3 favorite Hong Kong breakfasts of a foodie blogger

It's 7:45am. It's a Monday. Humidity above 85%. The weather sucks. It's definitely not a good way to start the week. I just want to stay in bed under my blanket curled like a prawn with the air conditioning unit blowing out dry air.

As you can tell, I am not a morning person and I doubt I ever will be, but when it comes to food, it acts like a daily dose of caffeine which slaps me right in the face to wake myself up! These are my breakfast haunts in Central to fill me up and get me through a full, hard day of work.

Mandarin Grill + Bar at the Mandarin Oriental

Almost all window seats are taken for breakfast service! The main dining area is bright and spacious. What I like the most is the ceiling with the hotels "fan" logo molded to it. A very subtle but fine touch to the whole decor.

Wow, look at it, beautifully done and the cherry tomatoes were so pretty as well. The hollandaise sauce was very rich and it was great with the perfectly done poached eggs. The flavor of the ham was not too salty which went well with the Hollandaise sauce. Talking about Hollandaise sauce, I am reminded of how Anthony Bourdain talked about how he rarely orders food that has this sauce in his book "Kitchen Confidential."

"Bacteria love hollandaise. And hollandasie, that delicate emulsion of eggs yolks and clarified butter, must be held at a temperature not too hot nor too cold, lest it break when spooned over your poached eggs. Unfortunately, this lukewarm holding temperature is also the favorite environment for bacteria to copulate and reproduce in. Nobody I know has ever made hollandaise sauce to order."

Hmm ... then again, he also mentioned somewhere in his book that he has "long believed that good food and good eating is all about risk ... food [for him] has always been an adventure," and it has indeed been an exciting adventure for me! More hollandaise sauce please!

I do not recall having black pudding before but you know what, I fell in love with it at first bite! I think some say it is disgusting because it is basically made by cooking blood until it is thick enough to congeal. However, eating it once in a while would be perfectly fine in my opinion. The flavor was deep and rich with a mushy texture to it. I have to say that it is not for everyone, it could be those items that you either love or hate and I am loving it! And yes, those cherry tomatoes were beautiful and juicy. Scrambled eggs were a bit overcooked but acceptable. It is rather difficult to find good moist scrambled eggs at restaurants but then again it is rather difficult to master as well. The Cumberland sausages were good but I was too in love with the black pudding to pay attention.

Mandarin Grill + Bar, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, + 852 2825 4004 www.mandarinoriental.com

Le Salon de The de Joel Robuchon

When I need an extremely quick breakfast, I grab these morning sugar-rush items on the way to the office.

Le croissant aux amandes & le pain au chocolat

Now, I don't know about you but I think the almond croissant here is one of the best in Hong Kong. I am yet to find a place that can top it. At HK$17 a piece, two big thumbs up from me!

It was served warm (re-heated with oven on order) and the layers were very thin, making it very crisp on every bite. The icing, the almond flakes and the almond filling ... ooh ... yes ... ooh ... so good! The chocolate croissant was equally well done with just the right amount of chocolate filling together with thin and crisp layers. The layers were so thin that you can break through them by a slight touch with the tip of your tongue. How I wish I can stuff the whole thing into my mouth so no single croissant flakes would go to waste. Leave no flakes behind!

Le Salon de The de Joël Robuchon, Shop 315, 3/F, The Landmark, 16 Des Voeux Road Central, Central, +852 2166 9088 www.joel-robuchon.com

Law Fu Kee

I seriously doubt that any renovation has been carried out in the last two decades or more. The atmosphere reminded me of how couples from my parent's generation would sit across from each other at the benched tables feeding each other spoonfuls of hearty congee. Anyhow, the place was old, the tables and chairs were old, the kitchen was old but the cashier seemed to be less ancient, being the only thing that does not belong to the same era in relative terms.

Sliced Beef Congee with Raw Eggs
The congee was quite thick and mushy -- the way I like it! Sliced beef was very soft and tender, very typical of the Hong Kong way of preparing it with excessive amount of baking soda. It was perfect for the morning because I did not have the energy and strength to chew through the tough beef anyhow, so the softer the better! The optional raw egg would thicken the texture of the congee after mixing it thoroughly and would give it an extra kick of flavor, complimenting the beef.

Chinese Dounuts
There are many ways to eat Chinese donuts and I like to dip mine into the congee. This joint does not make their own Chinese donuts so to get the freshest batch, I assume the earlier the better.  It was fairly crispy but I found the outermost layer to be a bit too thick or doughy.

Law Fu Kee, 140 Des Voeux Road Central, +852 2541 3080