For me, one of the most exciting things about traveling is the different foods you can enjoy, and, more specifically, the different breakfasts that you can experience. International hotels will almost always offer a standard meal of toast and cereals, but, if you’re lucky, this will often be served alongside more traditional fare. Here are a few breakfasts from around the world:
Wales- Laverbread and cockles
Laverbread is a type of edible seaweed that can be found on the rocks of the ever nearby coastline in Wales. Cockles are a kind of mollusk and are most often served fried.
Spain- Churros con Chocolate
Churros are a kind of long, thick doughnut that is often served with hot chocolate (for dipping purposes).
Russia- Buckwheat Porridge
This porridge is called “kasha” and is usually made of buckwheat and topped with sour cream
Japan- asa-gohan
The literal translation for “asa gohan” is ‘morning rice’. This platter also consists of the very colorful pickled ume fruits, which are meant to be really good for balancing the digestive system.
Vietnam- Xoi
Xoi is a kind of sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves that is eaten all throughout rural Vietnam for breakfast.
Turkey- A bit of everything!
Breakfast is a real feast in Turkey. This platter features olives, feta, and Havarti cheese, grape leaf dolmas, tomato, cucumber, and hard-boiled egg, side by side with pastries, fresh bread, and coffee.
Thanks to (in order of images) Mikey Swales…fish related tales, nette1274, sweetbeatandgreenbean, gbSK, mckaysavage and jhritz
Asia
China
When it comes to the Chinese breakfast, the sheer number of regional variations can be intimidating; but regardless of where you are, the steamer is an essential tool. For chawanmushi, eggs are beaten with chicken broth, soy, and sake then steamed until silky, while buns are filled with barbecued pork before hitting the steamer. A typical Shanghai breakfast is youtiao, a deep-fried doughnut shaped like a hot dog; Taiwanese fritters and sesame-seed cakes come wrapped in paper and are to be eaten with your fingers. Dim sum, a hallmark of Cantonese cuisine, always includes shu mai dumplings. It’s considered more “modern” to eat congee with a ceramic spoon rather than slurped from a bowl; one of the most unusual condiments for this rice porridge is “century eggs” that have been “cooked” in an alkaline mix of clay, ash, lime, and salt.
Japan
The classic bento box meal includes miso soup, grilled fish, a rolled omelet, rice, Japanese pickles, and green tea. You may scoop squares of tofu with a metal utensil that looks like a miniature gardening tool, and sheets of nori (seaweed) stay crisp in sheer tissue packaging.
Korea
The palate-awakening sensation of kimchi starts early when it’s served alongside porridge with shredded chicken or various soups made with dried pollack, beef ribs, or seaweed.
Vietnam
The centerpiece here is pho, the fragrant (and nearly impossible to pronounce) noodle soup with star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and basil. A spicier variation is bun bo hue, with lemongrass, banana blossoms, shrimp paste, and—wait for it—chiles. Locals also favor banh mi sandwiches: baguettes filled with various meats, meatballs, and pâtés. Vietnamese coffee is high-octane, mixed with sweetened condensed milk, and often poured over ice.
Thailand
Rice noodles (flatter and wider than those in pad thai) appear with mouth-tingling condiments such as fresh or preserved chiles in vinegar. In Bangkok, jasmine rice is boiled as Khao tom or fried as Khao pat, with shrimp, pork, or chicken.
Indonesia and Malaysia
The morning meal in Bali, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur reflects the hegemony of rice. Variations include nasi goreng (fried rice with prawns, chicken, and egg), nasi lemak (coconut-infused rice with crisp anchovies), and bubur ayam (rice porridge with chicken, egg, and shallots). For the sweet tooth, there’s pisang goreng (banana fritters with palm sugar).
Singapore
Another soup-for-breakfast culture, with offerings that include floating fish balls or wontons. Tau suan (mung-bean soup) topped with slices of fried dough is a morning dessert. Toast is slathered with kaya, a coconut-egg jam that may be shockingly green from the addition of vanilla-scented pandan leaves.
India
Traditional South Indian breakfast means masala dosa (lacy crêpes filled with spiced potato and turmeric), idli (steamed lentil dumplings), and sambar, a tamarind-scented vegetarian soup. In Mumbai, you’ll find pohe (beaten rice flakes with aromatic spices); in Goa, egg curry; and in Rajasthan, puffy kachoris stuffed with beans or lentils, then fried in hot oil and served with assorted chutneys such as mint or coriander. The legendary bread of India include fluffy puris, flaky parathas, and soft buns called pao bhaji, served with a vegetable curry. The drink of choice is yogurt lassi, either sweet or salted.
Europe
Great Britain and Ireland
If you’re feeling adventurous, the British Isles may be the ticket. Irish black pudding is made of curdled and boiled pig’s blood, mixed with chunks of pork fat and stuffed into a sausage casing. The Scots have an equally formidable tradition: haggis—sheep’s liver, heart, and lungs mixed with oatmeal and suet, then simmered in the sheep’s intestines. Tamer palates might prefer the classic English breakfast, with eggs, bangers (sausages) or streaky bacon, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It’s often called a fry-up for good reason: just about everything on the plate is fried, including the toast. The Brits may add baked beans or bubble and squeak (potatoes mashed with cabbage).
Scandinavia
Filmjölk tastes something like a peace accord between sour cream and buttermilk, but it’s eaten like yogurt, in a bowl with cereal. The champion of the Nordic bread basket is knäckebröd, or crispbread, and Swedes start the day with fish roe (smoked or not), made into a spreadable paste with mashed potatoes, according to a centuries-old recipe (also sold in tubes by IKEA stores all over the world).
Central Europe
The Czech “Bohemian” breakfast (similar to those in Austria and Hungary) may include cold cuts, terrines, and hermelin, a soft cheese sometimes pickled with oil and herbs. If you’re lucky, you’ll find palacinka, the local version of crêpes.
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