I had no earthly idea what a jaffle was, as this is an Australian term I hadn't come across before. I was keen to try one for myself. As we approached the front door, a lady waiting inside began giving me and my camera a constant evil stare. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out so no pictures were taken inside. This is unfortunate because the inside looked like it hadn't changed for decades. The shop was filled with all of the usual takeaway options as well as some special touches like fried chicken. We spotted a Ham, Cheese and Tomato Jaffle and a Caramel Macadamia pie calling our names. It turned out that these were both great choices. The caramel macadamia pie was filled with gooey, dense caramel and the crust was the perfect thickness and very fresh. The macadamias on top added some crunch and even more flavour. Sweet, salty & delicious!
Now to the main event: the jaffle! A jaffle is basically just a toasted sandwich but because of the cooking method, the ingredients get sealed inside so it's pretty magical. The outside of the jaffle, I later found out is usually just normal white bread. I wouldn't have guessed this based on the texture and flavour of the final product. To make a jaffle, you butter the outside of both pieces of bread, put one piece of bread into the jaffle iron (a hinged skillet - either round or square) butter side down, place your fillings on top of the first piece of bread, place the second piece of bread on top of the fillings butter side up, close the jaffle iron , trim the excess bread from the outside, and cook it over the stove or an open flame. They also make electric jaffle irons if you prefer.
As tasty as it was, apparently ham cheese & tomato is not the most popular jaffle. Much more popular fillings are: baked beans & cheese, or tinned/leftover spaghetti. You can even make sweet jaffles like apple & cinnamon for dessert.
After returning home, I started trying to find out more about Jaffle King. Turns out this is the only full fledged location. The only other one I could find is in a petrol station in Mount Gambier. Next time we're in Millicent, South Australia we will definitely be stopping in at Jaffle King & Karvery for some more great take away. If you can't make it to Jaffle King, you might consider purchasing a jaffle iron so you can try to replicate some of your own jaffle magic at home.
