Just Add Coffee

I am a sucker for breakfast. If I could have breakfast all day, I would. But then, there won’t be golden morning sunshine in the afternoon. And nothing beats the early morning silence, especially on Sundays. When I have to choose between staying in bed on an early Sunday morning or immediately getting up to brew my first coffee of the day, I almost always choose the latter. And again.

At home, it could be anything I’ve got in the fridge. Fry up is my favorite. (No surprise there, huh, when my YM status sometimes screams, "Gorengan!") Bacon, sausage, and some tomatoes with herbs. Or just two slices of toast with butter when I’m feeling frugal. I’ve cut back on egg consumptions, but when I’m so inclined, I go to Coffee Bean for some Eggs Benedict or to Coffee Club for some French toast. I love strawberries with plain yoghurt or banana-strawberry smoothies, but that gluggy concoction I usually reserve for work days.

On top of it all, I just need a decent cup of coffee. I’m still hankering for a good, satisfying black coffee every morning to usher me into the day, but I have to settle with what I have in hand. Kopi tubruk made with Bakoel Koffie’s Heritage blend, or Bandung’s Aroma (which reminds me, it’s been awhile since I had my last cup of Aroma kopi tubruk). And, if the weekend looms, a good read or sitting peacefully in front of my laptop. And that still, hushed silence. Aaah.

When on vacations, I used to drag my friends for breakfast. They moaned and struggled to stay in bed, but I persisted. Except the morning after the night, of course, when we had to deal with hangovers. After all, I do have heart.

When I’m traveling to Italia, oh, that’s got to be my favorite. The coffee bars are warm and intimate, the aroma of freshly baked brioche—that’s sweet pastry to you—fills your nostrils, and above it all, the coffee. Nothing beats Italian espresso. Andrea Illy—as in Illy Coffee—said, "In the world there are espresso drinkers and there are other people. In Italy, we are espresso drinkers. Americans are the other people."

Guess which one I am.

There are some places I’d love to go for breakfast, like Bills in Sydney, Australia, because I read in Gourmet, they have what they call golden ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and banana. (I’m loving the pictures. Oh, I wish.) And I won’t mind spending my morning with some Eggs Benedict at Lake House in Melbourne. And my eyes are still riveted whenever I read that some cafes or restaurants in Jakarta “opens daily for breakfast, 7am till noon” or “breakfast all day” or “Sunday brunch”.

It could be one of those places, but it could be just a plate of telur ceplok and nasi putih panas at your mom’s. It could be Sunday brunch with flowing champagne at a fancy hotel restaurant, or it could be just a piece of baguette with butter and a cup of yoghurt at your sister’s apartment in Paris. It could be just about anywhere.

Just add coffee.

Food and Drink |