June 18, 2026 — 5:00am
One of travel’s great delights is undoubtedly the food. Long after we return home, we wax poetic about our favourite meals on holiday, recalling the delicious discoveries found in that little bistro, the family taverna and the neighbourhood izakaya .
Breakfast while away is an unsung opportunity to begin each day immersed in the culinary traditions of a destination – what would a visit to France be without a morning croissant?
We’ve asked experts from around the globe to make the case for their national cuisine, from Mexico’s chilaquiles to the hoppers of Sri Lanka – and of course, the full English . Here is where to go to start your morning with a feast; it’s the most important meal of the day, after all.
Turkey
A full Turkish breakfast spread, which encompasses egg dishes and cured meats, is to die for. iStock
From a simple sesame-seed-encrusted simit (bagel) to a steaming bowl of mercimek çorba (lentil soup), a tender helping of sulu börek (cheese pie) to the scrambled egg with tomato, onion and pepper classic menemen , Turkey is heaven for breakfast lovers. But a “full Turkish” breakfast spread – encompassing everything from olives, tomatoes and cucumber to assorted cheeses, jams and honey, as well as various egg dishes and cured meats – is to die for.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.
Where to eat it Where better than continent-straddling Istanbul, Turkey’s cultural heart? My favourite breakfast stop in this vibrant mega-city is Van Kahvaltı Evi, in fashionable Cihangir. Set up by émigrés from distant Van, a predominantly Kurdish province in mountainous eastern Turkey, regional twists on the standard breakfast here include mouthwatering kaymak (clotted water buffalo cream), kavurma (fried eggs with tender lamb slices) and kavut (roasted flour with walnuts and honey). It’s tasty, it’s great value and it’s served all day. Warning: Weekends, especially Sundays, tend to be busy. – Terry Richardson
America
Head to New York’s Court Square Diner in Queens for a classic American breakfast. iStock I’ll say it: There’s no better breakfast on earth than the hot plates whisked out from a bustling kitchen of an American diner.
It’s delicious, unpretentious, just the right amount of greasy, and customisable. There’s no need to decide between sweet and salty. American breakfast has perfected the two together: simply add a side of bacon to your buttermilk pancakes, slathered in maple syrup.
Once you get your order down – eggs scrambled, poached or fried, sunny-side up or over-easy, wheat or white toast, hash browns or home fries – you can join the ranks of regulars enjoying unlimited refills of coffee.
I’ve spent many a morning (and late night) tucked into a vinyl booth in my hometown’s gorgeously preserved 1930s dining car. A secret from years of perusing laminated, lengthy diner menus: order a pancake for the table, you’ll never regret an extra pancake.
Where to try it The best diner is probably the one you stumble upon mid-road trip in Small Town, USA, but Clark Street Diner in Los Angeles serves a mean stack of blueberry pancakes. For a full immersion in neon and chrome in New York, head to Queens’s Court Square Diner, where you can grab a seat at the classic counter any time of day or night. – Libby Ryan
Singapore
Kaya toast, a Singapore breakfast favourite. iStock There’s no question in my mind that Singapore serves the world’s best breakfast – this tiny island is built for it. Our culinary heritage is rooted in three of the world’s greatest gastronomic civilisations (Chinese, Indian, Malay) and our cooking skills have been honed by decades of side-by-side competition in hawker centres.
The real argument should be about which Singaporean breakfast is best, because of the sheer choice. Mornings here start with an unbeatably diverse and delicious spread of dishes, the best-known of which is kaya toast – pandan-coconut jam on bread invented by Hainanese workers cooking aboard British colonial ships.
Where to eat it Go to the no-frills YY Kafei Dian near Raffles Hotel, where fragrant kaya and cold butter arrive coddled between smoky, pillowy charcoal-grilled buns. Prata, Singapore’s take on the Indian flatbread paratha, is another breakfast favourite.
At Mr & Mrs Mohgan, in the charming eastern neighbourhood of Katong, the devastatingly crisp prata and umami dipping curry are well worth the usual hour-long wait. For a late-morning meal, head to Ponggol Nasi Lemak , where rich, slow-cooked Malay-style coconut rice comes with your choice of tasty trimmings.
But the standout breakfast buffet is at Straits Kitchen at Grand Hyatt Singapore , which gathers the Lion City’s greatest breakfast hits into one roaring (and, crucially, air-conditioned) buffet. – Audrey Phoon
France
The French Bastards has outlets across Paris. Alamy Where French breakfast falls down on quantity (a pain au chocolat leaves me hungry half…
Read the full article at The Age →