London - I'm a rabid breakfaster, and it's not just because I veer into Hulk-level “hanger” (hunger plus anger) if I don't eat within half an hour of waking up.
I'm not even falling prey to that faddish obsession with endless morning meals, the rise of so-called breakfastarians who are 'cereally' committed to eating morning food all day. Rather, in a lifetime of travelling, I've found that nothing sums up a destination better than the first meal of the day.
Sandwiches have become an almost global synonym for lunch, while dinner's diverse the world over - there's always a menu of cuisines, both local and international, almost anywhere. Breakfast, though, remains steadfastly idiosyncratic, a meal that shorthands local tastes, traditions and quirks better than any other. Eating the first meal of the day is like catching a country off-guard, a chance to peek behind its cultural curtain, whether delicious or disconcerting.
Take Australia, where I savour every mouthful at breakfast: it's home to the sunniest, simplest dishes such as poached eggs with spears of fresh asparagus or chilli flake-spattered avocado toast (Nigella's favourite). As child, there was always something slightly naughty about eating biscuits at breakfast in Italy - though I never complained. I crave Tokyo's morning meals, made up of morsel-sized dishes of smoked fish, dried seaweed and delicately flavoured, unfamiliar vegetables.
As for Sri Lanka, I never leave room for lunch, as I always gorge on moreish hoppers at breakfast, those bowl-like coconut and rice pancakes served with dahl and a bracing curry.
Sometimes, though, breakfast can offer insights that a country might be less keen for visitors to glean - never more true for me than in Russia, when I was seconded to Sochi to cover the Olympics two years ago. I lodged in a Soviet-era sanatorium next to Putin's summer home (there was so security risk, at least). Nowhere was the pre-perestroika mindset more evident than at breakfast. A peroxide babushka - Peggy Mitchellova with a ferocious scowl - frogmarched me to my assigned seat each day, before barking orders at the cowed waiters to deliver a pre-plated dish.
One morning, it was a forlorn rather grey leg of chicken served with what seemed like salty rice pudding; another, it was a 1980s-style pair of bubblegum pink frankfurters, plain soggy spaghetti plus a dollop of mustard on the side. Even the jam seemed suspicious, irradiated to red bright enough to use as a torch on those dark mornings. This was one breakfast where I felt more, rather than less, hangry after the meal.
The business of breakfast: best in class
Our travel experts recommend their favourite hotel offerings:
Soho House hotels (London, New York, Los Angeles, Istanbul, Berlin, Chicago, Miami, Toronto)
Concise menus that deal in the essentials, but done with aplomb. Stay healthy with cereals and fruit compotes or quinoa porridge, then top up with avocado and poached eggs on toast with chilli.
Eggs come any which way but in SH's signature indulgent style: baked with tomatoes, chickpeas and chilli or “arrabiata” with parmesan. Best of all are the cold-pressed juices; see red with beetroot, carrot, ginger, pineapple, orange, lemon and apple or go green with kale, apple, cucumber, celery, pineapple, lemon, spinach, parsley and ginger. sohohouse.com
Shangri-La hotels (Australia, North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East)
You're unlikely to eat the same dish twice in a week at these slick, Asian-operated hotels. In Singapore, you can eat your way around world via the impressive buffet at The Line restaurant, where chefs might whip up Indonesian nasi goreng, Chinese congee, Indian roti, American waffles, French pastries or eggs in every conceivable way, alongside the standard spread of cereals, bakery items, tropical fruits and more. shangri-la.com
Keltic Lodge (Canada)
The Keltic Lodge on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia re-opens this weekend after months of restoration -but I hope the breakfast menu has been untouched. In the Atlantic Restaurant, overlooking Ingonish Beach, you can feast on blueberry pancakes, waffles, ginger scones, peameal bacon and an abundance of healthier stuff. kelticlodge.ca
The Nam Hai (Vietnam)
Part of the GHM group, this beach resort outside Hoi An is just 30 minutes from Danang Airport, which is well connected with both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as international destinations including Macau, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Guangzhou. Food is exceptional all day, not least at breakfast -try the regional speciality Cao Lau, a spicy bowl of noodles with pork, herbs and broth; or tropical fruit salad and juices, home-made granola, eggs Benedict and freshly baked baguettes. ghmhotels.com
The Independent