Breakfast in... Asia

The breakfast in Asia is very connected with the Asian lifestyle, as all other meals. Unlike the African breakfast, a typical Asian breakfast shares far less similarities with the European and American breakfast. Rice is infallible part of an Asian breakfast in most areas in Asia, however stuff like fermented cabbage also have big role in an Asian breakfast.

• Afghanistan. A typical breakfast would be omelette or boiled eggs, cake or biscuits, buttered toast, rice with koft'a (meat) or sabzi (vagetable). Drinks include black tea, orqaimaaq chai (green tea with milk and rose essence or cardamom seeds).

• Cambodia. In Cambodia, rice congee (babaw) is widely eaten for breakfast. Plain congee is typically eaten with salted eggs, pickled vegetables, or dried fish. Chicken congee, pig's blood congee, and seafood congee are also commonly eaten. Cambodians also enjoy rice served with sliced pork or chicken with pickled vegetables or a noodle dish (usually a noodle soup called khtieau). Caw (a pork or fish soup dish made with caramelized sugar) is also eaten with congee or rice for breakfast.

• Korea. In South Korea breakfast contains rice, soup, several kinds of 'namul' or seasoned vegetables, kimchi (fermented, pickled vegetables), and grilled meat or fish. Traditionally, food eaten in the morning does not differ substantially from the other meals of the day, though the number of dishes is fewer. Today, however, people are more likely to eat Western-style breakfasts similar to those in the United States.

• Laos. In Laos, it is customary to eat soup for breakfast, as well as congee.

• Nepal. Breakfast contains bread, soup, vegetables and chappati called puri tarkari. Tea and milk are part of the daily breakfast routine, along with satu (powder of corn) or 'chiura' (beaten rice) etc. Dal, bhat and tarkari are the famous staple foods of Nepal.

• Hong Kong.Traditional Chinese breakfasts in Hong Kong follow those in Canton. Also found are local interpretations of English breakfast and eastern Chinese breakfast fare. The long periods of British colonial rule and the influx of many refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai around the end of the Chinese Civil War changed eating habits. In Hong Kong, 'cha chaan teng' breakfasts might consist of Hong Kong-style milk tea, coffee, or 'yuen yeung', served with bread, ham, and fried eggs, and a bowl of macaroni soup with ham. The Taiwanese regard this local interpretation of the English breakfast as unique to Hong Kong. In upscale restaurants or hotels, however, standard English and Continental breakfasts are served.
• • Sri Lanka. The traditional breakfast includes usually fresh roti, pittu, string hoppers, hoppers, milk rice, appa, green gram or bread . These are usually eaten with sambol (coconut, maldive fish or seeni-onion fried with chili and sugar),with jaggery, plantains or curry (fish, meat or vegetable). Noodles and cereals such as cornflakes are relative newcomers in main cities. Sri Lankans also have a traditional soup-like drink called kanda. A typical everyday breakfast can simply consist of "brother bread" with dhal curry, sambol, butter and cheese or jam, plantain banana and tea.
  • Taiwan. The influx of mainland Chinese to the Taiwan Province in 1949 after the end of the Chinese Civil War changed breakfast habits. Breakfasts tend to be a mix of northern and eastern Chinese dishes and the traditional southeastern Chinese fare. This is more pronounced in cities with high proportions of people of mainland Han Chinese descent, such as Taipei. A typical Taiwan breakfast consists of 'you tiao' (a fried breadstick), dou jiang (a warm, savory soybean soup), and sao bing (a crispy scallion pancakes). The you tiao is dipped in the dou jiang, similar to how bread is dipped in soup.
  • Thailand. In the case of Thailand, a variety of different foods are served for breakfast since the country has opened to the eating cultures from many countries. Thai-Chinese people typically have 'congee/jook', boil-rice with fishes, pickles, dried shredded pork; dim-sum is also popular in some provinces, particularly in the south of Thailand. During rush hours in big cities, particularly Bangkok, people would have a fast and simple Western style breakfast, for example, bread, cornflakes, omelet, coffee and milk. Street eateries in Bangkok offer a wide range of food, such as sandwiches, grilled or fried pork with sticky rice, noodles, rice and Thai curries. Since there are so many kinds of food for breakfast, Thai people usually say that they would eat whatever they want for their breakfast.