Vegemite polenta soldiers

A classic, Aussie breakfast of Vegemite toast soldiers taken to all new heights.  Kim had the brilliant idea of setting a layer of vegemite in polenta.  He let it set, cut it into soldiers and fried it.  Top off the decadence with a fine micro-planing of cheese and dip into free-range soft boiled eggs.  

Heaven!  

Holy mushrooms, breakfast at Kiosko Universal, La Boqueria Barcelona

Holy mushrooms, this lone platter of giant mushrooms on the counter at Kiosko Universal made our decision of breakfast on this morning an easy one.



We'll have those, sautéed, with a few eggs. Oh sure, throw some fried potatoes in there too!



All we need is a few slices of pan con tomate which are sitting on the counter and we are good to go.



Not a bad choice at all for a quick breakfast before taking to the streets, it's on the top end of the boqueria a few blocks over from Pinotxo bar.



Mercat Sant Josep, PUESTO 691
08002 Barcelona, Spain
933 178 286


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Mmmmmm, simple breakfast.

Stopped by the view plaza and picked up some free range eggs and fresh picked asparagus for a simple but oh so delicious breakfast. Life is good.

Breakfast at Cyan, the Met., Bangkok

We try to always find a few nights to stay at the Metropolitan hotel in Bangkok. It's one of our favorites! And having the amazing brother team of Daniel and Shannon Moran working downstairs in the kitchen was always a bit of a drawing card ..... The brothers have both moved onto Parrot Cay now, also a COMO property Kim and I have worked at. Good luck guys! Anyway, the first of a few posts at the Met., our first meal was breakfast at Cyan.

The buffet is an amazing spread, but we start with coffee and fresh juice which is bought to our table before heading over. First up, fresh tropical fruits, including mango, pomello, watermelon & pineapple;



Then the little iced cups of yoghurt and fruit, fruit salad or little bircher muesli cups;



There's also the house made toasted muesli and choice of milk;



The cold cuts include ham, smoked salmon, avocado, sliced tomato and a few cheeses;



Fresh baked pastries, muffins, breads & croissants;



5 varieties of fresh baked bread along with 8 home made spreads, including strawberry, watermelon and pineapple jams, marmalade, peanut butter passionfruit curd and chocolate hazelnut spread.



The buffet spread is all amazing, between the two of us we manage to sample a little of just about everything.

But then we also get to choose one item off the al a carte menu. I select the big breakfast. The scrambled eggs are so creamy, and delicately folded, with pork sausage, roast tomato, mushroom, bacon and potato cake. All delicious, all be it very filling ....



Kim selects the poached egg on a giant home-made fluffy English muffin with roast tomato, sauteed spinach and hollandaise sauce. The hollandaise has been gratinated to a perfect bubbly golden.



We both appreciate a great breakfast, and this has to be one of the finest examples !!

Cyan Restaurant
the Metropolitan Hotel
27 South Sathorn Road
Tungmahamek
Sathorn
Bangkok 10120
Thailand

Tiny Shop, Big Ramen

It's cold..... really cold and the wind is bitter, whipping around us and we've been standing here for 20 minutes. Here is out side a tiny six seat ramen restaurant etched into a corner of building opposite Bic Camera in Sapporo and every second we wait in the out in the cold my hope that what's on offer inside is worth it grows. Having seen this place on several occasions and wondered what sort of building planner allows a two meter indent in the corner of their building for a possible shop?




We had thought we had arrived bang on twelve, yet as we peeped through the doors there were six butts on six chairs so the waiting had begun.

Finally seconds before we succumb to frost bite and hypothermia a space clears and we're in.



There's just the six stools at a bar and a kitchen barely big enough to stand still in and one guy doing the cooking then walking the two feet to do the serving.



Kat opts for the spicy ramen and I'm always a sucker for roast pork with soft egg. With the kitchen within touching distance we can see every move, for Kats spicy ramen the pork, chili, beansprouts and bamboo are stir-fried before the stock is added and the lot poured over the noodles. The result a spicy broth with a good kick piled high with goodies. Mine comes loaded with pork a great soft egg and a sheet of toasted nori tucked into one side.



After both ramen are slurped down enthusiastically it's tempting to just sit and enjoy being warm and content but our memory of standing outside in the queue is still fresh and others are outside needing a break from the icy breath of Siberia, so very reluctantly we move on. The next time we come here it's going to be in summer, good ramen or no, really cold is really freakin cold.

Pomme-no-ki Omu Rice, Sapporo

Okay we've had omu rice before, it's stir-fried rice wrapped inside an omelet, no biggie, good for some home cooked style when you need it... Kinda. What we found is it's another example of how different the Japan exported to the world is from the Japan in Japan. Standing outside Pomme-no-ki in the JR Tower above Sapporo station we're transfixed by the dozens of variations of omu rice. There's so many we still haven't decided as we drift along in the small queue and pop out at the head. Seated and faced with an expectant waitress we make our choices, Kat - Kim chi and onsen egg with butter and bacon rice (you even have a choice on the type of fried rice....amazing), M1 - butter bacon rice with Japanese curry sauce, and I go for tomato rice gratinated in a cream sauce. You even get to choose SS - 2 eggs, S - 3 eggs, M - 4 eggs or the mammoth L - 6 eggs. We all settle for the M.

When the omelette's arrive I once again give props to the plastic food people whose models could have been sitting in front of us or maybe it should be to the kitchen for presenting exactly what they have promised not minus one detail.

My rice sitting in a small bowl is swimming in a lava hot cheese/cream sauce, once the molten bubbling has subsided it's actually really Moorish and a good breakfast in my book.



M1's is with the Japanese curry sauce. The rice and omelet are good but the Japanese curry is perhaps an acquired taste.

Kat's come out with the winner on the day, the plate is picture (in fact several) pretty, laced with kewpie piled with kim chi and topped with the onsen egg. We marveled at the soft white and hard yolk (done by cooking at low temperature), the kim chee had just the right bite and went well with the bacon rice.



We seem to be a source of constant amusement to M1 as we walk through japan with our I guess, child like wonder and amazement at every thing, dragging him in to look and eat things that must seem so normal. But isn't that one of the joys of travel?



Pomme-no-ki
Top floor
JR Tower
Sapporo