What is a bubble waffle?

Yes. Bubble waffle, egg waffle, Hong Kong waffle and gai daan jai are four names for the same snack. "Egg waffle" comes from the batter, which is built on eggs, flour and sugar, and from the round, egg-shaped bubbles the griddle presses into it.

Each bubble has a thin, crisp shell and a soft, almost cake-like center — CNN described the texture as a cookie and sponge cake hybrid. Because the bubbles pull apart, you can eat it a piece at a time, which is a big part of why it works so well as a cone.

Egg waffles appeared as a cheap street food in Hong Kong in the 1950s. Nobody has documented exactly who invented them; the most common account is that a grocery shop owner came up with them to use up unsold eggs, with flour and sugar that every shop already had. They spread from Hong Kong street stalls to Chinatowns and dessert shops around the world.

The batter goes into a hinged iron lined with rows of round wells. The iron is closed and turned so the batter fills every well, then cooked until the outside sets crisp while the inside of each bubble stays soft.

At Battr the batter is the whole point. The shop is named for it: we mix ours in-house every day in small batches, with no premade mix and no frozen shells, and griddle each waffle when you order it. More on that on our About page.

The newer style, which spread beyond Hong Kong from the mid-2010s and is the one you'll see at dessert shops in the US, rolls the warm waffle into a cone and fills it with ice cream or gelato, sauces and toppings. At Battr you build your own:

• Pick your base: a bubble waffle cone ($13) or a flat bubble waffle served open ($15).
• Pick a gelato from the case.
• Add two sauces — caramel, Nutella, chocolate or Biscoff cookie butter among them.
• Add two regular toppings. Extra sauces are $0.75, extra regular toppings $1, premium toppings $2.

Or skip the decisions and order a signature build like the S'More or the Cookie Butter Fosters. Every option and price is on the bubble waffle menu.

Both are handheld cones you fill the same way, and at Battr they cost the same. The difference is the shell.

• Choose a bubble waffle if you like texture and pulling off crisp pieces as you go.
• Choose a crepe cone if you want a thinner wrap that lets the gelato and toppings lead.
• Want the Crème Brûlée? That signature is served as a crepe cone only — see the crepe menu.

Battr griddles bubble waffles to order at both of its shops: Battr Tremont at 910 Literary Road in Cleveland, and Battr Lakewood at 15000 Detroit Avenue. Same menu, same in-house batter at both.