Breakfast.

Some people call it the most important meal of the day. Some relish “breakfast” for dinner. And there’s no denying that breakfasts are an important fuel for a day of sightseeing! Here are some of our favorites from around the globe: 

Bangkok, Thailand

This is Lauren’s #1 destination for breakfast, no matter which hotel! You know why? Thai food. That’s right, pad thai for breakfast, pad woon sen for breakfast, pad see ew for breakfast. For as much whinging as I do about carbohydrate-heavy breakfasts, you won’t see me complaining if it comes in noodle form. This photo below is a good example; every time we stay at Wendy House in Bangkok (when it’s just the two of us, as it’s a tiny, inexpensive hotel), my mornings are filled with Thai noodles, housemade yogurt, pineapple, and if I’m lucky, some blue butterfly pea juice!

Maldives

Tuna for breakfast–WAIT, don’t leave yet! Mas Huni is an unexpectedly delightful combination of finely chopped tuna, fresh coconut meat, and onions, served with fresh, warm roshi (like a thin flour tortilla).

There are some wonderful variations on it (including some tasty vegan variations if you just can’t wrap your brain around the idea of fish before noon).  We love mas huni so much that we wrote an entire blog about it right here. 

Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh, India

Sometimes ambiance and taste come together to form the most ideal breakfast in the place you’d least expect it, like the prayer hall of a Buddhist monastery. About 30 minutes into morning prayers, butter tea is served inside the prayer hall at Thiksey Monastery (modeled here by our friend Stanzin); butter tea is, in fact, black tea, butter, and salt. Shortly thereafter a barley flour called “tsampa” is offered, and the monks will mix it together like a porridge. It’s warming, it’s absolutely delicious, and I can never quite tell if it’s the butter tea & tsampa or the chanting that literally has me buzzing!

Myanmar (Burma)

The lack of Burmese restaurants around the world is such a loss, as Burmese food is delicious! BJ adores the traditional breakfast of mohinga, a fish & rice noodle stew that seems to be prepared differently by everyone in the country! I’m not such a fan of fish before noon, so my go-to in Yangon is the spicy “samosa salad” at Lucky 7 teahouse. It’s really just broken apart vegetarian samosas in a rich broth, topped with fresh herbs and onions. Spicy breakfasts are a great way to start the day! (From L to R, the samosa salad, mohinga in Ngapali Beach (broth served on side), and mohinga at Lucky 7).

Puri Mas Boutique Resort & Spa in Lombok, Indonesia

This oceanfront hotel is a staple on our trips to Lombok, the island just east of Bali in Indonesia. Now, we don’t bring our guests there only for the hashbrowns, they certainly don’t hurt! Puri Mas offers a huge (!) selection for breakfast, all cooked to order and delivered to your table. More than the crispy hashbrowns, though, this breakfast is all about the scenery. Your table is set up against the Lombok Strait, looking out onto Bali and conical Mt. Agung in the distance. I must have always been too distracted by the hashbrowns to take a photo (!) so here is a photo of the same view at sunset.

“Las Fuentes” tacos, Zapopan (Guadalajara), Mexico

We talk about these tacos at least once a week, every week, without fail. When we stay with our dear friend in Guadalajara, a 15-minute walk takes us to this simple stand that serves one thing: slow-cooked beef tacos (barbacoa). I quickly got into my routine of adding raw onions, charred peppers, lime, and always (!) too much hot salsa. This shop is only open for breakfast and lunch, and it’s a good thing or we would have returned for dinner every night. (Spoiler alert: a different taco stand opens in the same area at night, and we did, in fact, return). In lieu of coffee, I sometimes opted for a sugar high in the form of some top-notch horchata (a cold, cinnamony rice milk drink).

Breakfast at the Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Sometimes it’s not about the food so much as the ambiance, especially when you’re on the 122nd floor of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. We had a special breakfast at At. mosphere, the highest restaurant in the world. We sat above the clouds and fog for some time before they parted and unveiled the metropolis beneath us.

The breakfast itself was fine; BJ got fried eggs and I’m sure I got something truffled and lobstered because, when in Rome, right? We justified the splurge because we were there on the 5th anniversary of our move out of the U.S. in order to focus full-time on building itineraries. Little did we know we’d get an “anniversary” chocolate cake for breakfast!

Extremely Honorable Mentions

All breakfasts in Egypt and Jordan

Hummus and falafel for breakfast will always be welcome.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Despite being so very bread-heavy (as many former French-occupied areas tend to be), the fresh goat cheese and limitless olives make breakfasts in this blue city a real treat.

Roseate House Hotel, New Delhi, India

Not to sound like Stefon from Saturday Night Live, but this breakfast buffet has everything: brie, caperberry-stuffed olives, half a dozen exotic homemade jams, and a vegetarian sushi bar. And coffee that’s not instant! After spending months in Ladakh eating almost the same thing for every single meal, this is always a nice treat to come back to in Delhi.

Hanoi, Vietnam

Pho for breakfast isn’t even the best part. You know what is? VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE.