Monday, March 16, 2009

Breakfasts for the not quite a champion

It wasn't a plan of any kind, but perhaps seeing a great post about hearty provincial breakfasts made me yearn for something more hearty and filling than a cracker and Yakult (which has been my go to, I'm starving at 9 am, and forgot to eat something again, and my eyes are starting to roll in the back of my head because I forgot to eat...). Friday morning, I left home early to avoid traffic which meant hours twiddling my fingers, or doing something a bit more productive like checking emails at a nearby cafe with good breakies. Apartment 1B has become a good place to eat and meet friends and write, a cosy neighborhood nook full of great tastes and smells. I normally order eggs benedict when I'm there, but I decided to think about what I really wanted to eat as I scanned the menu. And there it was, waffles. With a side of bacon please. Blood pressure be damned. It was a great choice, the mini-wells in the waffles captured more of the maple syrup and the bacon, oh, how I wish I could have more of that bacon. Crispy. Shatteringly crispy. And not runty bacons. No, these were long streaks of bacon, a long pig sacrificed itself for those three strips. Worthy of those four wedges of maple dressed waffles. And a hot chocolate.

Saturday, I had oatmeal.

Sunday was originally scheduled for a quick trip to the Lung Center where I'd mosey around the fruits and vegetables but seriously thinking only about hot bibingka, but catching up on a lack of sleep meant foregoing the early rise and redirecting myself towards Cubao where I spontaneously chose Cafe Adriatico over Krispy Kreme. And running down the list of breakfasts on the menu, I thought the Fisherman's breakfast seemed a healthier choice than the litany of porky items, and other tasty sundries. The Fishermen who eat at CA will enjoy a large serving of "smoked sardines" ie tuyo, with munggo topped with chicharon, a red egg and tomato salad, saba bananas cooked in sugar, and coffee or tea. What I didn't know was that their munggo had a secret healthy ingredient - ampalaya! Argh. Would I manage to eat the bitter fruit on a Sunday, and in the morning at that? I recalled the early years when I was told to eat my ampalaya because it was good for me; I'd cut them into the tiniest strips imaginable to avoid eating them, because dicing them up and moving them around the plate made them seem to disappear in a child's logical frame of mind. I paused for awhile looking at the scalloped crescents of green, hard to miss those for sure. I could spoon the munggo and the chicharon and leave the slices piled up in the bowl... nah. Thankfully they were not too bitter, and worked admirably well with the smoked sardines (Tuyo! they're called tuyo, Cafe Adriatico menu writers!). And it made me feel like I was eating a lot healthier than I would have if I had given in to my wishes for tapa, or KK next door.

Another early morning wake up call today, and I wandered around Makati thinking where to wait before going to the doctor? I popped into a health food cafe in RCBC building and ordered the Power Breakfast combination of muesli with vegetable omelet, which comes with a plate of fresh fruit and tea/coffee. Not a bad deal and the omelet was just the right size, with a large bowl of muesli and truly fresh fruit (the mangoes were perfectly sweet). I think I prefer the cafe's set over what gets served downstairs at Deli France. Plus I had the place all to myself!

What breakfasts will I turn to next? I still have lots of crackers and yakult though...

2 comments:

Katrina said...

Oooh...must go back to Apt. 1B for brunch. I've only gone once for that meal, and there are so many other options I have to try.

Is the resto you went to in RCBC Piquant? We like that place, and as F has a clinic in that building, he often eats there.

Bacon.....

Watergirl said...

Yes, Piquant! Snotty waiter though who eventually warmed up as I kept pestering him for water, more tea, blah blah

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