Breakfast Around the World

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

And us travelers know that, starting the day with the right combination of food and drinks, can really make a difference on your level of energy to make the most of your time!

Trying different cuisines from around the world, is one of the pleasures associated with traveling: you taste delicious items, you learn about the history and culture of a given place and, then, you take photos to make the rest of the world jealous!

This is a collaborative post with some of the best travel bloggers around, to show you what breakfast is like around the world!

 

Northern Laos

The base ingredient to this are thin rice noodles that are boiled in a broth that is made from a mixture of water, locally sourced fresh water fish sauce and chili. The additional ingredients to this include raw Lao green beans, fresh mint, fresh unchopped chili,  coriander, fresh tomatoes and boiled cabbage.

The way I like it is to throw all the ingredients into the bowl and munch down on it all at the same time while adding some extra fiery chilli to the mix. This way I get all the flavours mixing together and the blend to become a mixture of fresh, herby, crunchy and somewhat sweet.

The ingredients used are pretty typical of a Lao dish, as Lao food is based around fresh and raw ingredients, which are mainly herbs and vegetables. The chilli in the dish is at a minimum level, Lao food isn’t as spicy compared to say Thailand. But this area in Northern Laos borrows some ingredients from Vietnam and China and noodles are quite popular.

By Ashley Crowther from Crowther Collective

 

Russia

Russians don’t distinguish between “breakfast food” and “non-breakfast food”. And this was a big adjustment for me when I moved to Canada – I learned that there is no way you can find pancakes after 12 pm. You are as likely to see cured meats, chicken, fish, and even meatballs on the table (all of it – usually leftovers from the day before) as the standard European-style set of eggs, cheese, and yogurt. I’d say, the general rule is “the more filling – the better”. I think it comes from the Russian reality: people needed to consume a lot of calories early in the day to stay warm in the cold weather and to have the energy for working in the fields.

In the pictures you can see the typical everyday breakfast of cheese & sausage buterbroad (from German butter + bread) and a cup of instant coffee. Because of lack of time in the morning a lot of Russian families drink instant coffee nowadays.

By Irina from Trips That Work

 

Turkey

After another wonderful day cruising, our gulet Captain would ask if we had any requests for breakfast. Inevitably the call for Menemen would be heard. The following morning the breakfast table would be groaning with platters of juicy peaches and, my favorite, the small sweet black figs, for which Turkey is renowned. Together with the fruit came bowls of delicious yoghurt and honey. Plates of various cheeses, olives and pastries are offered, not forgetting the cucumbers and sliced red tomatoes topped with crumbled fetta. Then the Menemen would arrive.

Onions and sweet peppers would have been sweated before being combined with chopped tomatoes and beaten eggs. Added to this are local spices and mint or parsley. Scrambled eggs you say? Perhaps, but the Turks have taken this humble dish to a new level. You can even add fetta or sucuk, a Turkish sausage. Absolutely delicious and never mouthful left. Just another light Turkish breakfast!

By Jenny from A Taste of Travel

 

Sea Islands of Georgia, USA

Prior to our visit to the Sea Islands of Georgia in the United States we had never heard of the Gullah people. Brought in chains from West Africa to work in the rice fields, then abandoned on the islands after slavery ended, the Gullah people developed their own language and a distinct culture.

Wanting to know more, we attended a Gullah Celebration and were invited to an “Ol’ Fashion Gullah Breakfast.” Outside, a tent had been set up to serve as a kitchen with a sign proclaiming it De Gullah Ooman (woman) Kitchen with plates being passed back and forth through a side door. As we have learned in our travels, people eat what is regionally available, so breakfast on the Sea Islands means a plate of fried fish, stewed oysters and rice. Not what many folks would consider breakfast foods perhaps, but mighty good eating anytime of day.

By David & Veronica from The Gypsy Nester

 

Wales

While the traditional Welsh breakfast can contain almost all components of it’s better known English cousin (eggs, tomatoes, sausages, mushrooms, black pudding etc) to be called a proper Welsh breakfast it must contain 3 key elements: thick crispy bacon, cockles and laverbread, a Welsh delicacy made mainly of seaweed.

This dish concentrates on the three; cockles fried with leeks and celery, laverbread to dress, crispy bacon, cockles and laverbread pate, and thick, crusty, buttered toast. I must admit that I was apprehensive about eating something so fishy and salty for breakfast, but the pate was not a bad way to go. The cockles as well added an interestingly salty crunch. The laverbread, however, well I think the less said about that the better. My dad assures me it’s best when you combine everything together, as the laverbread tones down the strong taste of the bacon. As a vegetarian I guess I’ll have to trust him.

By George from George On The Go

 

Mauritania

Mauritania was both strange and amazing the whole way around, the food was no exception. I was shocked when at 9am the small BBQ was brought out and raw chunks of cow liver, kidney, and the white hump meat from the camel was laid out to cook.  But I was amazed by the fact that I actually really enjoyed it.  Sure the kidney was a bit hard to swallow, but the camel hump is actually quite nice.

BBQed camel hump for breakfast, who would have thought?

By Brendan from Brendan’s Adventures

 

Zanzibar

The tropical African island of Zanzibar functioned as a trade and migration hub off the east coast of Tanzania for centuries, and their food culture is known as a melting pot of African, Arabian, Indian, and European cuisine. Meals often consist of seafood, spices, rices, and curries with coconut milk, all showing off the produce of the island and recipes of tradition. Breakfast is a beautiful and delicious burst of flavors to start the morning. Egg dishes are common, and Spanish omelets are filled with fresh tomatoes, onions, and peppers from the fields. Island fruits are served in abundance: pucker-your-mouth sour/sweet passion-fruits, buttery soft papayas, fresh-picked pineapples, and bright citrus. Breads, muffins, and other baked goods accompany spiced teas with ginger, cinnamon, lemongrass, and cloves and coffees made from Tanzanian beans.

This meal was eaten in the heart of Stone Town at the Zanzibar Coffee House. Unpictured: homemade yogurt with mango, cardamom, chile jam. This is one of the breakfasts we’ll remember forever and recreate at home to reminded us of our fairytale travels to the spice island of Zanzibar.

By Bethany from twoOregonians

 

United States of America

From my home country, the US, the most common breakfast is eggs with bacon, hashbrowns, and pancakes.  Since I have a sweet tooth, my favorite part of that mix is the pancakes.  I usually make them with fresh blueberries that are locally grown.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg (beaten)
1 1/2 cup milk

(A note about flour:  you can also nix the baking powder and use self rising flour for fluffier pancakes.)

Directions

1) Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  (Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.)
2) Whisk egg in a small bowl and add to the above flour mixture along with the milk.
3) Stir together until well blended and pour onto a hot greased griddle.
4) Wait until pancakes are bubbling and cooked around the edges and flip.

By Rachelle from The Travel Bite

 

Malaysia

Having travelled extensively all over Asia I’ve sampled delicious breakfasts from numerous countries; however, none compare to the Dim Sum delights I’ve discovered in Melaka, Malaysia.  For those unaware, dim sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as bite sized portions typically severed on hot plate or in steamer style baskets.  The diverse selection of Dim Sum is carted around by vendors where one has the opportunity to pick and choose what is placed on the table.  Drinking Chinese tea is part of the whole ordeal; it is said in Cantonese that going to eat dim sum is referred to as going to drink tea.  It’s a wonderfully tasty and diverse meal that is a big part of cultural of the Chinese Malaysian population.

Eating dim sum at a restaurant is usually known in Cantonese as going to “drink tea” (yum cha, 飲茶), as tea is typically served with dim sum.

By Samuel from Nomadic Samuel

 

Sarawak (East Malaysia)

While nasi lemak, chee cheong fun or roti canai are customary breakfast items in Peninsular Malaysia, the people of Sarawak in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo like to take laksa as their morning pick-me-up. This soup noodle dish starts with a secret paste blend made from herbs such as shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, chiles, candlenuts, local white pepper, coriander and a host of other spices. They simmer the spice paste in a pot full of chicken and shrimp stock, cut with a bit of coconut milk. The hot broth is ladled over a bowl of beehoon (rice vermicelli) – you can add yellow egg noodles if you want – and topped with shredded chicken, strips of egg omelet, and a few par-boiled shrimp. The dish is served with a small dish containing sambal belacan and a kalamansi lime and sometimes garnished with cilantro or parsley. A regular bowl of laksa goes for 4-5 Malaysian ringgit (less than $2 US).

This savory dish is spicy enough to require a tissue for your nose. The best laksa has soft yet crunchy noodles, sweet and bouncy shrimp, flavorful chicken meat and a lip-tingling broth that leaves you craving for more. Laksa is served for breakfast in coffee shops all over town in Kuching, Sarawak’s capital, and the best usually run out before lunchtime. Our current favorite laska is from Choon Hui Coffee Shop on Ban Hock Road near the center of town. It’s the coffee shop that Bourdain visited when he was here with No Reservations. The next time you come to Malaysia, plan to spend a few days in Sarawak – you won’t regret it!

By Nate from House of Annie

 

New York City, USA

Most people know that bagels are big in New York City. But while thick cream cheese will always be my favorite schmear, for a real treat I will hop on the subway and travel for good smoked fish on that bagel. This is very Jewish New York, of course: Fish has long been smoked in Europe, and it was the Eastern European Jews who brought the tradition here around the turn of the 20th century, when they started setting up so-called “appetizing” shops, or stores that essentially sell cold appetizers (“appetizings”), known in Yiddish as the forshpayz. (The idea was that since kosher dietary laws dictated that meat and dairy were to be sold (and eaten) separately—fish and dairy were OK, though—these stores were distinct from Jewish delis.)

It’s no surprise that the best place to get smoked fish in New York today is at atmospheric old-school restaurants (like Barney Greengrass on the Upper West Side) or at one of the very few appetizing shops still standing, such as Russ & Daughters (179 E. Houston St. betw Allen & Orchard Sts.) on the Lower East Side, which is where this particular Atlantic smoked salmon and locally baked bagel hail from. There’s nothing better on a weekend afternoon

By Laura from Eat Your World

 

Australia

We had the breakfast at a small cafe called the Pearl Cafe in Woolloongabba, which is on the south side of the Brisbane river. The cafe is always packed, and it’s often hard to get a table without a booking. The meals we had were scrambled eggs with goats cheese and garden peas, and scrambled eggs with ocean caught salmon and organic asparagus.

Australians like to have big hearty breakfasts, but I like this cafe because it combines the big breakfast ideal with fresh ingredients and inspired combinations.

By Jade from Our Oyster

 

Italy

While on a food tour in Rome I learned the typical breakfast in the Eternal City is a “Cappuccino and cornetto.”

A cornetto is a delicious pastry which looks a lot like a croissant but is typically filled with jam or something savory like prosciutto.

By Adam from Eating Italy Food Tours

 

Vietnam

Pho, a fragrant noodle soup, is the unofficial national dish of Vietnam.  It’s commonly eaten for breakfast, although people eat it all through the day – for lunch, dinner or just a between-meal snack.

Believed to have amazing restorative powers because of the star anise, cinnamon and other spices used in the broth, pho is the go-to dish for anyone feeling a bit under the weather.

The most common pho varieties are beef and chicken and in the south of Vietnam, a bowl of pho is served with a pile of fresh herbs, which are shredded and thrown into the broth for added taste (and health benefits).

Our weekend is to take a leisurely breakfast at we consider Ho Chi Minh City’s best pho restaurant, followed by a walk around our favourite temple. We love our routine so much we’ve turned it into a food tour!

By Barbara from The Dropout Diaries

 

Canada

Unfortunately I’m from Canada so there’s no unique cultural breakfast really, we have some regional favourites depending on how close you are to farm land but Canada is a country built on diversity.

I live in Toronto and going for brunch is something I love to do with friends, unfortunately it’s something everyone else loves doing as well. So I often meet my friends at 9am while the rest of the city is sleeping. Here I like to order this spin on eggs benedict because it uses the healthier back bacon but also a decadent biscuit and spicy chipotle.

By Ayngelina from Bacon is Magic

 

France

 

Thailand

 

Bolivia

 

India

Paratha is a delicious start to your day! The amount of oil used will vary depending on which part of India you’re in. Paratha is bread, freshly made, with a little oil to kick start your day. It’s usually had with butter or yoghurt (called curd in India as we don’t differentiate between the two), and sometimes with a spicy achar. Achar is a pickle of either some fruit or vegetables, preserved in oil and spices.

If you’re in Punjab or Haryana, expect your Paratha to come with a block of butter or ghee (Indian butter). An Indian breakfast is never complete without Chai (Indian tea with milk). Hence this picture is incomplete.

By Ashray from Backpack ME

 

Mauritius

If tomorrow you could wake up to any of these regional breakfasts, which one would you choose and why?

 

Don’t forget to click on the different travel blog links on the article, for more food and travel awesomeness!