Breakfasts around the world

Ahhhh winter’s here. Although I’m seriously missing the long summer days, winter has always allowed me this special time to re-discover the joys of a slower daily pace. The freezing early mornings are ironically a wonderful time to get the blood running with a workout. It means a late breakfast which tends to come in the form of a brunch. 

I’m not usually a brunch kind or person, but lately it’s one of those meals I associate with self-care and re-connecting with friends. Having a cup of coffee is an indulgence for me these days, and even more so, a sit-down, social meal. I usually order something I wouldn’t normally make myself. I have to admit, I’m also missing food from my home country. In the mornings, we’d have garlic fried rice, cured beef (tapa), fried egg, fresh tomatoes and cucumber slices. I was daydreaming about food from home when I caught up with friends recently. One of them is originally from France and she told me how breakfasts for them tend to be sweet. A Canadian friend talked about morning meals of eggs, bacon, and toast. All this talk made me miss travelling internationally. So, instead of looking up places to go for a holiday one day, I looked up what breakfasts would consist of in different countries. My friends and I thought we could try and do a fortnightly brunch catch-up, but instead of our usual, we’d try and make some of these meals below. 

• Taiwan: Jianbing. In Taiwan, they’d make a fried pancake, similar to a crepe, made of different ingredients from ham to eggs, soybeans, and so on.
• Costa Rica: Gallo Pinto. Rice and beans are cooked separately and then combined to make this breakfast dish. It’s also served with fried egg and plantain.
• Cuba: Tostada. Think of a grilled cheese sandwich served with a hot flat white, yum.
• Netherlands: Hagelslag on bread. Any guesses on what Hagelslag is? It’s candy sprinkles. So it’s very much like fairy bread.
• Venezuela: Cachapas. They are sweet corn pancakes, folded in half and filled with a soft, mozzarella-like cheese.
• Tunisia: Lablani. A hearty chickpea soup that is served with poached eggs. Perfect for those chilly winter mornings.
• Italy: Cappuccino and cornetto. A cornetto is a sweet pastry and a typical Italian breakfast like this is normally consumed quickly, right in the hustle and bustle of a busy weekday morning

Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland