Taipei - 永和豆漿 (Yonghe Soy Milk)

We were wandering the neighborhood near our hotel looking for breakfast. A spot we'd found on google maps was closed for a remodel, but another similar shop was open a few doors down.

The menu was pretty daunting, but with a bit of image-based translation and some pointing we managed to order breakfast from the one man running the joint.

Soy milk, along with a fluffy bao with a piece of pork and an egg.

And a pancake wrapped in egg.

I really liked the "bao sandwich", so I got it again the next morning. The bao was super fluffy and everything came together after slathering it with some of their provided sauces.

This time we got a "leek box", which turned out to be pretty much that - a dumplingy box filled with leeks.

Pretty representative every-day Taiwanese breakfasts, I think. We really liked it.

Hanoi - Cháo Dậu Cà Bà-O

Near our hotel there was a stall set up on the street during morning and afternoon that was always busy.

They had two large pots full of some kind of porridge - one yellow and one reddish brown. Looking it up, it turns out to be a very traditional dish we'd never heard of before - cháo đậu. It is a rice porridge - the red version is made with red beans and the yellow one is mung bean.

We got a bowl of the yellow version. The base is fairly bland, but they added in a salted egg and some braised tofu. The egg in particular is very salty, so when you break it up and mix it together, you get a nicely seasoned dish. Not something I'd go out of my way to have again, but it was fun to try.

Hanoi - Bánh Cuốn Trung Yên

Another spot in Trung Yên "magic food" alley. We'd visited Bánh Cuốn Trung Yên before, and really enjoyed it.

It was just the same as it had been five years previously. We got an order each - one with chả and one with an egg on the side (which they do up in a little bit of bánh cuốn).

Super good. We came back again for breakfast on our last day in Hanoi. It was a saturday morning, and they were really busy.

We went "dặc biệt" and each had an order with chả and an egg. Everyone was very friendly - eating in a spot like this is probably our favorite kind of experience in Vietnam.

Da Nang - Hotel Breakfasts

Our hotel in Da Nang did a very nice breakfast - with very servicable versions of local dishes. Above, Mì Quảng.

Bò Kho.

Gỏi Cuốn.

Phở Bò.

"Western Breakfast".

Another take on Mì Quảng.

Bún Bò Huế.

Saigon - Hủ tiếu and Bún Bò Huế at Út Huệ

Another evening in Saigon after dinner "Plan A" had fizzled, we again found ourselves hungry and looking for targets of opportunity.

We came across a nice looking little shop selling Hủ tiếu and Bún Bò Huế.

We got one bowl of each. Hủ tiếu was a new soup for us, and this version was terrific. Great broth, and lots of goodies - shrimp, quail eggs, pork slices, meat on the bone. A very "dặc biệt" bowl.

The Bún Bò Huế was also loaded and delicious. We left happy and satisfied.

Saigon - Cơm Tấm

Cơm tấm (which translates as "broken rice") may well be the quintessential dish in Saigon. Elegant in its simplicity, it is rice made from broken grains served with grilled meat (usually pork or chicken), varied extras, and nước chấm.

On our first full day in Saigon, we were out looking for dinner. A couple of options I'd researched fell through, and we were left wandering the streets getting hungry. And then we came upon this little cart by the side of the road.

It turned out to be the perfect way to experience cơm tấm for the first time. The lady running the cart was very nice, and another lady who spoke a bit of English helped us through the ordering process.

We got two plates - both with sườn nướng (grilled pork chop - probably the most common item), and one with the addition of some chả (pork loaf).

It was perfect.

Mid-day is a more typical time to get cơm tấm, and one day we went out walking to find a spot called Quán Cơm Tấm Hùng.

We got one plate with pork chop and egg, and one with pork ribs and chả.

Delicous. The best food in Vietnam is always down an alley.

Langkawi - Restoran Selera Padang Puteh

Another place I found via google maps, but had confirmed by a local as a "good spot" (this time, a grab driver). Selera Padang Puteh is a breakfast/lunch place - we went for both.

First up, lunch. The restaurant is primarily a buffet - you take what you want, and they charge you based on what you've taken. The options were a bit overwhelming. We ended up with one plate with fish balls, braised egg, and beef rendang.

The other plate heaped with fish, two types of chicken curry, potatoes, and eggplant. They had both a regular sambal, and another with ikan bilis in it.

Everything was really good, and it was a very pleasant place to eat, so we came back another day for breakfast.

Breakfast was a similar affair, with a buffet that overlapped with the lunch offerings, but with some different items. We got a plate with some fried chicken and rice with a gravy from a few of the dishes.

They do roti in the morning, so we ordered a roti pisang - roti canai with banana cooked in it, served with condensed milk.

And a couple of half-cooked eggs.

Great local restaurant - the kind of place that would be in our regular rotation if we lived here.

Langkawi - Temonyong Night Market

Langkawi has a night market that rotates daily through various locations. On Thursday nights it is near where we were staying, so we stopped in to see what we could find.

I often find night markets disappointing - either full of non-food items or food I'm not interested in. This market was very food centric, and had a lot of appealing things to eat.

We started with some nice-looking grilled chicken on a stick. It was juicy, and coated in a tasty, spice sauce. Meat on a stick rarely disappoints, and this was no exception.

Next, we saw stand selling murtabak - someting we'd not yet tried. Malaysian murtabak consist of a roti-like wrapper stuffed with various fillings - usually egg with vegetables and sometimes meat.

We got one with chicken. The vegetable seemed to be primarily cabbage. It was mildly flavored, but tasty and very filling.

Needing just a little bit more to fill us up, we got some fried chicken. It had a salty, spicy coating and was delicous.

The market had a great buzz, and was being frequented by a lot of people - tourists and locals alike. Great place to grab a bit to eat.

Langkawi - Roti Cenai at Selara Pantai

It had been *days* since we'd had a good roti cenai, so when we saw this tent one afternoon we took note and came back the next morning for breakfast.

I tried to order half-cooked eggs, but it got lost in translation and I got them sunny side up. No big deal - they were great with the fluffy roti, the dal and the sambal.

The sambal was super good here - I ended up going back for a big second dish of it.

I could eat this for breakfast every day.