The Charm of the Breakfast at B&Bs

Staying at top-rated inns in New England is always a treat. When done well, it's obvious inn owners pour a huge amount of time to ensure their inn is welcoming, clean and suitable chintzy. From lacy doilies on all surfaces to blooms in the garden, a delicious full breakfast is an important component to the whole experience. The Atlantean Inn in Bar Harbor certainly earns and deserves its No. 1 ranking on Tripadvisor.

We stayed at the Atlantean for two nights in June and loved the butler's pantry where we helped ourselves to tea and home-made cookies with frequency. The front door is never locked - apparently, Bar Harbor is that kind of town! We even got to keep our branded green recyclable water bottles (Bar Harbor is a stepping stone to Acadia National Park).

Typically, the owner or one of the owners will be an excellent cook especially of breakfast entrees. At the Atlantean, Gary was the chef and the menu consisted of a fruit appetizer followed by a cooked entree. On the first morning, we were treated to pears with creme fraiche, followed by the lauded pineapple upside-down french toast. The french toast looked incredible with the pineapple adding a great deal of sweetness.

Presentation and fine bone china is key

Two rings of french toast

Our breakfast on the second morning was not quite as successful. A perfectly good yogurt parfait started the proceedings followed by an oddly-spiced vegetable frittata with berry compote. I love savory breakfasts but the addition of curry and cumin in an over-cooked frittata did not quite do the trick. Fortunately, there were baked muffins on the sideboard to fill us up for the 7 hour journey to Quebec City.

Yogurt Parfait

Curry-flavored frittata

Bonus picture - here is one of The Atlantean Inn

The front door is never locked!

Daily breakfast in Singapore

The joys of being in Asia! Why stick to bagels and yogurt when you can have noodles in broth for breakfast? And being in Singapore, the local broth variations presented comforting laksa, mee siam and mee rebus.

For one week in November while on a work trip, I skipped the overpriced hotel breakfast and found Toastbox - a local chain serving affordable breakfast to the local office crowd. Toastbox has a pleasing European-style décor, shabby chic with a white-washed color palette. However, the menu is local Singapore style! While you could  have toast including the local specialty Kaya Toast (toast with very sweet coconut jam and butter), it was the presence of laksa, mee siam and mee rebus on the menu that had me salivating. Although, I'm sure there are better versions of these dishes at the hawker stalls, you can't beat Toastbox for convenience as many are located in the shopping malls and office buildings.

Each morning, I tried something different. The mee rebus on my first morning was incredible. Coming from chilly Boston, my body was hardly adapting to humid and hot Singapore. And tackling a spicy mee rebus - let's just say I kicked my sweat pores into working overtime.

One morning, I tried the kaya toast - it was way too sweet for me. Another morning, I tried a variation whereby you dipped it in the soft boiled egg. I loved the laksa - the chefs had thoughtfully used "Mee Tai Bak" or silver needle noodles in the laksa which minimizes the chance of stains on your clothes through noodle-slurping.

These Singapore breakfast staples sure puts my usual greek yogurt breakfast to shame!

Mee rebus - spicy and sweet yellow egg noodles with fried shallots, cilantro, firm tofu, egg, green chillies, beansprouts and lime wedge.

Gorgeous seafood curry laksa - with tofu puffs, egg, shrimp, fish cake and silver needle noodles (mee tai bak)



Mee siam - spicy, sweet and tangy rice vermicelli with egg, chives, beansprouts and lime wedges.



Kaya Toast - way too sweet for me. You can also dip it in the soft boiled egg.



One More...

Couldn't resist! Breakfast was buttery scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, bacon, tomatoes and some blackberries (random I know). Next time, I'm buying a smaller pack of smoked salmon...

Food in Japan

Have I told you how much I love Japanese food? The food is always presented so artistically which makes it all the more appetizing. Even the dishes are carefully chosen for their colour and shape to match the food. To my left is one of the best breakfasts I've ever had - the Japanese breakfast at Benesse Island in Shikoku. It's the usual miso soup/fish and rice combo but there's also egg and other lovely dishes. Below is one of the best sashimi platters I've ever had - at a ryokan in Miyajima. The sashimi was the appetizer, there were plenty of main courses as well such as hotpot, tofu etc. The portions are usually modest in Japan but that was one meal where I was totally stuffed...