The Gram Cafe & Pancakes in Japan we encountered had timed seatings, so we never got around to visiting for their sky-high souffle pancakes. Fast forward to the present and we manage to visit the store in Sydney shortly after the one year anniversary of its opening. The queue was long, though, and with a wedding to attend, we picked up a Summer Box ($29.30 for 5)
This is the CoconutPremium To Go Pancake, which featured a coconut flavoured white chocolate cream. The overall flavour recalled the chocolate, Rafaello, without the crunch and with a smoother and softer texture.
This is the Mango Premium To Go Pancake, which featured cream and mango purée. We were disappointed that the mango purée covered only the outer portion of the pancake and left us with mouthfuls of just cream. A more generous portion of the mango, or a mango flavoured cream, would’ve fared better.
This is the Strawberry Premium To Go Pancake, which featured a strawberry cream. The flavour of the cream recalled strawberry milk or strawberry ice cream, bringing back childhood memories. Bits of fresh strawberry would’ve been worthy accents.
This is the Chocolate Premium To Go Pancake, which featured an unsweetened cocoa pancake sandwiching a rich chocolate cream. The richness and depth of flavour in this pancake surpassed the others and easily made it our favourite.
This is the Blueberry Cheesecake Premium To Go Pancake, which featured blueberry flavoured cream cheese. We enjoyed the bits of blueberry flecked throughout the cream but were put off by the bold cheese flavour. This was our least favoured pancake from the Summer Box.
We also picked up two mochi pancakes ($8.90 each). This here is the Strawberry Mochi Pancake, which featured a whole strawberry surrounded in cream before being wrapped in a pancake and a thin layer of mochi. The single strawberry meant that most bites were without strawberry. While we would’ve preferred more strawberry (despite it ruining the aesthetic of the crossection) this gave us ample opportunity to appreciate the light, moist texture of the pancake and the velvety smoothness of the mochi.
Finally, this is the Mango Mochi Pancake, which featured a large mango cheek atop the pancake base and slathering of cream. The bright, fresh acidity of the fresh mango contrasted remarkably well with the softness of the pancake. Indeed, it reminded us of a more generous and aesthetic version of the mango pancakes served at yum cha. This was by far our favourite pancake of the seven we tried.
Overall, the Premium To Go Pancakes are a bit of a hit and miss for us. When we have more time in the area, it would be interesting to experience their in-store menu for comparison.
2022
In February 2022, almost a year to the date of our first visit with N and T where we left only with takeaway due to the enormous queues, D and I revisited Gram Cafe & Pancakes in Chatswood to experience their dine-in menu after picking up our new car.
The cafe is located in the space occupied previously by Passion Tree with the tall arches and high ceilings.
We were lucky enough to be seated at table with one of their pancake plushies!
This is the Ice Cream Premium Pancakes ($18.90), ‘hot premium pancake with a scoop of black sesame, hōjicha and matcha ice creams alongside strawberries and nama cream’.
The pancake had an unparalleled fluffiness and a pronounced eggy flavour that the even airier nama cream accentuated and complemented. The coldness of the ice cream contrasted the warmth of the pancake, with the black sesame being boldly nutty, the hōjicha with a rich toastiness and the matcha having a gentle vegetal quality without bitterness. That said, a slightly softer, less frozen ice cream, would have made for a more creamy and sophisticated mouthfeel.
From a selection of additional sides, these were the red bean paste ($1.50) and shiratama mochi ($2.80).
The red bean paste had a balanced sweetness and retained some texture, while the shiratama mochi tasted freshly made with a very addictive bounciness.
This is the Gram Affogato ($7.80), ‘special with hōjicha ice cream and caramel sauce’.
The hōjicha ice cream had a rich toastiness, but the espresso did not carry the affogato. Rather than the aromatic roasted caramel notes, which would’ve paired beautifully with hōjicha, the espresso was under-extracted with a jarring pronounced acidity
This is the Tropical Yuzu Frappe ($7.90).
This drink was a new-to-us take on yuzu, capturing the refreshing acidity of the juice of the fruit but without relying on the zestiness of the rind, which is more typically found in yuzu-flavoured foods.
The fluffiness of the pancakes was everything we’d hoped. Their origins as a pancake chain from Japan were evident in the quality of their dishes that use Japanese ingredients, but we’d avoid ordering coffees, which were clearly not their specialty.
Apples mark the autumnal season, and with the numerous apple goods we accumulated from our recent trip to Bilpin, we’re surprising even ourselves that we’re still interested in the fruit. Gram Cafe & Pancakes released their Apple Tea Mochi Pancake ($9.80) just in time for the cooler months.
The mochi pancake was about 9 cm in diameter and 4 cm in height and featured a souffle pancake with a centre of honey apples, covered in an Earl Grey tea cream and wrapped in a thin layer of mochi.
The mochi pancakes at Gram were a textural delight by virtue of the mochi sheet alone, which felts impossibly soft and smooth to the touch. In this version, the Earl Grey flavour in the cream was rich with its bold, floral presence evident just from the aroma that broke through on cutting through the mochi, while the souffle pancake retained its airy lightness. The highlight that made this mochi pancake shine, though, was the honey apples in the centre, as they delivered a punchy apple flavour with a hint of fresh acidity that cut through the sweetness of the Earl Grey tea cream. Overall, this was an enjoyable mochi pancake.
Gram Cafe & Pancakes is located at Level 3, Chatswood Exchange, 67/436 Victoria Ave, Chatswood NSW 2067.