Hodo Kwaja
656 Bloor Street West
416-538-1208

Helen, the owner of a variety store near my house, emigrated to Canada from Korea. Korea is known as the Land of the Morning Calm. Helen is calm in morning when her store opens. And she is calm at midnight when her store closes. For sixteen hours a day she sells milk and chips and lottery tickets to a clientèle that consists mainly of the damned and the dispossessed. Helen, of uncertain health, keeps a jovial disposition, despite spending so many hours on her feet dealing with her often vexatious customers. She has always treated me and my family warmly. It is time, I thought, to return her kindness in some way. Chips and lottery tickets hardly seemed like a meaningful gift. And so I journeyed into Little Korea to Hodo Kwaja.

Hodo Kwaja is a small Korean bakery that makes thousands of tiny walnut cakes (Hodo Kwaja) every week. Hodo Kwaja consist of a waffle-like batter that is molded into the shape of a walnut, cooked and stuffed with red bean paste, mashed potato with almond paste, or mashed potato with walnut paste. Accounts of their origin vary: I have read that they originated in the Korean Imperial Court 120 years ago; another story describes a Korean baker who was contemplating a Madeline and decided it could be greatly improved with the right fillings.

They are a ubiquitous snack food in Korea, the Far Eastern equivalent of the Timbit. And these tiny cakes seem to be gaining a foothold in Toronto as well. Hodo Kwaja has been in business for fourteen years and numerous walnut cake competitors have sprung up around it.

The centrepiece of the store is a vintage, $30,000 machine brought over from Korea to produce these confections. Just watching this hydraulic contraption in action (usually around 11am and 4pm) is worth a trip to Little Korea. The batter and fillings are placed into the bottom half of a walnut-shaped mold, the top half is flipped over and then the molds move along a conveyor belt over gas flames until they emerge golden, warm and delicious.

At six for a dollar, they are even cheaper than Timbits and go nicely with the store’s freshly brewed coffee or barley tea. Pancakes stuffed with brown sugar or vegetables are also extremely popular. Classic Madelines are also available for those in Proustian mood.

I take away eighteen of the little nuggets and sample some in the subway. By the time I reach Helen’s variety store only three remain. It’s not much of a present anymore. We split the remaining walnut cakes and I buy her a lottery ticket. She assures me she will remain calm if she wins.