East v West
For my money, the Asian content beats Europe and North America hands down when it comes to morning food. A beautiful cup of congee or a steaming bowl of pho are much more appealing than a traditional English fry-up or dry toast smeared with sugar. Can anyone here defend starting your day with grease and empty carbs?
Lots of folks travel for food. But for a few of us, what gets us going on those early on-the-road mornings is the local twist on breakfast. This group explores global breakfast delights (no Southeast Asian banana pancakes allowed!).
Advertisement
Tweak your wanderlust
With you all the way
Tweets, feeds and more
Go behind the scenes
Travel inspiration to your door
© 2009 Lonely Planet Publications. All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission.
djebru i'm torn - i love Asian breakfast (especially roti with curry sauce!) but i couldn't replace buttermilk pancakes with crispy bacon, or French toast, or home-made baked beans. And kedgeree is a fine addition to the breakfast pantheon. I guess i just like breakfast.
humbucker Scandinavian for me. Slices of cured meat, cucumber, cheese, and curious little fishies all served with bread that is dense and firm. Yum.
docbrown Picking a favorite breakfast is nearly impossible - I'll gladly have roti, congee, waffles, blintzes, you name it. I do, however, want to give a shout out to Mexican breakfast: there is little in this world better and more satisfying than a well-made plate of huevos rancheros.
The only negatives in the breakfast kingdom: beans/spaghetti on toast, Marmite/Vegemite, the Hangtown Fry (mmm, oysters and eggs), and I'm still undecided on black pudding.
markbroadhead Pho is the go. This probably has something to do with being able to eat it any time of the day as much as it is a wonderful dish.
It feels odd to me to eat an English breakfast (Eggs, bacon, etc.) after noon. And watching Seinfeld eat cereal at all times of the day seemed uncouth.
That being said, a Tex-Mex breakfast I had in Austin many moons ago lingers favourably in my memory. The refried beans do it for me. They undo all the temporal restrictions on eating fried eggs at 4pm.
suzywatusi With the exception of a gourmet Melbourne-style brunch, I can't do savoury breakfast. For me, nothing beats a simple Spanish breakfast, consisting of a brutally strong cafe solo and a croissant or similarly fattening pastry...Nutritional value can wait til later in the day!
steveomac No way! You can't beat Eggs Benedict for a decedent breakfast-brunch treat!
katmar33 I am a happy stalwart for the western brekky, and feel no need to justify my love of gooey soft poached eggs oozing over crispy bacon and hot buttered sourdough toast. mmmmm
vivekw OK - i think a lot of you are missing a key point here. Sure, a decadent brunch with French toast and poached eggs and champagne and canteloupe and smoked herring may be nice once in a while, but could you eat it EVERY DAY? Asian breakfasts are a *daily* treat. In the West, you have to wait for the weekend, unless you want to weigh thousands of kilos.
djebru If we're talking everyday breakfast, Asian breakfast undoubtedly wins. It especially wins over non-treat western breakfasts of the cereal and toast variety. And Vietnamese coffee (complete with condensed milk) is a match for a latte any day.
rooosterboy Nasi Lemak or a full english, I find it difficult to seperate. I think the location dictates the choice. Nasi Lemak from a makan stall in Penang, full English after a big night out in Manchester.
rooosterboy hmm...how could I forget the delightful rollmops of scandinavia?
vivekw It's easy to just go with whatever context dictates, but you need to take a stand. If you were in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which would you pick?
katie_f I'm putting in a vote for porridge with a dash of milk for the best daily 'western' breakfast. It's what I would pick in Tulsa. The Times restaurant critic Giles Coren has this to say, 'Porridge, water, a little salt. Breakfast doesn't have to be a banquet. Your palate is so clean and mellow at that time in the morning that, with a cup of tea, swollen oats taste really quite interesting.' However, I am oddly fussy about which oats I'll eat, Uncle Tobys make me want to retch, I'd have to get some non-rolled, organic ones sent over from California. ;)
panh291 Beef noodle for breaky is my favourite. Nothing can surpass the smell and taste of a bowl of noodle soup, especially with a little bit of Vietnamese Vodka!
imogenb For me european, esp east european/turkish. Yogurt, maybe honey or jam, fresh vegies, white cheese, bread, pickles and/or olives, and front and centre STRONG COFFEE. oh yes and some meat I suppose, if you like that kind of thing.
nog_boinb I'm with katie_f: porridge with a bit of fruit (preferably rhubarb) and some kind of sweetener (preferably golden syrup) is the finest everyday breakfast there is. But you know what? I still get excited just about every morning about toast with peanut butter. Toast! PEANUT BUTTER! Life is good.
anniekw I reckon you can have a western cooked breakie daily - I subscribe to the school of thought that you can eat what you like for breakie cos you'll burn it off during the day - so let's feel good about a daily fry-up!
vivekw @anniekw: i think that strategy stopped working for me when I turned 30. Or so. :)