Beauty's Luncheonette - Montreal

Quebec is in the Timing
Once upon, I spent six months working in Montreal.  It was in the thick of winter so forgive my recollection of dull grey skies and depressing cold.   The buildings along rue St Jacques had salt shadows taller than me and my daily jaunt to the office could have been made on ice skates.  Our recent road trip, perfectly timed to the height of Montreal's two week summer, erased all my frigid memories.  Beauty's Luncheonette did a fair share of the erasing.

Absinthe Cafe - Paris

AKA the "Grandma/Grandpa" Spot
Since leaving Paris many have asked what I miss most about it.  The list of what I don't miss is longer and easier to compile. I admit though, after three years I started to love the place a bit.  During a recent layover in Charles de Gaulle, on a slow crawl from Singapore to NY, I observed myself from afar. What would I do with my six hours in Paris?  I zipped by metro into the city on autopilot and walked into my "local", Absinthe Cafe.  It was like I never left - there were Grandma and Grandpa welcoming me to breakfast, all warmth and smiles.

Van Bol & Feste - Milan

Full Stomach Revenge, Cont'd
I don't eat a lot.  Matter of fact, for a food blogger I'm a disgrace.  In Milan, however, I flipped it.  Maximum jealousy potential, remember?  Van Bol e Feste fit the bill - just the kind of schwank-a-billy place the fancy-Dodo likes.  Counting Sugar, I was two-fer-two.

Breakfast Toasts - Kuala Lumpur

In Malaysia, they're Simply Better
I get down from time to time.  At its worst, the world seems dark and meaningless and I can barely drag myself out of bed.  As bad as it gets, I am always excited for breakfast.  I absolutely love the first meal, no other comes close.  If you were to plot my day on a graph, starting with breakfast on the left, the line would slant steeply downward, past lunch, going negative near dinner.  While I'm still eating my morning meal I often ask the Dodo "what's for breakfast tomorrow?"  She usually rolls her eyes.

Miss HoneyPenny - Berlin

From Cold to Colder
I was so enthralled by the idea of the Berlin Film Festival that I didn't stop to consider that it's held in Berlin, in February.  I was already cold when I arrived and I still haven't warmed up.  I've been eating non-stop, not because I find German food that enticing, but because I need protection against the German winter.  Miss HoneyPenny was close to the hotel and open early so I gave it a try.

Victim One of Two - Bangkok

Was it the Street Breakfast?
We're hardcore street eaters.  We know we'll eventually pay.  Rather, I know I will eventually pay - I've a much weaker stomach.  So, it came as a surprise that Dodo got knocked out of the game this morning.  It's hard to say what did it.  Was it the pork porridge she had for breakfast?  It looked pretty good coming out of the bag, into the bowl. 

Passion 5 Patisserie (패션5) - Seoul

I Won't Be Controlled
My parents passed me their stubbornness genetically and nurtured it through upbringing.  So, when one of the chef's at Passion 5 formed an X with his forearms to warn me off taking photos, I smiled and complied.  Or so he thought.  I was angry and intent on taking even more photos than I normally do.  I hate places which have an anti-photo rule - it's so stupid in this day and age.  I hoped to despise their goods and slam them but guess what?  Anti-photo rule or not, they craft some scrumptious goodies, both savory and sweet.

Homemade Meal - Seoul

Warding Off the Korean Winter
On the streets of Seoul in December, the wind finds a way through the defenses.  It scrapes past your scarf and crawls up your pant leg, taking frosty bites.  We called in the reinforcements at Homemade Meal, a ten seat matchbox that quickly became a favorite haunt.  The first visit I got pork with chilies and on my return I took it up a notch with a plate of rice, kimchi and spicy pork topped with a fried egg.  As I chomped I fantasized about staying there for the rest of the vacation.

Claus - Paris

Cock-a-Doodle-DON'T
More often in Paris than any other city there are restaurants that leave me feeling cold.  It's as if the owners are cooking at home for friends and here I am, the uninvited guest, unexpectedly ringing the doorbell, brushing past them in the doorway, taking up space.  They smile, they're polite but they seem scared they'll never get rid of you.

Coutume Cafe - Paris

Finally!
After so many tartines and croissants and dark Parisian swill pretending to be coffee, a real breakfast!  I downed the velvety scrambled and spread the entire golden brick on my whole wheat toast.  Coutume cafe is known for their coffee, but I give them credit for their breakfast.  It's the kind that leads to a deep, satisfying nap.

Locanda Verde - Manhattan

The Out of Towners
A while back two of Dodo's friends visited NY for the first time.  One from Singapore, the other from Chi-town.  We took them to Locanda Verde for brunch.  It's pretty schwanks - chock full of bright-toothed model babes and well dressed enablers.  Cleary, with my broken mouth smile and day before yesterday's outfit, I wasn't enabling shit.  No worries, we weren't there to pose, we were there to stuff ourselves.  Besides, Locanda Verde is wasted on the slimmies - you gotta put down the iBaubles, roll up your sleeves and dive into their sumptuous high-post brunch.

40 Hands - Singapore

Outsourcing the Hobby
Puff List readers realize I don't know what I'm talking about and my photos are crap.  I'm no pro, this is a hobby - one that can be very time consuming.  At 40 Hands, I accidentally stumbled into an epiphany - I may be able to outsource some of the work.  I was there for brunch with Dodo and her friends MC and Pirate Pixels, two photo fanatics.  They whipped out their expensive cameras and were like food paparazzi.  In this post, I'm using their shots and you can definitely tell the difference - notice the beautiful depth of field in Pirate's egg cocotte.

Maroco - Taipei

Thick Toast Wake-Up Call
Before I arrived in Taipei, Dodo had already scouted a breakfast spot near our hotel.  She described it as a "thick toast spot" and I knew exactly what she meant.  Maroco makes their own bread, slices it thicker than your head, toasts it and loads it with butter.  They do much more - feast your eyes on the tarts.  Though our Taipei trip wasn't a long one and repeating visits to a single place makes little sense, we came to Maroco many times - because of the toast.

Yong He Soy Milk King - Taipei

Is it Called Breakfast at 11pm?
I don't know, but I had an immediate affinity for Yong He - they serve freshly made breafkast food deep into the night.  It didn't hurt that I was fighting jetlag and losing - breakfast at night was making perfect sense.  What you see below is an amazing concoction - it's a thin egg and scallion crepe wrapped around two deep-fried dough sticks.  If I'm not mistaken (and I easily could be) that would be a dan bing wrapped around two you tiao.  Someone from Taiwan, help me out with my probably poor interpretation, please.

Tong Ah - Singapore

Now We're Talking...
All you fake toast spots, stand aside.  All you wannabe toast joints, get outta the way.  We're talking old school, throw back, analog, original toast, Chinatown-style.  I'd been spending too much time at lame, wan, watered down mall toast places and Ah Tong was the antidote.  There, sitting amongst the shophouses I downed stacks of perfectly made butter-sugared and kaya toasts and chased them with cups of dark, satisfying kopi.

Queen Victoria Market - Melbourne

Breakfast of Champions
Queen Victoria Market is "the" market in Melbourne.  It's a combination flea market, butchers, bakers and food court that you're as likely to find boomerangs for sale as you are "Moreton Bay Bugs."  Those are the fellows in the middle to the right of the tiger prawns.  I don't think anyone consulted a reputable PR firm when they came up with the moniker "bay bug."  Not exactly appetizing.  Besides, we were there for something much more mainstream, though perhaps not "breakkie" mainstream.

The Outpost - Melbourne

Hit and Miss
At a small cafe named The Outpost in the South Yarra suburb of Melbourne, Australia, I kicked off two weeks of anti-work, otherwise known as vacation.  This is the kind of place I wanted to love but couldn't completely - it is a mix of good and not-so-good.  My scrambled with black truffles should've been a deal-maker but they were suprisingly bland.  They looked so beautiful that I chewed and chewed, patiently waiting for something to happen.  Nothing did.  Dash of salt, bit of pepper, still nothing.

Toast@Work - Singapore

The Beginning of the End?
Nex is yet another new glittering mall in Singapore with restaurants throughout and a food court on the top floor.  You can eat in air-conditioned comfort, a welcomed respite from the unceasing heat and sun.  We navigated Nex to try out Toast@Work and while I have no specific complaints, I worry that these malls will slowly dilute the street food culture and doom the Singapore food scene.

DEPUR - Paris

Un Pause Gourmande

Depur stands for "drole endroit pour un recontre", which literally means "strange place for an encounter" but I prefer to translate it "funny running into you here."  Feels like they came up with "depur" and then found a sentence that fit it.  Nevertheless, I stopped in for a "pause gourmande" otherwise known as "snack."  Not any old American snack like a Snickers or a 1,000 calorie bucket of fries, no, something healthy.  A tomato with a cheese hat.

Dominique Saibron - Paris

The Drive By Methodology
My girlfriend amazes me.  On a recent taxi ride from Orly airport, as we sped down the street,she tapped me excitedly and said "remember Alesia."  Yep, got it, Alesia, I said, barely looking up.  This, folks, is the "drive by methodology" whereby Dodo sees something as we drive past and makes a mental note.  It's a proven methodology, yielding such gems as Les Pates Vivantes and Jean Millet.  So, this morning when she said "remember that place we saw last week near the Alesia Metro?" I didn't even hesitate.  I jumped up, got on the net and found the name: Dominique Saibron.  Within an hour we were there and folks, it's a keeper.