Boulangerie Saint-Louis, Paris

Paris has much to recommend it, not least the fact that whenever you are feeling a bit peckish, no matter where you are, there will be a half-decent boulangerie within spitting distance. Just pop in, pick up a croissant (and maybe a few other treats), and munch your way happily down the street. This croissant, for example, was just the kick I needed after a few hours stomping across Paris. It wasn't very buttery, but it was very good. I love the way the light, fluffy layers of pastry squish together as you take each bite.

Boulangerie Artisanale Pain d'Epis, Paris

If you like your pain au raisins loaded with fruit, then the Boulangerie Artisanale Pain d'Epis is the place to go, 63 Avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris, Tel +33 1 45 51 75 01. Personally, I prefer a light spinkling of sultanas in my pain au raisins, so this was a bit too fruity for me. But I know plenty of people who like it fruity, so I'm sure this would appeal to them. The croissant was superb. Light and slightly flaky on the outside, and very soft and buttery in the middle. I tend to eat my croissants as they come (without any additional butter or jam), so the more built-in butter, the better.

Croissants, Rue Cler

The boulangerie diagonally opposite Le Cafe Du Marche in the middle of Rue Cler does a nice buttery croissant, which was equal to anything I had in Paris. Does anyone know how much butter and fat there is in an average croissant? If so, please don't tell me.

Les Deux Magots, Paris

In England, they give their pubs strange names like "The Slug and Lettuce" and "The Fighting Cocks", so you could be forgiven for thinking that "Les Deux Magots" was named after a couple of flesh eating grubs. But it turns out that a "Magot" is some kind of Chinese statue. And "Les Deux Magots" is the name of a very famous "literary" cafe at 6 place Saint Germain des Prés, 75006 Paris, Tel +33 1 45 48 55 25.

Cathay Pacific CX 263 to Paris

For some strange reason, Cathay decided to add corn to their breakfast spread of omelette, sausage, bacon and tomato. That's different. I also got a croissant, some fruit and a tub of yoghurt. The coffee wasn't great.

Novotel Century, Hong Kong

No, I didn't choke on a kipper. I have been travelling. For a month. With no time for blogging, but plenty of time for eating. Including about a week's worth of hotel omelettes at the Novotel Century in Wan Chai, where the omelette man custom-builds your omelette right there in front of you. A much better option than the scrambled eggs that have been stewing under the salamander for however long. Not perfect omelettes... slightly overcooked and a bit too oiled-up, but quite acceptable. I had mine with ham, cheese and onion.

15 People Deny Nicole Richie Her Breakfast

Every wondered why Nicole Richie is so skinny? Well wonder no more. She has finally spilled the beans to OK Magazine...

I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and I asked for a bowl of cereal, but when you’re on a big set it has to go through 15 people to even get to me.

That's right. There are 15 people standing between Nicole and her breakfast, and they are so slow at cereal preparation she's having dizzy spells. Who's a girl gotta shag to get a bowl of Corn Flakes around here?

Blog of Note Brunches on Spam

What does it mean to be a Blog of Note? Well apparently it means that your comment traffic goes bananas. Before BoN status, maybe 2 or 3 comments per post. After BoN status, 20 or 30 comments per post. Some of it Spam. Some of it bacon. You can keep the Spam. The bacon is very welcome. Thanks.

Woodstock, Armadale

When the director of Bad Eggs sat down at the next table, I started to worry that it was an omen for the food to come. Was Tony Martin trying to jinx my breakfast at Woodstock, 1150 High Street, Armadale, Tel +61 3 9500 1483? Or was I being paranoid? The latter, as it turned out.



The eggs benedict weren't bad at all. In fact, they were good. Nicely poached, with fresh hollandaise, OK ham, a generous side of sauteed spinach and decent toast (although it was a stretch to call it toasted corn bread). The only weak link was the hash brown, which was a frozen specimen, not very well fried (ie, quite greasy).

The pumpkin poached eggs weren't bad either. Two soft poached eggs on rye, with honey roasted pumpkin, marinated fetta, spinach (raw, unfortunately) and a sun dried tomato dressing. A very pretty dish.

Speaking of pretty things, Woodstock seems to have a policy of hiring very pretty staff. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They were all very friendly and efficient, with no hint of back-chat or eye-rolling as The Fussy One made her various special requests.

The venue sits on a corner with some street-side tables, some inside tables, and some upstairs tables (in a sort-of roof-top deck area). Much buzzier than I expected to find in suburban Armadale. They even have what appear to be vintage Eames fibreglass shell chairs, which adds some designer cred to the place.

15/20 "pretty"



Eggs & Bacon $12.00 BB100 +20%

Chokky Chook Lays Chokky Eggs

A bunny that lays eggs? Don't be silly. Everyone knows rabbits don't lay eggs. Eggs come from chickens. So, chocolate eggs must come from... chocolate chickens, of course...

Street Eggs

There's something about the smell of fried bacon and burning fat. It makes me hungry. So there was no resisting the call of the egg & bacon sandwich as we wandered the streets of Bright this weekend. In fact, I had two. It was a fry-off between Jack's BBQ and the local Rotary club.



For 5 bucks, Jack's BBQ served up a tasty mix of fried egg, crispy bacon and a big fat sausage, sandwiched between a couple of squares of fluffy white bread. I think it was meant to have some fried onion too, but they forgot. Never mind. It was very good.



For 4 bucks, Rotary trumped Jack's with a fresh white roll filled with crispy bacon and a just-soft fried egg (a better quality egg, too). More satisfying than a Snickers.

Breadwell, Melbourne

The top end of Flinders Lane is where Charlotte meets Miranda. Artsy galleries on one side and fancy law firms on the other. And jammed in the middle is Breadwell, 135 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Tel +61 3 9650 8544. A stylish little cafe for a mid-week power-breakfast.



The eggs and bacon were good, without being spectacular. Nice crispy bacon and soft poached eggs on two thick slices of white sourdough toast. My only small complaint was the toast-to-egg ration, which was a bit heavy on toast and a bit light on egg.

Mart 130 Muesli

After much raving about the eggs and fritters at Mart 130, today I decided to test drive the Bircher muesli. A big bowl of wet bircher, topped with fresh strawberries, pear, melon, orange and grapes, and sprinkled with a top coating of crunchy toasted granola. The mix of soft and crunchy textures worked very well. Very filling.