Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day. It should provide plenty of energy and be highly nutritious. Recently, Singapore has caught up with this European breakfast/brunch culture along with the artisanal cafés sprouting up in many locations (these cafés usually serve the so-called 'all-day breakfast' and are consumed by people looking to combine breakfast and lunch into a single meal). A meal (brunch) consisting of hearty platter and a hot beverage would easily cost around $15 a person. In all honesty, it's quite expensive and sometimes you don't get the quality expected for the amount of money paid. It becomes paying for the hype which I don't quite approve of.
Just yesterday morning, I decided to pop by one that recently opened pretty near my place. It's a Korean-origin store serving European bread and espresso-based coffee. The line has been pretty long since it's opening so I thought it should be fairly good.
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| >$8 |
I paid in excess of $8 for a medium-sized butter croissant and a macchiato (my standard order for breakfasts at cafés). I was rather upset at quality of what was served. The croissant wasn't flaky and buttery enough, and the coffee was just alright. Tiong Bahru Bakery serves much better quality for the same price paid.
So I gave myself a challenge (somewhat grudgingly) to prepare a breakfast with a budget of $8.50 and I did this.
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| Easy brunch of five components and a 60/40 Konga-Bokasso pour over coffee |
The platter I made consists of a hand-picked baby butterhead lettuce salad with sesame-soy dressing, butter croissant and bread roll (Swissbake), fresh honey pork sausage (Fairprice Finest) and scrambled eggs. The coffee is a mix of two single origins from Nylon Coffee Roasters, Konga and Bokasso, in a 60/40 ratio. Everything is quite easily put together and satisfyingly tasty with a good balance of nutrients. It is important to plan properly so that you can serve up everything warm. I lightly pan-fried the sausage first, while the croissant and bread roll are left in a warm oven. While the sausage is in the pan, turn the heat down and start picking the lettuce leaves and prepare the dressing. Once the sausage is done, get the eggs scrambled and dress the leaves. Plate them all up together.
As much as I enjoyed preparing this meal a lot and the cost was around what I paid yesterday, to be fair, I would charge someone between $12 to $15 for it (if I were to open a shop and sell it). I guess what people pay for is the convenience (if the store is in a convenient location) and being part of the hipster bunch and quality isn't the top priority after all. The people you dine with matter too. That said, I'd be glad and willing to prepare a good breakfast with things I like for people I love.
