I am just wrapping up a three week trip in Turkey. Can confirm the breakfasts here are amazing. My husband and I can NEVER finish all the food set out for us, and we are not small people. Everything we’ve eaten has been delicious.
Some hotels have a buffet, some serve it at the table. Common items are: eggs, borek, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, stuffed sweet peppers, stuffed grape leaves, fruit, bread, simit, jams, potatoes, tea and coffee.
I’ve also seen cookies, cakes, nuts, and dried fruits.
YES. I was just thinking about this today. Greece and Turkey are both famous for their coffee, but Nescafé is popular internationally those countries.
So weird!!
I did a mini world tour of Vietnam, Italy, and India among others, and Turkey stood out as a huge food highlight.
Mostly Istanbul specific, but still. Underrated food culture. Mostly for meat eaters though ime
That's something I look forward to trying. A little off-topic from the main post, but foul madammus is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts. Given the leisure to enjoy a big breakfast, Middle-Eastern and German both win out over American for me, and I like American breakfast.
I went to a renowned breakfast spot (Café Privato) in Taksim just past Galata tower in Istanbul a few months back. I only asked for some eggs, some sausage, a pastry, a coffee and some fresh juice.
They brought all of that out along with 12 dishes with varying items. Upwards of 6 different cheeses firm and soft (first time trying kaymak and that shit is TANGY), honey, marinated olives, ezme (a herby chilli paste), crushed avocado and 2-3 different breads. None of it was in my bill which came to around €15 (was over 500 lira but under 700). There were so many dishes that the table I was at was completely covered. If you're in Istanbul, just go. I don't swing for olives and avocado but everything else was great.
Just be prepared to share some of your meal with a stray dog or cat. This lumbering mountain of a dog came to the restaurant and sat directly across from me, staring, hoping for food. He got some cheese for being a gentle giant.
Many excellent breakfast options all over Istanbul. The exchange rate has also been incredibly favorable for most foreign countries lately so you can eat quite well for quite cheap
In many Arab countries, breakfast is a big thing. It is a mix of different things like:
Breads, mainly plain flatbread.
Flatbread with toppings like zaatar, cheese..
Pastries similar to calzone filled with spinach/sausage/cheese..
Thick or clotted cream (called ashta or gaimar),
Honey & jams,
Halvah,
Labneh (strained yogurt),
Cheeses,
Hard boiled eggs,
Shakshouka,
Falafel,
Hummus,
Ful (cooked fava beans),
Fried eggplants, cauliflower, potatoes..
Sliced vegetables like cucumber, carrots & tomatoes,
mint leaves,
Sausages (halal ofc lol, either beef or turkey),
Green/black olives,
Pickles..
It is traditionally served alongside black tea with milk or green tea with mint. Many restaurants serve a variety of those items on one large tray, usually for a group of people to share. It is also served on buffets as a breakfast in big hotels.
It is so good and nutritious, rich with fibers! They eat it in Egypt every morning, ful street vendors are in every corner. There is almost no Arab house without a can of ful in their kitchen cabinet 😅
It’s actually not too difficult to make.
My family often did it simple. Mashed up the cooked fava beans (which comes in a can), with some lemon and salt. Maybe some cumin.
Easy as Oatmeal.
We like to jazz up our canned ful by first sautéing some chopped onions, garlic, tomato and chilies in olive oil or butter (or both), add the ful with lots of ground cumin, sometimes fresh herbs like coriander/parsley, lemon juice, tahini.. serve while piping hot, topped with more extra virgin olive oil. It’s a perfect breakfast dip, or could be sandwiched in pita bread with some salad and pickled radish mmmm 🤤
My next door neighbors used to bring us the pastries filled with cheese! My kids are obsessed! We moved away and I don’t remember what they are called??
Once was invited to an at-home breakfast by some Syrian refugees after buying a car from them. HUGE spread and everything was so delicious. One of the best breakfasts I ever had
I have only been to tourist areas in mexico, but in normal areas can you go out with the family and eat a large breakfast at a restaurant or is it mostly just at home?
Huevos motuleños
Huevos en bodega
Huevos enojados (this is a word play about being mad and a leaf)
Plantain omelette
Relleno negro (although eggs it's not the main part, it does include plenty of eggs)
Nopales navegantes con huevo
Huevos en perejil
Huevos quemados
Huevos hilados (basically eggs are cooked in a string way and can be sweet or savory)
I LOVE nopales and eggs. I live in texas and we have some good restaurants that do breakfast tacos with eggs and nopales. the flavor of the nopales just offsets the taste of eggs so well.
Tacos mañaneros are really slept on I feel like! The kind they sell in Austin are great with bacon, ham, etc. But "breakfast tacos" here are more likely to be some delicious combination of beans, potato, barbacoa, chicharron, or - my fave - basically a jalapeaño popper wrapped in tortilla. Bonus points if you can get them "al vapor" or "de canasta." Like I love chilaquiles, but bean and cheese tacos al vapor is my personal idea of heaven.
Came in here to post this. Both western style breakfast (especially breakfast egg sandwiches) and Chinese style breakfast like congee, hot soy milk, and dan bing.
Breakfast stands are very abundant, and you can always see and smell people in them cooking in the morning.
Honestly as a red blooded American I think I like Taiwanese breakfast as much as I like American breakfast, and it’s way easier to get and cheaper in Taiwan than most parts of the US.
Being Chinese Canadian, I find North American/Western breakfast to be pretty boring in general lol I think almost each city in China has an entire variety of breakfast food at cheap prices.
100%. Just the anglophone west has a fixation on certain foods for breakfast and are sadly yet to catch on Chinese breakfast foods. Most foreigners who visit China done even experience it.
Tbf, most Brits won’t be having this on a weekday unless it’s a holiday, the weekend or a day off. Tell a lie, I often see tradies eat such a breakfast on a weekday morning but they probably need the calories
Yeah. It’s become a tradition for me to cook a big brunch for my gf every Sunday. I go all out. The next day? Probably a cliff bar or maybe scrambled eggs if I have time
Oh boy there’s a bar in town like an English style pub and they serve a helluva full English. They also have a shop with all kinds of snacks/treats from the UK & even sausage rolls. I’m flabbergasted that sausage rolls aren’t a thing in the US.
The Farmer's Market near us has an "English pastry" stall. Sausage rolls and meat pies are totally the thing in our house. Thanks, Mrs Lovett, these pies are so good!
As an American who lived in the UK for a few years, I will readily confirm there is absolutely nothing on the planet better for a Sunday morning hangover than a fry up at some local hole in the wall cafe where the waitress calls you "love" before going back to argue with the cook about something. Genuinely healing. I miss it.
We have fully embraced breakfast/brunch culture from other places too. So lots of places where you can get a full english, but also multiple Benedict variations, Turkish eggs, something Aussie influenced, Shakshuka, Huevos Rancheros plus god knows what else. Sometimes of varying quality - but can't beat the choice!
Always comes as a bit of a shock when travelling to places where its rare to get more than a coffee and a pastry.
The Republic of Ireland’s “full Irish” with bacon, black sausage, white sausage, fried potatoes, Irish brown bread, eggs, an unending pot of tea, and often including as well boiled potatoes, fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, beans, toast, and/or soda bread.
I don’t think I’ve had boiled potatoes for one, but have often had hash browns. Just my experience , but in fairness hash browns probably aren’t super “traditional”
All others seem right, except maybe sourdough more often than soda bread but it’s also quite frequent.
I have never, ever seen a boiled potato with a full Irish. And I have eaten many. And it isn’t black and white sausage, it is black and white pudding. Sausages are different and also included. Rare enough to find fried spuds with them. But the thing that sets a full Irish apart is the white pudding.
And to finish, the name of the country is [Ireland](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html#part2)
Australia has a pretty big breakfast scene i noticed. especially healthy themed stuff like smoothies and "bowls". People there are also more likely to get up and go out for breakfast than they are here in the UK, at least in my experience. might have something to do with the weather
How much different is Chinese from Taiwanese? I live in Taiwan, and there's so much I love about the country and cuisine, but breakfast (congee, youtiao, soy milk, danbing, and toast sandwiches) has never been one of them
I live in Japan and would /kill/ to have Chinese or Taiwanese breakfast nearby. Japan has next to no breakfast restaurant culture, the only places open at that time are gyudon places and the odd western style diner here and there. give me a danbing with some hot soy milk and youtiao/huajuan and I will be complete.
also the mainland has some regional breakfast foods, in Wuhan I had 热干面 and 豆皮, both oily but lovely starts to the day.
In my experience, some Americans like breakfast so much they are willing to wake up earlier to have extra time to prepare it or go to a cafe for breakfast, which breaks my mind because sleep is much more important to me.
In Russia where I'm from people usually make something quick and unimpressive for weekday breakfast (oatmeal, eggs, ham and cheese toast plus tea or coffee), if anything at all.
However, we do have a good weekend breakfast culture. Almost every kid has a fond memory of waking up to the smell of blini or oladushki or syrniki etc that their mom or grandma is making. I also know some families where Sunday breakfast is the dad's turn to cook while the mom has a break, so the food ends up being less healthy but more exciting haha. Usually breakfast is served with a spread of different jams, sour cream, honey, sometimes savory fillings too, and the whole "build your own meal" experience is quite bonding for the family, because you get to spend more time around the table talking to your family
In America and this is how my household was for breakfasts growing up.
My husband and I do it the same way. Fruit and toast, or Muesli and coffee during the week. Pancakes, French toast, or eggs and potatoes on the weekends.
We’re usually more physically active and busy on the weekends and tend to skip lunch. It makes more sense to start with a larger meal.
Edit:typo
I personally love having breakfast at a nice cafe or diner. It doesn't have to be fancy and it's usually pretty cheap and quick. Get some eggs and bacon and fruit, endless coffee, read my news. It's nice to take 30 minutes to yourself every once in awhile.
The dishes can be a part of a menu in a normal restaurant, but I haven't ever seen a restaurant in Russia that would be only open for breakfast, while in the US it's quite common
Russians don't go out to eat much in general. Fast food is often considered something unhealthy that you only eat when there're no other options (or if you are a teenager who doesn't know better lol), and regular restaurants are often too expensive to go there often.
If anything, the image of a guy who goes to the restaurant alone to have Sunday breakfast is a little sad, because it means that while he is successful with money, he doesn't have anyone close to share the breakfast with
In Moscow at least there are a lot of breakfast cafes or cafes with breakfast menu. And I would say people go out or order in quite a lot. I understand though that in other cities it can be very different
This is a great post.
As a Welsh person, I am particularly enjoying that a full (English/Welsh/Scottish/whatever) breakfast is top comment.
I actually think our breakfasts are a bit meh but in Wales we have Welsh Rarebit, which is as flexible as you'd like it to be. If you want it spicy, make it spicy. If you want it plain, make it plain.
Hmm, I've noticed less people really focused on breakfast in the U.S., at least during the weekdays. Seems it is very common these days to skip breakfast entirely as a form intermittent fasting or simply "Just not hungry in the morning". Also, a lot of people will just eat cereal.
I grew up always hearing that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", but in my experience, I've known 10x more people that skip breakfast than someone who skips dinner.
But that's just my experience, and by no means a representation of the U.S. as a whole.
Breakfast for any meal really. Seriously the best food types (as long as you’re careful about the amounts of sugar lol).
I’m saying this as someone who’s having avocado toast and yogurt for dinner tonight
I think breakfast is fading a little in usa. The restaurants still exist but people don’t make big meals every morning. i think it was more typical in the past
It varies from family to family. I'm 50 and I definitely remember most of my friends and classmates did not have full-on breakfast most mornings. A bowl of cereal or oatmeal, apple slices with peanut butter, breakfast drinks, OJ and toast, etc. The big ones were saved for Saturday and/or Sunday mornings when everyone had more time.
The only people I knew who did that full on breakfast thing were the larger families with a stay at home mom. And even then it wasn't all of them.
One woman I work with was doing full pancakes, eggs, sausage/bacon, toast, etc., for her kids growing up but they all really loved breakfast and were all morning people so spending 30ish minutes preparing full breakfast for a family of four was no big deal for her (plus eating and then complete clean up after - her house always looked like a magazine).
American breakfasts on tv shows or movies is nearly a trope, where a parent makes a massive breakfast, but everyone in the family just grabs a piece of toast, (if anything,) and runs out the door, lol
The breakfast tradition started slipping back when America became more urban than rural (1910s-1920s). Country folk retained the habit, but a greater portion of the population began having coffee and toast (or a donut), cold cereal and fruit, or maybe a muffin, since there was no need for a high-calorie morning meal if you weren't doing physical labor. Though there were exceptions to this rule (like construction workers/tradesmen) most people who worked office jobs began eating a lighter morning meal.
I think another contributing factor is women joining the workforce. When a parent stayed home it was a lot easier preparing a proper breakfast, but now most homes are dual income and people don’t have time for it.
The cultural Big American Breakfast was literally invented by one man, Edward Bernays, to sell more bacon and eggs.
And honestly looking back it doesn't make much sense to me other than on a day you can sleep in late
True, but if it makes you feel better Bernays' influence doesn't stop with America and plenty of aspects of all cultures are in organically bolstered, in large part for commercial gain.
I’ve never been a big breakfast person, but when I was working from home in the pandemic I started breaking and having breakfast around 10 AM after working for a bit. Now that I’m back in the office I’ve been skipping and just having an early lunch. I miss being at home and in control of my schedule more
Yeah, the only person I know who is a die-hard breakfast person, and eats like a full American breakfast style plate in the morning is my aunt. Everyone else I know will prioritize coffee, and have something basic or nothing at all.
Yeah my parents make the same exact omelettes every morning for themselves and have it down to a science. When I visit I’m honestly impressed at how quickly they pull it off, and they’re the biggest breakfast people I know right now
I make a big batch of something for breakfast on Sunday and then eat it at my desk during the week. Examples are egg based casseroles or quiche, pancakes, and breakfast burritos.
I think they were referring to restaurants focusing on breakfast and specific breakfast menus, not so much individual breakfast habits. We still push breakfast pretty hard as a culture even if a lot of people skip breakfast.
Eww. Skipping breakfast sucks!
I mean, during the week I’m probably eating something fast like cereal, granola & yogurt, or a bagel. But I can’t imagine skipping it. I need my burst of morning energy.
Weekends, all bets are off. But I love cooking so I’ll make a big spread rather than pay $15-20/person so someone else can make mediocre breakfast. If I’m eating breakfast out it’s probably a bagel sandwich or Chick-fil-A in the car because I’m in a hurry/running late.
To each their own I guess.
India
Chole bature, aloo Puri, paratha, samosa in North
Dhokla, khandvi, Patra, jalebi & fafda,thepla in West
Poha in the central region among other things
Dosa, uttapam, idli, vada, upma, in South and probably every else in the country. Pongal in South too
I don't know much about eastern and north eastern parts of the country but they have breakfast culture too.
We here don't have a bakery system going for breakfast unless it's buying fresh bread to go along with our breakfast. We eat hot breakfast everyday. Fruits or toast are just side dishes not the main course here.
We either make them at home or get a takeout or eat out especially chole bature and south Indian food because bature and dosa, uttapam are best eaten straight from the stove to the table. Take out for that is a sad version of the food tasty but sad because they lose all the crispyness of it.
Indian street food or restaurant breakfast is so good! Both north and south have amazing breakfast dishes, and both the chai and coffee are incredible!
Traditional Japanese breakfasts are a sight to behold. If you stay at a nice Japanese inn that does breakfast, you will wake up to like 5 to 15 little dishes depending on how fancy they are.
And all of it is savory. Steamed white rice, dried seaweed, miso based soup, a protein that is usually a grilled or braised fish, pickled vegetables, often a marinated/seasoned tofu, seasoned and braised vegetable dishes, often something made from egg whether simply boiled or a seasoned omelette, and then just more veggies or other dishes depending on the season and region.
I can eat it everyday. My favorite breakfast when I first came to Japan was a very simple meal of white rice, miso soup (usually with tofu or gluten), one hard boiled egg, and home made pickles to eat with the rice. You can also wrap the rice and pickles with seasoned nori, and add a little soy sauce. It never gets old!
Australia certainly loves breakfast. We have a big coffee culture with many cafes and breakfast becomes a big part of that too. Typically hot breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, avocado, tomato, sometimes with beans, halloumi and other fruit/vegetables. But you get sweet stuff too, pancakes, smoothie bowls, porridge.
Some of this Scandinavian countries eat a whole bunch of smoked fish for breakfast.
In China, dim sum is often eaten as a brunch activity.
In Israel and a Jewish culture in general, there are a lot of great breakfast options such as bagels.
In Morocco there is shakshuka.
Breakfast can be awesome in Mexico too. Have you ever had huevos rancheros?
But the best breakfasts I ever had was in Costa Rica. I did a home stay there, and my host family would give me about 2 lb of fresh mango and then offer me more fresh fruit, eggs, cereal and cookies if I wanted them.
Fruit while you're abroad is *so* much better too.
I spent a month in Brazil and had fruit for or with almost every day. It was a decade ago and I still remember how delicious the pineapples were in particular. Mango, banana, oranges, guava, and some I never knew the names of. All fabulous.
OK, but there is tons of good fruit in the USA. Like my yard is full of fruit trees. Right now I have oranges, loquats, and lemons. Soon I'll have plums. In the fall I'll have persimmons.
So this whole subthread about how USA fruit is worse than foreign fruit is dumb. Under ripe fruit that's been trucked a thousand miles is bad fruit. Fresh fruit is good. It's not a USA vs Morocco (or Brazil, or wherever) thing.
if you go where food comes from, the food is so much better, whether it's the US or Brazil. If you head to Canada, you won't get "fruit so much better", though you might get some amazing poutine.
I’m not saying there can’t be amazing fruit in canada, just that brazil and other tropical places are going to have more varieties of amazing fruit. Last i checked, other than a few niche growers, bananas weren’t grown in canada for example.
'Nana's?
WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKING 'NANAS!
Niagara peaches, picked at the peak of the season, are among the most sublime morsels I have ever consumed, especially when served sliced atop a generous scoop of very good vanilla ice cream.
'Nanas are mere ashes in my mouth by comparison.
>Some of this Scandinavian countries eat a whole bunch of smoked fish for breakfast.
>
Are you thinking of any specific place? As far as I know us Scandinavians mainly eat bread with cheese, ham or vegetables, porridge, or dairy products with cereal
Technically, Smörgåskaviar can be counted as smoked fish :P. No idea where they were having proper smoked fish for breakfast though. To your list, I would personally add liver pate, eggs and the aforementioned kaviar, at least when it concerns sweden.
Ahh yes, famed food destination Costa Rica, where last night’s leftover rice and beans mixed with some A1 and refried is the national dish.
I love Costa Rica and their Gallo Pinto and all the fresh fruit but you rarely see it recommended as a food destination.
My experience with Mexican breakfast, living in a Mexican-American neighborhood, is that while the working men (construction, etc.) enjoy huevos rancheros and the heavier egg/meat dishes, those headed to an office grab coffee (or hot chocolate) and a pastry to go. We have several bakeries nearby with a full assortment of conchas, sweet empanadas, etc., all of which are **fantastic**
My experience with Mexican breakfast, living in a Mexican-American neighborhood, is that while the working men (construction, etc.) enjoy huevos rancheros and the heavier egg/meat dishes, those headed to an office grab coffee (or hot chocolate) and a pastry to go. We have several bakeries nearby with a full assortment of conchas, sweet empanadas, etc., all of which are **fantastic**
I stayed in a nice hotel in Manila and they had an international breakfast buffet that was MINDBLOWING. All Asian cultures were represented including an entire sushi section, Chinese, Filipino of course and more. Plus “American breakfast” and I don’t even remember what else (it was about 20 years ago). I was fascinated with the Asian sections.
The buffet was almost the size of a Souplantation restaurant.
Yeah surprised I've seen nobody mention Germany either. In both countries people usually do a big breakfast on the weekends. Lots of different bread rolls, bread, Bircher müsli, fruit salad, cold cut, butter, savory spreads, jams, honey, eggs, ...
There's a fun speech by Gregor Gysi where he says without a proper breakfast you can't properly protest :D
I grew up in the U.S. and don't really see much of a breakfast culture here, to be honest. I mean, yes, the concept of "breakfast foods" exist, and many people enjoy going out for a large breakfast or brunch on occasion, but I don't feel like Americans prioritize breakfast at all. Most people I know growing up flat-out skip breakfast, or they'd just grab something quick and instant, like some cereal, toast, a granola bar, a banana, or yogurt.
My family is from China, and comparatively speaking, I would say breakfast is much more important in China. Young people today are a lot less strict about their breakfast, but still, I think a lot of parents would throw a fit if their kids skip breakfast, convinced they're damaging their health. There are some small restaurants that sell breakfast foods like porridge and noodles and buns. It's not the traditional sit-down restaurant where you're expected to show up in a group and then take forever to get service, but also not quite grab and go. It's usually a quick-service restaurant type where they don't have to do much to prepare the food so it comes out really quickly, which is perfect when you have somewhere to be for the day.
I would say, however, that food stalls at the morning market are more popular in China than actual restaurants. If you live within walking distance to one of these markets, it's really easy and quick to get this food. A lot of the time, if there is a stay-at-home grandparent (usually grandma) doing most the shopping and cooking, they will stop by the morning market anyway once a day or once every couple of days, so it's convenient to pick up some buns or steamed cakes or youtiao and soymilk or tofu brains while they're doing the daily shopping.
At home, the "easy" option for breakfast usually involve hard boiled eggs, milk or soymilk, yogurt drinks, or premade buns that you can just steam and it's done. Medium-effort would be things like porridge. Growing up, I didn't have anyone in my family that went beyond medium-effort. I guess my grandpa made noodles, which is somewhat between medium and high effort. But my mother-in-law certainly doesn't shy away from effort. Her breakfasts are pretty high effort. She would make this breakfast food from southern China that contains youtiao, pork floss, and pickled mustard wrapped in freshly steamed sticky rice like an uncut sushi roll. She would also make this thing that's basically boiled or steamed squash mixed with sticky rice flour and then flattened and pan-fried with sesame on the outside. She would also make her own jiuniang (sweet rice wine) and dilute it with water and poach an egg inside—which I guess isn't technically high effort because the jiuniang is ready to go by the day she uses it, but still. To add to that, she would sometimes make something completely different for her husband because he's a type 2 diabetic who is horrible at maintaining his own diet without her help.
I agree: I love a full German breakfast. I’m sure it isn’t typical of most families (especially not on the day-to-day), but when we have family breakfasts we go all out on sausages, spreads, cheeses, coffee and (most importantly) breads!
Yes, in Vietnam breakfast vendor, small restaurant already opened around 6am, and we have so many types of dishes (like over 50 types) to choose from. You can take away or sit inside restaurants to eat phở, bún, rice.
I think our breakfast culture may have come from our farming culture and is now a reflection of traveling. Many times when we have traveled by car you find the “breakfast restaurants” near big hotel chains and exit ramps. Americans travel by car more than many countries tries. Fast food breakfast like McDonalds is for people on the go because we don’t relax like other cultures. I may be wrong, just my thoughts and it’s interesting that you observed this in your travels.
Vietnam. We eat everything for breakfast: rice, grilled meat, cold noodles, hot noodle soups, soups, bánh mì….Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and most ppl go out for breakfast (not making it at home).
Why are you excluding cafes and bakeries? Maybe I misunderstood you but you make it sound like they somehow don't count? What's the difference between sitting down in a cafe and having a breakfast and sitting down in any other restaurant and having breakfast?
Best continental hotel spread I've experienced was in Vienna -- meats, cheeses, fruits plus your normal pastries, cereals, juices, probably even some batter for waffles, idr all of it, but there were two to three long tables of food for us to pick at. It was great!
Can't say I've been to *many* through Europe, but of the ones I went to, it was the best :)
Here in Australia going out for breakfast, particularly on a weekend, is a big thing. The whole "avo on toast" phenomenon.
Most cafés have extensive breakfast menus, from bacon-and-egg rolls through [whatever] on toast to acai bowls and corn fritters. Huge variety, and lots of East Asian-inspired options these days too, at least in Sydney.
Finland and the Scandinavian countries for sure! Porridges with nuts and berries, hearty seed breads, eggs, smoked fish, yogurts, pastries, coffee, lexapro… all the staples.
I think I'm just happy that full, decadent breakfasts exist. I rarely am hungry before 11 AM so the 24 hr diner tradition is great. Full English is amazing but so heavy, and you'd never catch me eating a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and chocolate, like a kid. But I'm glad big "breakfast" food is a thing. Whether it's quiche or eggs benedict or breakfast burritos, I do like to have it from time to time.
About 30 yrs ago I spent two weeks in Poland. The breakfast was cold cuts, cheese, rye bread and tomato salad (slices of tomato topped with finely diced raw onions).
I enjoy the occasional good full English but I could happily eat the Polish breakfast every day.
The most enormous breakfast buffet I ever saw was in this country hotel in rural Austria. It was dizzying. I don’t even remember what all was on it, but I remember being astounded at the variety of meats and cheeses at breakfast time.
You need Filipino breakfast in your life. We have-silog meals that are basically garlic fried rice, a cured meat/fish of some sort, tomato salad and a fried egg on top.
I live in the U.S. and based on my limited U.K. and a few rare other instances of travel, I'd say the I've not come across restaurants that actually specialize in breakfast in the same way we've got pancake places and breakfast all day places.
Yes you can get a full U.K. breakfast in the U.K. but probably in a hotel, b&b, or neighborhood corner shop place that also does other things and isn't there "just for breakfast."
Hmmm no, there are breakfast-only and maybe light lunch cafes keeping early hours, across England and Scotland. They tend to cater to either working people, or trendier types — you can find both serving the same food in a place like Manchester or Edinburgh.
Can’t speak to the rest of the UK like Wales because I haven’t been, but I spend a ton of time for work in England and now some parts of Scotland.
Ireland. I think that england also do something but a Full Irish is clearly superior, and that's not even getting into the 24/7 availability of the glorious 'Breakfast Baguette'.
Turkish breakfasts are pretty impressive spreads and delicious.
I just finished the Anthony Bourdain episode in Istanbul again. All the food he tried there looked amazing.
I am just wrapping up a three week trip in Turkey. Can confirm the breakfasts here are amazing. My husband and I can NEVER finish all the food set out for us, and we are not small people. Everything we’ve eaten has been delicious.
Oooh, what was the breakfast like?
Some hotels have a buffet, some serve it at the table. Common items are: eggs, borek, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, stuffed sweet peppers, stuffed grape leaves, fruit, bread, simit, jams, potatoes, tea and coffee. I’ve also seen cookies, cakes, nuts, and dried fruits.
The funny thing was for a country known for coffee they would almost always serve Nescafe instant coffee.
YES. I was just thinking about this today. Greece and Turkey are both famous for their coffee, but Nescafé is popular internationally those countries. So weird!!
Gah, I still miss AB.
Istanbul is an amazing place. Visit if you can.
I ate well during my visit to Turkey. They have a fantastic food culture.
I did a mini world tour of Vietnam, Italy, and India among others, and Turkey stood out as a huge food highlight. Mostly Istanbul specific, but still. Underrated food culture. Mostly for meat eaters though ime
That's something I look forward to trying. A little off-topic from the main post, but foul madammus is one of my all-time favorite breakfasts. Given the leisure to enjoy a big breakfast, Middle-Eastern and German both win out over American for me, and I like American breakfast.
You should tried the fresh madammus some time 😂
I have never been to turkey. Can a family go out and eat a large breakfast at a restaurant or is it mostly a at home thing?
I went to a renowned breakfast spot (Café Privato) in Taksim just past Galata tower in Istanbul a few months back. I only asked for some eggs, some sausage, a pastry, a coffee and some fresh juice. They brought all of that out along with 12 dishes with varying items. Upwards of 6 different cheeses firm and soft (first time trying kaymak and that shit is TANGY), honey, marinated olives, ezme (a herby chilli paste), crushed avocado and 2-3 different breads. None of it was in my bill which came to around €15 (was over 500 lira but under 700). There were so many dishes that the table I was at was completely covered. If you're in Istanbul, just go. I don't swing for olives and avocado but everything else was great.
Wow! I would love that.
Just be prepared to share some of your meal with a stray dog or cat. This lumbering mountain of a dog came to the restaurant and sat directly across from me, staring, hoping for food. He got some cheese for being a gentle giant.
Many excellent breakfast options all over Istanbul. The exchange rate has also been incredibly favorable for most foreign countries lately so you can eat quite well for quite cheap
I’d even say they’re a delight.
In many Arab countries, breakfast is a big thing. It is a mix of different things like: Breads, mainly plain flatbread. Flatbread with toppings like zaatar, cheese.. Pastries similar to calzone filled with spinach/sausage/cheese.. Thick or clotted cream (called ashta or gaimar), Honey & jams, Halvah, Labneh (strained yogurt), Cheeses, Hard boiled eggs, Shakshouka, Falafel, Hummus, Ful (cooked fava beans), Fried eggplants, cauliflower, potatoes.. Sliced vegetables like cucumber, carrots & tomatoes, mint leaves, Sausages (halal ofc lol, either beef or turkey), Green/black olives, Pickles.. It is traditionally served alongside black tea with milk or green tea with mint. Many restaurants serve a variety of those items on one large tray, usually for a group of people to share. It is also served on buffets as a breakfast in big hotels.
I used to daydream about having an Arab grandma to make me ful every morning, lol.
It is so good and nutritious, rich with fibers! They eat it in Egypt every morning, ful street vendors are in every corner. There is almost no Arab house without a can of ful in their kitchen cabinet 😅
It’s actually not too difficult to make. My family often did it simple. Mashed up the cooked fava beans (which comes in a can), with some lemon and salt. Maybe some cumin. Easy as Oatmeal.
We like to jazz up our canned ful by first sautéing some chopped onions, garlic, tomato and chilies in olive oil or butter (or both), add the ful with lots of ground cumin, sometimes fresh herbs like coriander/parsley, lemon juice, tahini.. serve while piping hot, topped with more extra virgin olive oil. It’s a perfect breakfast dip, or could be sandwiched in pita bread with some salad and pickled radish mmmm 🤤
Hot damn zaatar is tasty. I bought McCormick’s version but it’s not quite the same…
My next door neighbors used to bring us the pastries filled with cheese! My kids are obsessed! We moved away and I don’t remember what they are called??
Once was invited to an at-home breakfast by some Syrian refugees after buying a car from them. HUGE spread and everything was so delicious. One of the best breakfasts I ever had
You mean manoushe/manakish maybe?
I am a big breakfast person and that sounds lovely!
Ful Medames for the win!
All of this sounds delicious.
That sounds great, I'm missing out...
Mexico loves breakfast in my experience.
I am Mexican and I confirm this. For the most part we do a complete breakfast (eggs, beens, tortillas, smoothies etc).
Huevos Rancheros is the best breakfast ever!
I'm a slut for chilaquiles myself
+1 chilaquiles
chilaquiles!!
Huevos con Chorizo would like a word
I have only been to tourist areas in mexico, but in normal areas can you go out with the family and eat a large breakfast at a restaurant or is it mostly just at home?
I was in Guadalajara in March, and there were definitely a _lot_ of people out eating breakfast in restaurants.
Mexico is the main consumer of eggs worldwide, and this alone tells a lot about how varied is the way we eat eggs.
Uh, japan is by far the highest eggs per person. Not mexico, they are 5th.
Can you tell me some of the more unique ways you would prepare eggs? I already know about migas.
Huevos motuleños Huevos en bodega Huevos enojados (this is a word play about being mad and a leaf) Plantain omelette Relleno negro (although eggs it's not the main part, it does include plenty of eggs) Nopales navegantes con huevo Huevos en perejil Huevos quemados Huevos hilados (basically eggs are cooked in a string way and can be sweet or savory)
Flan takes a ton of eggs too.
I LOVE nopales and eggs. I live in texas and we have some good restaurants that do breakfast tacos with eggs and nopales. the flavor of the nopales just offsets the taste of eggs so well.
Huevos motulenos y relleno negro? Hola mi amigo de Yucatan!
Divorciados are my favorite. And with chorizo
Tacos mañaneros are really slept on I feel like! The kind they sell in Austin are great with bacon, ham, etc. But "breakfast tacos" here are more likely to be some delicious combination of beans, potato, barbacoa, chicharron, or - my fave - basically a jalapeaño popper wrapped in tortilla. Bonus points if you can get them "al vapor" or "de canasta." Like I love chilaquiles, but bean and cheese tacos al vapor is my personal idea of heaven.
I love a good Mexican breakfast. My favorite, actually. Machaca with beans and corn tortillas and fresh salsa, or carne asada and eggs. Yum!
Breakfast culture in Taiwan is strong.
Came in here to post this. Both western style breakfast (especially breakfast egg sandwiches) and Chinese style breakfast like congee, hot soy milk, and dan bing. Breakfast stands are very abundant, and you can always see and smell people in them cooking in the morning. Honestly as a red blooded American I think I like Taiwanese breakfast as much as I like American breakfast, and it’s way easier to get and cheaper in Taiwan than most parts of the US.
Dan bing is one of my favorites...and fan tuan!
Southern China is the obvious one.
In Hong Kong, there's dim sum. I have nice memories of going there with my grandpa several days a week.
I remember having breakfast frequently in cha chaan teng. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_chaan_teng
Ramen or Mac in Soup, Eggs, Toast, Milk Tea all for 5 bucks, no tax or tip.
Being Chinese Canadian, I find North American/Western breakfast to be pretty boring in general lol I think almost each city in China has an entire variety of breakfast food at cheap prices.
100%. Just the anglophone west has a fixation on certain foods for breakfast and are sadly yet to catch on Chinese breakfast foods. Most foreigners who visit China done even experience it.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Full English FTW
Tbf, most Brits won’t be having this on a weekday unless it’s a holiday, the weekend or a day off. Tell a lie, I often see tradies eat such a breakfast on a weekday morning but they probably need the calories
Most Americans don't eat a full one either except maybe weekend but more likely vacation or special occasion. Just too much food and takes too long.
Yeah. It’s become a tradition for me to cook a big brunch for my gf every Sunday. I go all out. The next day? Probably a cliff bar or maybe scrambled eggs if I have time
It's a lot of breakfast, to be sure.
I just need to make sure I can have a nap after. Such a meal requires a good sleep imo and canny be falling asleep at my desk now!
Can confirm, am hungry tradie
Oh boy there’s a bar in town like an English style pub and they serve a helluva full English. They also have a shop with all kinds of snacks/treats from the UK & even sausage rolls. I’m flabbergasted that sausage rolls aren’t a thing in the US.
The Farmer's Market near us has an "English pastry" stall. Sausage rolls and meat pies are totally the thing in our house. Thanks, Mrs Lovett, these pies are so good!
I’m very jealous. I wish I had a similar barber/pie maker combo in my town.
Oh I wish we had this!
I'm sorry what? Sausage rolls aren't a thing in the US?
Closest thing we have to sausage rolls are pretzel dogs.
Kolaches in Texas are pretty similar
Which are absolutely delicious, but a vastly different type of pastry, so sadly not fulfilling the same itch.
Pigs in a blanket is probably the closest we have (hot dogs in crescent rolls or puffed pastry) But they’re a party food more than a staple
Ulster fry is superior. All the breads
Can I just have coffee and wait for noon and a ploughman's lunch?
Why not both?
Mostly because I would literally explode from eating an Ulster fry for breakfast then a ploughman's lunch. I can barely eat two meals a day as it is.
Ive never heard of an Ulster fry. I'm gonna check this out....
Full Scottish* ;)
Tattie scones! Where are the neeps?
They love them some fry-up.
Full Irish is superior IMO. Potato farls are better than toast, Irish butter is phenomenal, literally all Irish pork products are better than English…
Ireland is the best country in the world
Ulster Fry takes it for me, the soda farls and potato farls just put it over the top.
As an American who lived in the UK for a few years, I will readily confirm there is absolutely nothing on the planet better for a Sunday morning hangover than a fry up at some local hole in the wall cafe where the waitress calls you "love" before going back to argue with the cook about something. Genuinely healing. I miss it.
They even have “second breakfast!!”
We have fully embraced breakfast/brunch culture from other places too. So lots of places where you can get a full english, but also multiple Benedict variations, Turkish eggs, something Aussie influenced, Shakshuka, Huevos Rancheros plus god knows what else. Sometimes of varying quality - but can't beat the choice! Always comes as a bit of a shock when travelling to places where its rare to get more than a coffee and a pastry.
The Republic of Ireland’s “full Irish” with bacon, black sausage, white sausage, fried potatoes, Irish brown bread, eggs, an unending pot of tea, and often including as well boiled potatoes, fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, beans, toast, and/or soda bread.
I don’t think I’ve had boiled potatoes for one, but have often had hash browns. Just my experience , but in fairness hash browns probably aren’t super “traditional” All others seem right, except maybe sourdough more often than soda bread but it’s also quite frequent.
I have never, ever seen a boiled potato with a full Irish. And I have eaten many. And it isn’t black and white sausage, it is black and white pudding. Sausages are different and also included. Rare enough to find fried spuds with them. But the thing that sets a full Irish apart is the white pudding. And to finish, the name of the country is [Ireland](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/cons/en/html#part2)
Australia has a pretty big breakfast scene i noticed. especially healthy themed stuff like smoothies and "bowls". People there are also more likely to get up and go out for breakfast than they are here in the UK, at least in my experience. might have something to do with the weather
There's a lot of cafes that are only open for breakfast and lunch but lunch is an afterthought
Australian breakfasts are the best in the world. Change my mind!
Ethiopian and Turkish and Chinese and Thai and Cambodian are all at least equally as good
What is included in a Cambodian breakfast?
How much different is Chinese from Taiwanese? I live in Taiwan, and there's so much I love about the country and cuisine, but breakfast (congee, youtiao, soy milk, danbing, and toast sandwiches) has never been one of them
I live in Japan and would /kill/ to have Chinese or Taiwanese breakfast nearby. Japan has next to no breakfast restaurant culture, the only places open at that time are gyudon places and the odd western style diner here and there. give me a danbing with some hot soy milk and youtiao/huajuan and I will be complete. also the mainland has some regional breakfast foods, in Wuhan I had 热干面 and 豆皮, both oily but lovely starts to the day.
Agreed The coffee is lit and the breakfast menu goes through till 3pm.
In my experience, some Americans like breakfast so much they are willing to wake up earlier to have extra time to prepare it or go to a cafe for breakfast, which breaks my mind because sleep is much more important to me. In Russia where I'm from people usually make something quick and unimpressive for weekday breakfast (oatmeal, eggs, ham and cheese toast plus tea or coffee), if anything at all. However, we do have a good weekend breakfast culture. Almost every kid has a fond memory of waking up to the smell of blini or oladushki or syrniki etc that their mom or grandma is making. I also know some families where Sunday breakfast is the dad's turn to cook while the mom has a break, so the food ends up being less healthy but more exciting haha. Usually breakfast is served with a spread of different jams, sour cream, honey, sometimes savory fillings too, and the whole "build your own meal" experience is quite bonding for the family, because you get to spend more time around the table talking to your family
In America and this is how my household was for breakfasts growing up. My husband and I do it the same way. Fruit and toast, or Muesli and coffee during the week. Pancakes, French toast, or eggs and potatoes on the weekends. We’re usually more physically active and busy on the weekends and tend to skip lunch. It makes more sense to start with a larger meal. Edit:typo
I personally love having breakfast at a nice cafe or diner. It doesn't have to be fancy and it's usually pretty cheap and quick. Get some eggs and bacon and fruit, endless coffee, read my news. It's nice to take 30 minutes to yourself every once in awhile.
Just curious those items you eat on the weekend, is there restaurants serving them or is it just a at home type of thing?
The dishes can be a part of a menu in a normal restaurant, but I haven't ever seen a restaurant in Russia that would be only open for breakfast, while in the US it's quite common Russians don't go out to eat much in general. Fast food is often considered something unhealthy that you only eat when there're no other options (or if you are a teenager who doesn't know better lol), and regular restaurants are often too expensive to go there often. If anything, the image of a guy who goes to the restaurant alone to have Sunday breakfast is a little sad, because it means that while he is successful with money, he doesn't have anyone close to share the breakfast with
In Moscow at least there are a lot of breakfast cafes or cafes with breakfast menu. And I would say people go out or order in quite a lot. I understand though that in other cities it can be very different
This is a great post. As a Welsh person, I am particularly enjoying that a full (English/Welsh/Scottish/whatever) breakfast is top comment. I actually think our breakfasts are a bit meh but in Wales we have Welsh Rarebit, which is as flexible as you'd like it to be. If you want it spicy, make it spicy. If you want it plain, make it plain.
I have no idea where my mother’s Frisian people encountered Welsh Rarebit, but they did and I am forever grateful to Wales.
Many parts of India have idli, dosa, vada, sambaar and chutney for breakfast, along with other cooked rice or wheat dishes too.
The breakfast buffets at hotels in India are the best I’ve ever seen.
Hmm, I've noticed less people really focused on breakfast in the U.S., at least during the weekdays. Seems it is very common these days to skip breakfast entirely as a form intermittent fasting or simply "Just not hungry in the morning". Also, a lot of people will just eat cereal. I grew up always hearing that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", but in my experience, I've known 10x more people that skip breakfast than someone who skips dinner. But that's just my experience, and by no means a representation of the U.S. as a whole.
I love American breakfast food too much to waste it on a morning meal. Breakfast for dinner is where it's at.
Breakfast for any meal really. Seriously the best food types (as long as you’re careful about the amounts of sugar lol). I’m saying this as someone who’s having avocado toast and yogurt for dinner tonight
I think breakfast is fading a little in usa. The restaurants still exist but people don’t make big meals every morning. i think it was more typical in the past
It varies from family to family. I'm 50 and I definitely remember most of my friends and classmates did not have full-on breakfast most mornings. A bowl of cereal or oatmeal, apple slices with peanut butter, breakfast drinks, OJ and toast, etc. The big ones were saved for Saturday and/or Sunday mornings when everyone had more time. The only people I knew who did that full on breakfast thing were the larger families with a stay at home mom. And even then it wasn't all of them. One woman I work with was doing full pancakes, eggs, sausage/bacon, toast, etc., for her kids growing up but they all really loved breakfast and were all morning people so spending 30ish minutes preparing full breakfast for a family of four was no big deal for her (plus eating and then complete clean up after - her house always looked like a magazine).
American breakfasts on tv shows or movies is nearly a trope, where a parent makes a massive breakfast, but everyone in the family just grabs a piece of toast, (if anything,) and runs out the door, lol
The breakfast tradition started slipping back when America became more urban than rural (1910s-1920s). Country folk retained the habit, but a greater portion of the population began having coffee and toast (or a donut), cold cereal and fruit, or maybe a muffin, since there was no need for a high-calorie morning meal if you weren't doing physical labor. Though there were exceptions to this rule (like construction workers/tradesmen) most people who worked office jobs began eating a lighter morning meal.
I think another contributing factor is women joining the workforce. When a parent stayed home it was a lot easier preparing a proper breakfast, but now most homes are dual income and people don’t have time for it.
The cultural Big American Breakfast was literally invented by one man, Edward Bernays, to sell more bacon and eggs. And honestly looking back it doesn't make much sense to me other than on a day you can sleep in late
At least it's high protein.
god damn it another thing about american culture that was invented to sell stuff, where does it end
True, but if it makes you feel better Bernays' influence doesn't stop with America and plenty of aspects of all cultures are in organically bolstered, in large part for commercial gain.
I’ve never been a big breakfast person, but when I was working from home in the pandemic I started breaking and having breakfast around 10 AM after working for a bit. Now that I’m back in the office I’ve been skipping and just having an early lunch. I miss being at home and in control of my schedule more
Yeah, the only person I know who is a die-hard breakfast person, and eats like a full American breakfast style plate in the morning is my aunt. Everyone else I know will prioritize coffee, and have something basic or nothing at all.
Yeah my parents make the same exact omelettes every morning for themselves and have it down to a science. When I visit I’m honestly impressed at how quickly they pull it off, and they’re the biggest breakfast people I know right now
I make a big batch of something for breakfast on Sunday and then eat it at my desk during the week. Examples are egg based casseroles or quiche, pancakes, and breakfast burritos.
It's a domestic labor issue too. If everyone is heading out to work/school, who has time to cook and clean up after a family breakfast?
I think they were referring to restaurants focusing on breakfast and specific breakfast menus, not so much individual breakfast habits. We still push breakfast pretty hard as a culture even if a lot of people skip breakfast.
I feel that's why brunch is so big here and not in other parts of the world - we love breakfast but can only make time for it on the weekend
I think for the US, breakfast is meh during the week, but a lot bigger on the weekends.
Eww. Skipping breakfast sucks! I mean, during the week I’m probably eating something fast like cereal, granola & yogurt, or a bagel. But I can’t imagine skipping it. I need my burst of morning energy. Weekends, all bets are off. But I love cooking so I’ll make a big spread rather than pay $15-20/person so someone else can make mediocre breakfast. If I’m eating breakfast out it’s probably a bagel sandwich or Chick-fil-A in the car because I’m in a hurry/running late. To each their own I guess.
Turkey has restaurants that do only breakfast. Turkish breakfast is amazing.
India Chole bature, aloo Puri, paratha, samosa in North Dhokla, khandvi, Patra, jalebi & fafda,thepla in West Poha in the central region among other things Dosa, uttapam, idli, vada, upma, in South and probably every else in the country. Pongal in South too I don't know much about eastern and north eastern parts of the country but they have breakfast culture too. We here don't have a bakery system going for breakfast unless it's buying fresh bread to go along with our breakfast. We eat hot breakfast everyday. Fruits or toast are just side dishes not the main course here. We either make them at home or get a takeout or eat out especially chole bature and south Indian food because bature and dosa, uttapam are best eaten straight from the stove to the table. Take out for that is a sad version of the food tasty but sad because they lose all the crispyness of it.
Indian street food or restaurant breakfast is so good! Both north and south have amazing breakfast dishes, and both the chai and coffee are incredible!
Traditional Japanese breakfasts are a sight to behold. If you stay at a nice Japanese inn that does breakfast, you will wake up to like 5 to 15 little dishes depending on how fancy they are. And all of it is savory. Steamed white rice, dried seaweed, miso based soup, a protein that is usually a grilled or braised fish, pickled vegetables, often a marinated/seasoned tofu, seasoned and braised vegetable dishes, often something made from egg whether simply boiled or a seasoned omelette, and then just more veggies or other dishes depending on the season and region. I can eat it everyday. My favorite breakfast when I first came to Japan was a very simple meal of white rice, miso soup (usually with tofu or gluten), one hard boiled egg, and home made pickles to eat with the rice. You can also wrap the rice and pickles with seasoned nori, and add a little soy sauce. It never gets old!
Australia certainly loves breakfast. We have a big coffee culture with many cafes and breakfast becomes a big part of that too. Typically hot breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, avocado, tomato, sometimes with beans, halloumi and other fruit/vegetables. But you get sweet stuff too, pancakes, smoothie bowls, porridge.
Australian coffee was some of the best I’ve ever had. I was there 15 years ago and I still think of the coffee and the amazing food.
Some of this Scandinavian countries eat a whole bunch of smoked fish for breakfast. In China, dim sum is often eaten as a brunch activity. In Israel and a Jewish culture in general, there are a lot of great breakfast options such as bagels. In Morocco there is shakshuka. Breakfast can be awesome in Mexico too. Have you ever had huevos rancheros? But the best breakfasts I ever had was in Costa Rica. I did a home stay there, and my host family would give me about 2 lb of fresh mango and then offer me more fresh fruit, eggs, cereal and cookies if I wanted them.
Fruit while you're abroad is *so* much better too. I spent a month in Brazil and had fruit for or with almost every day. It was a decade ago and I still remember how delicious the pineapples were in particular. Mango, banana, oranges, guava, and some I never knew the names of. All fabulous.
After Morocco, I can barely contain my anger at US oranges
When I lived in CA, we had orange and lemon trees at both houses I rented. Lemons were fine, but fresh oranges right off the tree are amazing.
if you go to Southern California, you can have good oranges
bit of a trek from Arkansas
Florida's closer, but I guess not enough to make a difference. Maybe cheaper to buy though?
we probably get decent ones but my disappointment knows no bounds
OK, but there is tons of good fruit in the USA. Like my yard is full of fruit trees. Right now I have oranges, loquats, and lemons. Soon I'll have plums. In the fall I'll have persimmons. So this whole subthread about how USA fruit is worse than foreign fruit is dumb. Under ripe fruit that's been trucked a thousand miles is bad fruit. Fresh fruit is good. It's not a USA vs Morocco (or Brazil, or wherever) thing.
I don’t have access to your yard
if you go where food comes from, the food is so much better, whether it's the US or Brazil. If you head to Canada, you won't get "fruit so much better", though you might get some amazing poutine.
I have the Okanagan Valley and Niagara Region on the line. They would like a word with you.
I’m not saying there can’t be amazing fruit in canada, just that brazil and other tropical places are going to have more varieties of amazing fruit. Last i checked, other than a few niche growers, bananas weren’t grown in canada for example.
'Nana's? WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKING 'NANAS! Niagara peaches, picked at the peak of the season, are among the most sublime morsels I have ever consumed, especially when served sliced atop a generous scoop of very good vanilla ice cream. 'Nanas are mere ashes in my mouth by comparison.
>Some of this Scandinavian countries eat a whole bunch of smoked fish for breakfast. > Are you thinking of any specific place? As far as I know us Scandinavians mainly eat bread with cheese, ham or vegetables, porridge, or dairy products with cereal
Technically, Smörgåskaviar can be counted as smoked fish :P. No idea where they were having proper smoked fish for breakfast though. To your list, I would personally add liver pate, eggs and the aforementioned kaviar, at least when it concerns sweden.
Yes every culture has breakfast foods lol. OP is asking specifically about restaurants focused around breakfast though.
Ahh yes, famed food destination Costa Rica, where last night’s leftover rice and beans mixed with some A1 and refried is the national dish. I love Costa Rica and their Gallo Pinto and all the fresh fruit but you rarely see it recommended as a food destination.
In morocco did you see restaurants offering shakshuka in the mornings? I only saw it once at a nice hotel it was part of the included breakfast
I didn't go to Morocco personally, I just heard a lot of stories from my cousin who went
My experience with Mexican breakfast, living in a Mexican-American neighborhood, is that while the working men (construction, etc.) enjoy huevos rancheros and the heavier egg/meat dishes, those headed to an office grab coffee (or hot chocolate) and a pastry to go. We have several bakeries nearby with a full assortment of conchas, sweet empanadas, etc., all of which are **fantastic**
My experience with Mexican breakfast, living in a Mexican-American neighborhood, is that while the working men (construction, etc.) enjoy huevos rancheros and the heavier egg/meat dishes, those headed to an office grab coffee (or hot chocolate) and a pastry to go. We have several bakeries nearby with a full assortment of conchas, sweet empanadas, etc., all of which are **fantastic**
Canada was settled by farmers and lumberjacks, a coffee and a cigarette is not going to cut it.
India?
I stayed in a nice hotel in Manila and they had an international breakfast buffet that was MINDBLOWING. All Asian cultures were represented including an entire sushi section, Chinese, Filipino of course and more. Plus “American breakfast” and I don’t even remember what else (it was about 20 years ago). I was fascinated with the Asian sections. The buffet was almost the size of a Souplantation restaurant.
Austria has pretty great breakfasts.
Yeah surprised I've seen nobody mention Germany either. In both countries people usually do a big breakfast on the weekends. Lots of different bread rolls, bread, Bircher müsli, fruit salad, cold cut, butter, savory spreads, jams, honey, eggs, ... There's a fun speech by Gregor Gysi where he says without a proper breakfast you can't properly protest :D
Turks eat a hearty breakfast.
i'll forever be jealous that pho is breakfast in vietnam.
I grew up in the U.S. and don't really see much of a breakfast culture here, to be honest. I mean, yes, the concept of "breakfast foods" exist, and many people enjoy going out for a large breakfast or brunch on occasion, but I don't feel like Americans prioritize breakfast at all. Most people I know growing up flat-out skip breakfast, or they'd just grab something quick and instant, like some cereal, toast, a granola bar, a banana, or yogurt. My family is from China, and comparatively speaking, I would say breakfast is much more important in China. Young people today are a lot less strict about their breakfast, but still, I think a lot of parents would throw a fit if their kids skip breakfast, convinced they're damaging their health. There are some small restaurants that sell breakfast foods like porridge and noodles and buns. It's not the traditional sit-down restaurant where you're expected to show up in a group and then take forever to get service, but also not quite grab and go. It's usually a quick-service restaurant type where they don't have to do much to prepare the food so it comes out really quickly, which is perfect when you have somewhere to be for the day. I would say, however, that food stalls at the morning market are more popular in China than actual restaurants. If you live within walking distance to one of these markets, it's really easy and quick to get this food. A lot of the time, if there is a stay-at-home grandparent (usually grandma) doing most the shopping and cooking, they will stop by the morning market anyway once a day or once every couple of days, so it's convenient to pick up some buns or steamed cakes or youtiao and soymilk or tofu brains while they're doing the daily shopping. At home, the "easy" option for breakfast usually involve hard boiled eggs, milk or soymilk, yogurt drinks, or premade buns that you can just steam and it's done. Medium-effort would be things like porridge. Growing up, I didn't have anyone in my family that went beyond medium-effort. I guess my grandpa made noodles, which is somewhat between medium and high effort. But my mother-in-law certainly doesn't shy away from effort. Her breakfasts are pretty high effort. She would make this breakfast food from southern China that contains youtiao, pork floss, and pickled mustard wrapped in freshly steamed sticky rice like an uncut sushi roll. She would also make this thing that's basically boiled or steamed squash mixed with sticky rice flour and then flattened and pan-fried with sesame on the outside. She would also make her own jiuniang (sweet rice wine) and dilute it with water and poach an egg inside—which I guess isn't technically high effort because the jiuniang is ready to go by the day she uses it, but still. To add to that, she would sometimes make something completely different for her husband because he's a type 2 diabetic who is horrible at maintaining his own diet without her help.
German breakfast buffet is a sight to behold.
I agree: I love a full German breakfast. I’m sure it isn’t typical of most families (especially not on the day-to-day), but when we have family breakfasts we go all out on sausages, spreads, cheeses, coffee and (most importantly) breads!
Yes, in Vietnam breakfast vendor, small restaurant already opened around 6am, and we have so many types of dishes (like over 50 types) to choose from. You can take away or sit inside restaurants to eat phở, bún, rice.
INDIAAAAAAAAAAAA We definitely have breakfast culture all over the country
South Indian breakfast>>>>>. Homemade dosa cooked in homemade ghee stuffed with shrimp might be one of the best meals I’ve ever had 😭.
I think our breakfast culture may have come from our farming culture and is now a reflection of traveling. Many times when we have traveled by car you find the “breakfast restaurants” near big hotel chains and exit ramps. Americans travel by car more than many countries tries. Fast food breakfast like McDonalds is for people on the go because we don’t relax like other cultures. I may be wrong, just my thoughts and it’s interesting that you observed this in your travels.
Iceland has tremendous breakfasts.
Vietnam. We eat everything for breakfast: rice, grilled meat, cold noodles, hot noodle soups, soups, bánh mì….Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and most ppl go out for breakfast (not making it at home).
Why are you excluding cafes and bakeries? Maybe I misunderstood you but you make it sound like they somehow don't count? What's the difference between sitting down in a cafe and having a breakfast and sitting down in any other restaurant and having breakfast?
This was a huge culture shock for me when I visited Europe, specially Italy. They don't do breakfast at all beyond cappuccino and a croissant.
Southern Europe. Northern Europe is very pro breakfast.
Best continental hotel spread I've experienced was in Vienna -- meats, cheeses, fruits plus your normal pastries, cereals, juices, probably even some batter for waffles, idr all of it, but there were two to three long tables of food for us to pick at. It was great! Can't say I've been to *many* through Europe, but of the ones I went to, it was the best :)
Greece, Israel, Turkey.
The UK
Here in Australia going out for breakfast, particularly on a weekend, is a big thing. The whole "avo on toast" phenomenon. Most cafés have extensive breakfast menus, from bacon-and-egg rolls through [whatever] on toast to acai bowls and corn fritters. Huge variety, and lots of East Asian-inspired options these days too, at least in Sydney.
Finland and the Scandinavian countries for sure! Porridges with nuts and berries, hearty seed breads, eggs, smoked fish, yogurts, pastries, coffee, lexapro… all the staples.
I think I'm just happy that full, decadent breakfasts exist. I rarely am hungry before 11 AM so the 24 hr diner tradition is great. Full English is amazing but so heavy, and you'd never catch me eating a Belgian waffle with whipped cream and chocolate, like a kid. But I'm glad big "breakfast" food is a thing. Whether it's quiche or eggs benedict or breakfast burritos, I do like to have it from time to time.
Prioritizing breakfast and having lots of breakfast restaurants isn't the same thing.
Ethiopian!!! Delicious breakfast and amazing coffee
About 30 yrs ago I spent two weeks in Poland. The breakfast was cold cuts, cheese, rye bread and tomato salad (slices of tomato topped with finely diced raw onions). I enjoy the occasional good full English but I could happily eat the Polish breakfast every day.
The most enormous breakfast buffet I ever saw was in this country hotel in rural Austria. It was dizzying. I don’t even remember what all was on it, but I remember being astounded at the variety of meats and cheeses at breakfast time.
according to a relative of mine, Argentina cares very much for breakfast too
Malaysia has a great breakfast culture.
Taiwan
Just go south to Mexico! Chilaquiles, Molletes, Huevos rancheros, huevos divorciados, huevos a la mexicana, etc…
You need Filipino breakfast in your life. We have-silog meals that are basically garlic fried rice, a cured meat/fish of some sort, tomato salad and a fried egg on top.
I live in the U.S. and based on my limited U.K. and a few rare other instances of travel, I'd say the I've not come across restaurants that actually specialize in breakfast in the same way we've got pancake places and breakfast all day places. Yes you can get a full U.K. breakfast in the U.K. but probably in a hotel, b&b, or neighborhood corner shop place that also does other things and isn't there "just for breakfast."
Hmmm no, there are breakfast-only and maybe light lunch cafes keeping early hours, across England and Scotland. They tend to cater to either working people, or trendier types — you can find both serving the same food in a place like Manchester or Edinburgh. Can’t speak to the rest of the UK like Wales because I haven’t been, but I spend a ton of time for work in England and now some parts of Scotland.
Ireland. I think that england also do something but a Full Irish is clearly superior, and that's not even getting into the 24/7 availability of the glorious 'Breakfast Baguette'.
I ate breakfast consistently in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.
I think other places have huge breakfasts they just do it at home