Today, March 4, is International Pancake Day.
International Pancake Day coincides with Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras), a day of celebration before the year’s Ash Wednesday. As per tradition, foodies are excused to feast on rich, fatty, and sinful foods (pancakes included) before fasting for Lent.
Whether you’re planning to celebrate Pancake Day in Manila or are just craving some fluffy stacks, you’ll find this rundown of our go-to breakfast places handy, especially when the pancake craving kicks in.
IHOP
U.P. Town Center Katipunan and BGC, Fort
IHOP (International House of Pancakes) in the United States started celebrating Pancake Day way back in 2006. During this special day, customers get free pancakes in exchange for a donation to a chosen charity.
IHOP in Manila is yet to hold the same pancake holiday (it will be crazy, for sure!). But don’t let that stop you from visiting the international franchise.
IHOP is especially famous for their pancakes, so it’s a must to try their beautiful stacks. On each table, you will find three kinds of pancake syrup available for your indulgence—Old-Fashioned, Butter Pecan, and Strawberry.
For the sweet tooth who wants to have pancakes for dessert, there’s the New York Cheesecake Pancakes (P285) with two fluffy buttermilk pancakes, loaded with creamy cheesecake pieces and crowned with strawberries. The cheesecake melts in the mouth, as the strawberry bursts with every bite.
Originally established in 1970 and just recently acquired by Max’s Group, Pancake House is a chain of casual dining restaurants most famous for their variegated pancake selection. Every month or so, Pancake House features a designer pancake. One of our favorites from the series is the Cookie Butter Pancake–a stack of classic mini pancakes with generous spreads of Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter in between layers and topped with a generous scoop of the same spread, garnished with crushed cornflakes and streussel.
Slappy Cakes
SM City The Block, Eastwood Mall, SM Aura Premier, SM Jazz Mall
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Slappy Cakes has come to our shores just recently and is now serving up pancakes, classic breakfast entrées, and Filipino breakfast favorites. They offer a one-of-a-kind DIY (do it yourself) dining experience to its customers. This restaurant also emphasizes local and seasonal organic produce for their food.
Maple
San Antonio Plaza Arcade and Shangri-la Plaza East Wing
Maple is part of Pancake House Group and is often referred to as a more upscale Pancake House. A concept further developed by International Business Development Consultant, Dwight Ashton, the restaurant evokes a fairytale vibe, complete with storybook writings on the wall, plush couches, knobby wooden chairs, exquisitely-cut place mats, and a wall décor depicting a maple tree silhouette.
What to Get: Banana Pecan Pancakes (P335)—a 3-piece stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with caramelized then flambéed bananas and maple-glazed pecans.
Located at the ground floor of Rockwell’s Power Plant mall, Hatch 22 is the cool place to have breakfast at 9 p.m. or cocktails at 7 a.m. Because experts claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Hatch 22 decided to make it available to its customers anytime they want it.
What to get: Monkey Business (P430) — a stack of buttermilk pancakes with caramelized bananas, chunky peanut butter, and candied walnuts swimming in a thick glaze of cinnamon and caramel sauce.
Mr. Jones
Ground Level, Greenbelt 5, Greenbelt
1960s-themed diner-style resto, Mr. Jones has been serving up all-day breakfast food in the metro for a few years now.
What to get: Mr. Jone’s Classic Pancake stack (P325) served with whipped butter, whipped cream and maple syrup.
Early Bird Breakfast Club
Century City Mall Makati and BGC, Fort
Early Bird Breakfast Club has become a comfort haven for expats and foreigners who miss the delicious breakfast staples of their native countries. It is also popular with Filipinos who jog around the Fort area in the morning or wish to eat something after a fun night in one of the bars. Early Bird sets itself apart from its breakfast-serving contemporaries with its cutesy pastel interiors and Instagram-worthy food plating.
What to get: Their new Tiramisu Pancake, a “homemade coco and coffee pancakes with mascarpone cream and dusted with dark Belgian chocolate.”
Apartment 1B
LP Leviste St. cor. Sedeño St., Salcedo Village, Makati and
One Rockwell, Rockwell Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati
Billed as the place for gourmet comfort food, Apartment 1B has a homey and cozy feel– a quiet recluse from the hustle and bustle of the Central Business District that it is in.
What to get: Pancakes stack with mixed berries compote (P380)
Milky and Sunny
9 East Capitol Drive, Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig
Milky & Sunny is an amusement park for breakfast lovers; each dish takes you on a gastric ride mixed in with a warm nostalgic feeling of childhood, waking up to slow lazy weekends. The menu has all different kinds of breakfast favorites—cereal, French toast, pancakes, rice offerings–offered every day, all day.
Kids and kids at heart will surely love Strawberry and Cream Cheese Pancakes that has triple decker fluffy pancakes, with cream cheese and strawberry jam served with a ball of butter on the side and syrup.
The bakery-café got its quirky name from its bestselling desserts–the famous and incomparable Banoffee Pie and the Apple Caramel Crumble. But not to be missed is their equally impressive breakfast line with generous portions.
What to get: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pancakes, Awesome Blueberry Pancakes, and classic Buttermilk Pancakes
Named after the American way of making pancakes, Flapjacks caters to breakfast cravings, morning, noon, and night. This home-grown concept from The Bistro Group is a sure-fire way to keep you sunny and happy.
What to get: Flapjacks Classic Double Blueberry pancakes
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Kanto Freestyle Breakfast is the ultimate no-frills, cheap thrills food haunt that serves up breakfast food with a little swagger. Now with two branches (Mandaluyong and Marikina), this 24/7 tapsihan not only offers your classic Pinoy breakfast food, but also American comfort food, right by the street. Chow on gourmet breakfast that costs less than P100. Try their Fluffy Pancake Topped with Oreo Cookie Butter for P90.
So there you have it: a comprehensive list of all metro's breakfast places that specializes on fluffy and creamy pancakes. (Did we miss your favorite pancake places? Let us know in the comment section below!)
Happy Pancake Day, everyone!
Additional photos from Pancake House and Flapjack's Facebook page.
