Morning Has Broken

MARVEL BOY| image via Cat Juan

 We had a lovely breakfast date this morning somewhere in San Juan which I will be writing about in the next few days. It was featured in the Philippine Star Magazine insert several Sundays ago. What's funny is that I never got to read the entire feature; the heading read "Now Open for Breakfast" and that is good enough for me. While waiting for our dessert, I read clippings and magazine write-ups proudly framed and displayed on the restaurant walls. Most of the dishes that these foodies were raving about or the best sellers are not on the breakfast menu. The restaurant only serves them for lunch and dinner. I thought I'll just come back here soon to try other meals. This morning, my heart was all set for a breakfast date. And I couldn't be happier.

 I asked my date if he felt like missing out on experiencing the "best sellers" given that most of our dates happen in the morning in keeping with the theme of this blog. He said "a little". My heart took a dive and drowned in the sea of brokenness (whatevs, haha!). Breakfast food is highly exclusive. It is defined by a particular group/type of food which when served on the table you just know that it still is morning and you have a long day ahead of you (except when you're in an all-day breakfast restaurant and having your meal at four in the afternoon).  How do I explain it? Normally, we do not eat sinigang for breakfast. That's a lunch and dinner meal. Same thing with fried chicken and adobo - they are not for the morning. How so? They are just not. Period. What makes a breakfast food? Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Pancakes. Tuyo. I feel so frustrated that I cannot get my point across. It's the whole "missing out" issue that's bothering me. Be it about meals. Or about life.

But I love breakfast. Even if sometimes the meals become repetitive, the experience is all unique and beautiful that I will never exchange it for the world. For the record, this is not a foodie blog. It appears to be so because it features restaurants but what we are really after is the breakfast experience - Anton Diaz of the Awesome Planet and the rest of the equally-equipped food bloggers out there can take care of all the food evaluation. I simple want to sit back and sip my hot chocolate drink. Sit and sip. Oh yeah. 

The image above is the creation of designer+illustrator Dan Matutina grabbed from Cat Juan's blog. How is it even related to this post? Here are screen shots from Cat Juan's interview with Dan (first name basis, lakas!:-p):

 

I love him already (for the complete write up, blog hop here). I love mornings for reasons I have stated a million times and that love has spawned happy breakfast assignments almost every weekend. I keep a list of breakfast places in my sunny yellow notebook and I drag family and friends, but most of the time, Alan (he is this blog's official photographer too) to try them all out.

The breakfast meals get repetitive at times; restaurants add their signature/personal twists to make them more exciting but most of the essential ingredients are the same. I love breakfast the way it is. All familiar and comforting. All happy and hopeful. We're missing out a lot of "best sellers" I know, but we are gaining the friendship of the sun and an extra long day for waking up extra early.

This post is really for my 27 year old self: Hush now, my dear. Quit fretting. Fear of missing out sucks. Fear cripples. Find your life's recurring theme and stay loyal to it. So you've missed the awesome lunch and dinner meals, but what did you get in return? Lovely breakfast experiences. Beautiful ones. Wonderful ones. So hush now. And enjoy your breakfast. ♥