Over 2 years since publishing Vol. 1, finally here comes the much highly anticipated (ha!) sequel.
I’ve finally gathered up enough other places to make another post. So let’s take a look at how I’ve started my day in different places!
Taipei, Taiwan
Lu rou fan is my favorite, favorite, favorite Taiwanese breakfast! I look forward to a bowl every morning whenever I’m in Taipei (ha, I say it like it’s a common occurence, but I actually haven’t been there in 1.5 years). It’s basically chopped up braised pork belly over rice with preserved veggies and an braised tea egg. I love mixing it up with a scoop of chili paste. The flavors combine so wonderfully. This actually wins a spot in my top 5 favorite breakfasts of all time!
Japan
A kind of unpleasant breakfast, if you ask me, unless you’ve acquired a taste for nattō, or fermented soybeans. It has a pungent taste, but that’s not the worst part for me. It’s the gross sticky, slimy texture that feels like eating a mouthful of mucus. But the Japanese love it. Nattō and rice is a popular quick breakfast choice, served with a side of miso soup. I think I’ll just stick with an onigiri rice ball. :P
Malaysia
Roti canai is a breakfast staple in Malaysia! It’s a flakey, fluffy India-influenced flatbread made with butter and oil. It’s great plain, but you can also fancy it up with different fillings. My favorite is the egg one (roti telur) or the sweet one with condensed milk (roti bom… and yes, it’s so unhealthy but SO good). Roti canai is always served with a side of slightly spicy curry sauce for dipping.
Malaysia has so many staple breakfast items that I couldn’t just pick one. Another one is kaya butter toast with half cooked eggs. Kaya (a coconut spread) paired with a nice thick slab of butter is heavenly on plain toasted bread- a simple breakfast but soooo good. Wash it down with hot teh, tea with sugar and condensed milk.
Malaysians also loooove half cooked eggs, which I personally find absolutely disgusting. You’re supposed to pour some soy sauce and sprinkle some pepper into the eggs and mix it all together. Gross! I can barely even look at it without gagging.. I’ll take hard-boiled or fried, thanks.
Istanbul, Turkey
breakfast: egg and sucuk (lamb sausage)cu
I featured the sweet Turkish breakfast in my last volume, but I need to talk about egg and sucuk this time. Sucuk (pronouced soo-jook) is a delicious spiced sausage, usually beef of lamb (pictured). It’s cured so it’s slightly dry. For breakfast, it’s popular to see it fried with eggs. A hearty way to start the day.
Hawaii
As much as I love Hawaiian coconut pancakes, bacon fried rice won when I was deciding which dish to feature. Who doesn’t love bacon and fried rice together in one sentence (or rather… dish)?! And since it’s Hawaii, it has to come with a couple slices of spam as well. Did you know? Even the McDonald’s breakfast menu in Hawaii has spam and rice!
China
Anything goes for breakfast in China, but fried dough sticks (you tiao) is pretty universal. They’re literally just sticks of deep fried dough, but they’re so good! The good ones are crispy and chewy on the outside, but the inside is just air. Usually, we eat you tiao with porridge or silk tofu. The one pictured here is the savory silk tofu with accouterments like seaweed, preserved veggies, and even small dried shrimp. It sounds weird, but it’s actually really good.
I should do just a dedicated breakfast in China someday!
The Netherlands
I love Dutch pancakes! They are super thin and soft, and I love when the edges are slightly crisped just right. I couldn’t believe the variety of sweet and savory toppings there are. I ate pancakes quite a few times when I was in Amsterdam, but I believe this one pictured here is apple.
Bali, Indonesia
Up next is Ubud, with a different kind of pancake. Ubud is known as the health and spiritual center of Bali. I loved my stay with a local family in their gorgeous compound. It was such a treat waking up to a home cooked breakfast every morning. Usually, I got a banana pancake with pineapple jam. And I love that it always came with a serving of fresh fruit too.
Singapore
In my opinion, Malaysians and Singaporeans don’t really put a distinction between certain foods for certain meals. They seem to eat a lot of foods round-the-clock. So why not have laksa for breakfast (at least, that’s what I did)? Laksa in Singapore is made with a shrimpy coconut milk based soup and is a lot milder than in Malaysia. They usually have the thicker rice noodles, prawns, and cockles (which I’m not a fan of). Not too bad, but I prefer its Malaysian cousins more.
What’s breakfast like where you’re at? :)
Yummm. It’s interesting how many countries eat eggs in the morning! And I didn’t know that about spam in Hawaii. I’ve never been there – ugh, someday. <3
everything looks so yummy! Especially the Hawaii one, and of course, China <3
I so remember when you published the first one of these, and I remember commenting that i couldn’t wait for the next one.. (just went and checked back, and yes I did say that. I’m such a fan girl, haha!!)
I loveeeee breakfast and I love that these breakfasts are big meals as I always wake up starving and one slice of toast doesn’t cut it! I’ll be here for part 3 ;)
This post just made me hungry! The laksa and roti canai look so good. Breakfast (or brunch) in Australia always includes a poached egg and toast.
I’ve never even heard of that Taiwan breakfast! but with all my allergies, my local food knowledge is seriously lacking. there’s a place down the street from us that is famous for it’s dan bing and xiao bing [which my husband likes with ham and cheese] and their peanut soymilk. guess you’ll need to come back to Taipei and check it out for volume 3 :)
Fellow fangirl of this post here, like Marcella! I find this fascinating, I’ve never heard of most of these dishes before. I’m not great in the mornings and not sure I could stomach many of these – too much proper food, too early! Interesting what you said about Malaysian people and eating the same food all day around. They must have much better trained stomachs than I! Breakfast here often involves an avocado. My stomach can at least deal with that!
I’m drooling! Everything look so delicious (in my opinion), and I didn’t get to try the natto with rice in Japan for breakfast because I mostly just ate onigiri too. Hahaha! But now I’m craving for some bacon fried rice and spam. Yum!
Teesh ♥ Adventures of Cupcake Girl
What talking you?? Half boiled eggs are awesome! Imagine mushroom soup, but 10 times better… I’m amazed that you can handle durians yet find something as lovely as half boiled eggs disgusting. :/
Seriously though, I never expected Hawaiians to be a spam island. Usually when talking about Hawaii, I would think pineapples (no thanks to stupid misleading over here). Spam is awesome. Think I should plan to go visit Hawaii then…
Yuuum! I could honestly devour all of this, at any time of day! Part of my background is Malaysian so I think my fave would have to be the kaya toast and roti…. and the laksa haha – wish this was the kind of food I could have daily here in Oz. The Taiwanese breakfast looks so delicious, would love to try it one day.