong were very senior and I was really excited to have been “called out” to go there. One of the flight attendants on the crew, Stancie Sheehan, took me under her wing and showed me the paradise of food, sights (Stanley Harbor still had Sampans in those days), and shopping (the best bargains in the world in 1978).

One morning, while on our layover (in those days we had several days on a layover downline) Stancie called me in my room and said, we are going to the Peninsula Hotel for brunch. The Peninsula Hotel, situated on Kowloon across from the Sheraton Hotel where the crew stayed, was a very famous hotel. At the beginning of the war in the South Pacific arena, many expats, diplomats and military personnel hung out there in order to hear the latest news of the war. Then it housed the Japanese Army during their occupation of Hong Kong. I was a newbie and had no idea what a legendary hotel it was.

While walking up the luxurious, red carpeted staircase to the hotel restaurant, Stancie exclaimed that the only thing I could order were the “Orange Pancakes”. I wondered what could be so great about orange flavored pancakes. And why was I going to a very exclusive restaurant for pancakes? I was soon to encounter one of the thrilling food experiences of my life. Not only was the view of the Harbor and the island of Hong Kong spectacular, but the service was unsurpassed by anything I had ever before experienced. With white gloved waiters and silver serving pieces, I was treated like a dignitary. And the Coup de Gras was the most amazing and mysterious “Orange Pancakes”.

In those days, although I had done a fare amount of cooking, I was still a novice and these little pancakes mystified me. They were like little miracles. They were sort of like a crepe but smaller and not browned. And they were filled with the most light and airy orange flavored filling that oozed out when they were cut open. How they got that filling in those crepes without it running all over the place, I could not figure out.

After that first trip, I returned to Hong Kong many times. I even took my Mom and Walt there on separate trips. And each time I went, besides the many other wonders of food and shopping, I had to go back for my orange pancakes.

Many years later, after I had retired from flying and Pan Am had gone out a business, a friend was going to Hong Kong on a trip with her husband. Knowing that I had traveled a lot, she asked me if I knew of some places to recommend to her in Hong Kong. Without missing a beat, I told her she HAD to go to the Peninsula Hotel and try the orange pancakes if they were still there. To my amazement, they were, and she came home as awed and mystified as I was. But, before she left Hong Kong, she asked if she could have the recipe for those amazing little pillows of sweet air. This is not one of those stories in which they charge you a fortune for their secret recipes. Sure enough, they sent her the recipe! It was however, written for the ingredients and measurements that are used in the British cooking system (Hong Kong was still under British rule at that time). It did take a bit of tweeking on my part, but I was eventually able to make a fairly good re-creation of them. The only problem is that I still can’t quite get the hang of folding in the orange filling so that it doesn’t flow out before the plate reaches the table (see picture), a skill that still alludes me.

Here then is the recipe for the Peninsula Hotel Orange Pancakes as I have worked it out.
Bon Appetite! And let me know if you figure out how to fold in that filling so it stays.

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
3/4 cup + 2 TBS all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
½ cup or 4 oz Evaporated Milk
3 eggs
1 cup water

Orange Butter Cream Filling:
14 TBS sweet cream butter
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
Orange zest of two oranges
½-1 TBS Grand Marnier (this can not be substituted with a non alcoholic liquid)
½ TBS Cognac
Juice of two oranges

Mix flour and sugar, add 1/3 of the evaporated milk and eggs one at a time. Add the rest of the evaporated milk and the water. Batter will be very thin.

Preheat an 8" non-stick saute pan on Medium-Low. Lightly butter pan. When pan is hot and butter melted but not brown, add 1/4 cup pancake batter. Swirl pan to spread batter over entire bottom of pan in a very thin layer. Let sit a minute or two. When batter appears set in middle slightly lift one side to make sure it is set.* The pancake should be pale in color, not brown. Immediately spoon about 2 TBS orange filling into middle of pancake. Quickly fold pancake by bringing one side into the middle over the filling, then fold the opposite side into middle and slightly overlap the first side. Repeat with the last two sides to form a small, square pillow. With a sharp, flat, wide, metal spatula, carefully lift pancake up and gently flip onto serving plate so folds are on the bottom, taking care not to puncture or open pancake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, garnish with orange slices and serve immediately. Re-butter pan each time you make another pancake.

* Often the first or second pancake is a throwaway until the pan gets to the optimum temperature.