Tag: market

Forget dinner – why breakfast will make your best travel memories

A steaming, fragrant bowl of pho on the rooftop of a fancy Ho Chi Minh hotel takes me back to my 30th birthday celebrations and a week of eating and meandering.

I had wanted to get away and treat myself to a (short) stay in a resort. The first stop was Rex Hotel, which served an intoxicating buffet of tropical fruit and pho cooked fresh on the top floor balcony, the sounds of the street below adding to the atmosphere.

It’s memories of breakfasts like these that pop up for me more often than some fancy dinner I might have had during my travels. Perhaps because breakfast comes with a more distinctive experience than sitting in another packed restaurant drinking overpriced cocktails.

Forget Michelin-star restaurants for dinners where you have to book months in advance or jostle with everyone else to get a seat in the piazza for overpriced Italian.

I think breakfast is the highlight meal when traveling – it’s cheaper, easier to get, and you can still get some great local food.

Or maybe it’s just because breakfast is my favourite meal.

_{Photo by Hong Anh Duong on Unsplash}.

The perfect time of day

When traveling you eat breakfast in a more leisurely way (unless you’re racing off to grab a sun lounge on the beach). You’ve got time to sit, look over the water and slowly wake up with your third espresso.

Breakfast is much more civilized – you’re not drained from a big day, hot and sunburnt, and four wines in. You’ve got the whole day ahead of you. And there’s something about the early morning hours that makes people more relaxed and friendly.

Breakfast can easily lapse into brunch or lunch territory, especially if you’re saving money and going for two meals a day instead. A plate of crepes, or a picnic gathered from the local market – bread, cheese, fruit, pastries while you lazily people-watch and soak up your surroundings.

Cheap as

With Australians spending an average of $5,000 for a holiday, forking out less for meals might also be a necessity. But instead of depriving yourself of a meal out each day, just change the time of it and automatically save.

You can’t go past a biscotti or pastry with a coffee for a few euros in many European cities, picked up at the local bakery or cafe and enjoyed in-house, the smells of soft warm pastry and sweetness all around you.

Or a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon will fuel a day exploring New York’s five boroughs.

And don’t discount hotel or hostel breakfasts either — there’s nothing more satisfying than filling up on cheese, salami, and bread in Geneva, or olives, cucumber, eggs and cheese in Turkey all-inclusive.

_{Photo by Josh Withers on Unsplash.}

A truly local experience

We might not think of breakfast as having much variety – we are so used to toast, cereal or maybe stretching to a green smoothie. Many countries have unique breakfast dishes that you won’t find anywhere else.

Instead of heading to a restaurant to check out the local fare, there’s no reason why you can’t get the same taste of what a country has to offer from a humble breakfast dish.

In Bali, it could be nasi goreng, and a platter of dragon fruit, pineapple and star fruit.

Or a plate of huevos rancheros in Mexico — a dish of eggs served with beans, tortillas, and salsa. Or try the breakfast taco (yes, there are dedicated ones for each meal) with ground mince and white beans.

Grabbing something from a local street vendor while having a leisurely stroll through city streets can be wonderfully satisfying. Spicy lamb wrapped in soft warm bread in Istanbul or freshly baked Koulouri in Greece.

Making memories

It was in a far less tropical environment where I had another memorable breakfast. My friends and I had been looking forward all week to a breakfast we’d seen advertised at the local diner in a slightly seedy part of downtown Toronto.

We really wanted to end our visit by overeating in true North American style, spending $10 each for plates piled high with bacon, eggs, hash browns, and pancakes which had to be brought out on separate plates.

It was deliciously over the top and I can still remember that breakfast nearly 10 years on.

So next time you’re planning a trip, make sure to prioritise breakfast. As the saying goes,

‘Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper”.

October 29, 2023
If you visit one place in Italy for the food, make it Florence

It’s not hard to see why Florence is a fav destination for many. The place is romantic, filled with history and culture, and also serves up some of Italy’s best food. But you can all too easily fall into the trap of overspending on sub-standard fare if you stick to the haunts around the Piazza del Duomo. Instead, join the locals here:

Florence offers an abundance of deliciousness.

Mario’s

Only open for lunch, this small restaurant offers mouth-watering and satisfying meals that’ll have you salivating for days. Arrive at 11.45am so you can get a table and peruse the menu outside. You can practice your patchy Italian here but all you pretty much need to know is that you’ll get the ravioli and ribollita for starters. And then choose your meat options for the main – a large, juicy, salt-and-butter crusted pork chop, or if you dare, share the city’s famed T-bone steak between two. Order a side, throw in a glass of Chianti for a few euros and that’s your breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted.

Florence’s Subway.

All’Antico Vinaio

Florence’s answer to Subway but about 10 times better. Be prepared for a fast-moving line and know what you want. Choose from the list, or create your own such as prosciutto, sheep’s cheese, eggplant, tomato and tapenade. Squished between slides of warm crusty focaccia bread, these 5 Euro babies will keep you full for hours. Best eaten with a bottle of Chianti poured into plastic cups sitting in the gutter – or for somewhere more classy, take away down to the River Arno.

Central Market

You really could eat every meal here. From 10am start the day with an espresso and a sweet flaky (and cheap!) Italian pastry. Then buy the makings of a picnic lunch – but be warned it may take you a few hours to peruse all the cheese on offer. Add some prosciutto, tomato tasting tomatoes, blood red oranges and some biscotti for afterwards. Still hungry later on? Head upstairs to the large food court with offerings such as fried and grilled seafood, burgers, more T-bone steak, pasta, pizza, and so much more. Grab a beverage from one of the bars and happily feed your face while you people watch.

Vivoli

You can’t visit Italy and not eat gelato. There’s no shortage of gelatarias in Florence, full of mouth-watering mounds of gelato but why not go to the best and original? It’s worth seeking out for the pear and cameral, bacio, mango… well pretty much every flavour under the hot Tuscan sun.

Where have you eaten in Florence? Any recommendations?

July 16, 2016
Living like a local: 4 ways to immerse yourself while on holiday

During a recent trip to Europe, my partner and I played the game of ‘could I live here?’ While the thinking was a pie in the sky, we were asking it while doing things that the locals were doing.

Although we saw the sights, paid too much, lined up, and took selfies, we also took our cues from residents and took time to embrace the every day.

Here are some ways you can combine your ‘to do’ list with a bit of cultural immersion to get a feel for what really living there would be like.

Stay in an Airbnb

Staying in an Airbnb gives you the opportunity to discover neighbourhoods you would never visit if you confined yourself to a hotel in the city centre. Your host will provide you with great local tips on where to eat, shop and when to visit the sights. We would never have discovered a deliciously traditional French restaurant – and tripe sausage – if it wasn’t for our lovely host.

The Eiffel Tower was nice but so was the tripe sausage.

Take public transport or use your own two feet

There is no better way to understand the occupants of a new place than by people watching. Take the train to see what commuting would be like – just be reminded that trying to backpack your way through London on the underground at peak hour may elicit a few death stares if your Oyster card declines. Taking a bus gives you a different perspective, while walking is the best way to discover hidden alley ways, cute boutiques and street art.

Visit the local shops

Eating out is one of the great pleasures of travelling but you don’t have to do it for every meal. Buying groceries at the local supermarket can be a fun and educational experience, not to mention a much cheaper option. Visiting a fresh food market is a must if you can. Pick up some supplies to take on a picnic or use it to create your breakfasts in the morning. One of our best finds in Florence was the large undercover market with stalls filled to the brim with cheese, cured meats, biscotti, and juicy blood oranges – it was a tourist attraction in itself.

Do something you would back home

One of my favourite travel experiences was spending an hour or so at the laundromat in Bedford–Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. It provided the perfect opportunity to just sit and read my book, look out the window and listen to the chatter of locals going about their business. The same feel can be achieved by visiting a local library or bookstore, sitting in a park, going to the cinema, or attending a sports match. Attending a Canadian football league game in Toronto gave us an insight into a sport we didn’t know much about and ample time to people-watch.

Try to live a little bit like a local, and you’ll discover a whole lot more about the place you’re visiting.

How do you ‘live like a local’ while on holiday?

May 18, 2016