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eggs in Singapore;

in fact, I had trouble

testing out my recipe

for kaya back in NYC

as it’s notoriously

difficult to get a hold of fresh pandan here.

What is a Chinese breakfast you will always remember?

I spent some time with Margaret Wong in Macau. We started off

with fresh, hot egg tarts from her bakery, Margaret’s Café e Nata and

finished with a yum cha session with her friends. It was decadent

but oh so good. Everyone should have two breakfasts!

You’ve a keen eye for aesthetics. How would you present a plain

bowl of congee?

I absolutely love congee and it has the potential to be like

ornamentally decorated açaí or smoothie bowls. It’s great as a base

for endless mix-ins, driven by whichever locality you’re based in. I’d

add a splash of colour with some soy sauce, freshly grated turmeric,

pork floss and a beautifully poached egg. BREAKFAST: THE COOKBOOK BY EMILY ELYSE MILLER

IS PUBLISHED BY

PHAIDON (WWW.PHAIDON.COM)

N

ot many of us have time for a sit-down

breakfast. More often than not, we find

ourselves haphazardly rushing through a bowl

of coconut nut cereal or grabbing a ham sandwich to

go before heading to the office for the daily grind.

Food and travel writer Emily Elyse Miller begs

to differ. The 29-year-old is a firm believer of fully

experiencing a culture through its food. Whether she’s

grabbing pastries at Flora Coffee in NYC, or wolfing

down suri grub worms in the Amazon.

Why did you choose to focus on breakfast instead of

lunch or dinner?

I find breakfast much more intimate and personal. It’s

the start of someone’s morning routine, and it holds

different meanings to people. That’s another reason why I started

the BreakfastClub. There’s no brouhaha; it’s just a bunch of people

gathering to have a truly genuine and meaningful conversation

about our food over a hearty breakfast.

BreakfastClub also runs food tours in major cities. What was the

motivation?

I wanted to spread my experiences with global breakfasts. As a

New York native, I thought NYC was the perfect place to launch a

breakfast tour due to the diverse landscape of cultures that can

be found here. From Dominican breakfast plates at El Castillo de

Jagua, to Shanghainese wonton soup at Wu’s Wonton King and spice

shopping in Kalustyan’s, you can find virtually everything. As of now,

we also organise tours in Glasgow, Lisbon and Mexico City.

Many breakfasts are served as quick, fuss-free street food. What

are some of your favourites?

One benefit of staying in New York is the abundance of street

vendors here. I love heading down to Flushing and grabbing a

jianbing from street vendors there. I also enjoyed kaya toast with

FREQUENT FLYER

Travel & graze

Emily Elyse Miller, founder of creative agency Trends

on Trends, weighs in on the best morning meals around

the world in Breakfast: The Cookbook.

By Destin Tay.

Chefchaouen, Morocco