Asia’s best breakfasts: from hoppers in Sri Lanka to Vietnam’s banh mi

Breakfast is considered by many to be the most important meal of the day. What you eat in the morning replenishes those sleep jaded energy reserves and fuels your mind and body for the day ahead.

Unfortunately, as our lives become increasingly busy, many of us opt to skip or skimp on breakfast and the traditions and culture that go with it. Modern Western options such as cereals, toast or even granola bars now rule many a breakfast roost.

Morning dining routines around the world often stem from deep roots. Breakfast culture is alive and kicking in many parts of Asia, even as fast-paced Western alternatives muscle their way in. Being such a huge and varied continent, Asia is home to culinary and cultural extremes, richly reflected in its choices and attitudes towards breakfast.

Turkish delights

Many nations claim to have the best breakfast, but when it comes to traditional morning meals, you would be hard-pressed to upstage the sumptuous Turkish spread.

Straddling the ancient Silk Road has greatly influenced Turkish cuisine, and particularly its breakfast choices. Over about 600 years, it has gradually evolved to embrace elements and ingredients from the distant reaches of historical trade routes and the far corners of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922).

The traditional Turkish breakfast, known as kahvalti (meaning “before coffee”), is made up of tapas-sized dishes, and is designed to be shared, bringing together families and friends for a slow easing into the day.

Most modern Turks lead busy lives and often breakfast on a simple simit (a bagel-like hoop of bread covered in sesame seeds), observing the traditional kahvalti only at weekends and family get-togethers.