[Weekly Meal Planner #5] Recipes on Cafe-Style Inspired Breakfasts + Singapore Local Breakfast

Morning, it's Monday again! As promised for today's "Weekly Meal Planner" column we will be featuring some cafe-style inspired breakfasts such as scrambled egg, french toast, overnight oats and etc. And I hope with the step-by-step recipes plus some photos of our daily breakfast it could help to inspire your creativity to create your very own hearty breakfast for your loved ones too.

Remember breakfast is an important meal for the day so never skip breakfast even on busy weekday mornings as you can start off with simple treat like toast with spread, oatmeal or even granola.  Whereas when weekend, you can put in some extra time to prepare stuffs like French Toast or Poached Eggs (recipe here).

SCRAMBLED EGG

[Hearty Breakfast] Scrambled Egg with Swiss Brown Mushroom

Scrambled egg is one of my favourite egg dish as it is easy to prepare and you are free to add in any desire ingredients such as mushroom, capsicum,  smoked salmon and etc. For this scrambled egg with mushroom recipe you can use either regular white / brown button mushrooms or wild mushrooms.

(Yield: 1 | Preparation: 3 minutes | Cooking: 3 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Milk / Cooking Cream
• * 3 Small Swiss Brown Mushroom, thinly slices
• * 10g Unsalted Butter

Method:
1. Whisk egg together with milk till combined and set aside.

2. Melt 5g of butter in a small frying pan and sauté the mushroom till soften (about 2 minutes till water appears). Omit this step if you are doing a plain scrambled egg.

3. Move the mushroom to one side, add in remaining butter and beaten egg.

4. Using a spoon, give the egg mixture a few stir and cook till it almost set. Remove from heat (as it will continue to cook) to serving plate.

5. Top scrambled egg with some dried parsley and freshly ground pepper and serve immediately.

A short cooking video on preparing scrambled egg with mushrooms

[Hearty Breakfast] Oats seeds and nuts loaf serve with scrambled egg, Swiss brown mushroom, overnight oats topped with apple jam plus a glass of milk.

[Quick Breakfast] Wholemeal toast serve with scrambled egg, baked pumpkin and mushrooms

[Quick Breakfast] Butter Kaya Toast serve with soft-boiled egg and greens

[Quick Breakfast] Raisin bun serve with scrambled egg, saute mushrooms, Greek yogurt and greens

[Hearty Breakfast] Club Sandwich

[Hearty Breakfast] Club Sandwich

Some of the days, I just need a fuller meal to keep me last till late afternoon while working on some home projects. So at time like this I would prepared some overnight oats with fruits and nuts together with club sandwiches. Between just to share; club sandwich is made with toasted bread and it is often cut into quarters and held together with frill picks with two layers that are separated by an additional slice of bread.

Club Sandwich

Ingredients: (serve 1)

• 3 Slices of Wholemeal Bread
• 4 Thin Slices Honey Shaved Ham
• 2 Slice of Sandwich/Swiss Cheese
• Some Lettuce or Rocket Leaves
• Some Cherry Tomato, halved

Method:
1. Toast the bread in a oven toaster or under a broiler on both sides.

2. In a small frying pan, lightly fry the shaved ham with about 30 seconds, remove and set aside.

3. To assemble double-decker club sandwich: Arrange 3 slices of bread on a clean work surface. Spread some butter/mayonnaise over 1 side of each bread.

4. Place letter on top of the first bread, top with tomato, follow by ham and cheese. Repeat with the second slice of bread by placing it carefully on top of the first layered bread.

5. Lastly cover the two layer with the last slice of bread. Cut the sandwich diagonally (triangle shape) and secure the layer with a frill picks through the top bread slice.

[Weekend Breakfast] Avocado Cheese and Ham Bun which is one of the weekend breakfast made using some left over butter bun from dinner. Love the combination of avocado with melt cheese which is totally awesome.

[Weekend Breakfast] Eggs Benedict with Greek Yogurt

Instead of the usual Hollandaise sauce which is made using egg yolk, butter, lemon juice and pepper, I replaced it with Greek Yogurt (infused with lime rind and teaspoon or two of lime juice) which is healthier and lighter in taste when pairing with the poached egg and bacon.

Croissant is one of my favourite pastry because of it flaky texture and buttery taste.  Although I am keen in baking but it has never come across my mind to learn this French pastry which is consider a "higher skill" baking project to me.  So to satisfy my croissant craving I usually grab my fix from Four Leave Bakery which offers quite decent treat apart from those famous ones like Artisan Boulangerie Co., Maison Kayser, Paris Baguette Cafe and etc which is mostly located in downtown area.

Croissant with Ham And Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 Croissant, slit lengthwise without cutting through
• 1 Slice of Honey Bake Ham or Shaved Ham
• 1 Slice of Sandwich/Swiss Cheese
• 4-5 Swiss Brown Mushrooms, sliced

Method:
1. Slice croissant into half (lengthwise), place on a baking tray and top the bottom half of croissant with cheese and pop it into the toaster oven for about 3 minutes until cheese is melted.

2. Meanwhile heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a frying pan over low heat, cook ham on both side for 30 seconds and removed. Alternatively you can place ham and cheese together in the toaster oven.

3. With the same pan, saute mushroom with 1 teaspoon of butter for 3 - 5 minutes until soften. Season with freshly ground pepper and dry parsley.

4. Remove to serving plate together with prepared croissant and serve immediately.

Nutella Spread on Pumpkin Toast top with sliced banana

One of my favourite breakfast combination with nutella spread on warm toast that tops with sliced banana and drizzle of wild honey for that extra morning boost! Instead of coffee I made a quick Green Tea Latte using +Just One Cookbook recipe here. And if you are a nutella fans, do try this yummy combination with banana and honey which I am sure you would like it too.

Easy breakfast toast with canned tuna. Just grab a can of your favourite tuna, spread it over some warm toast (grab ours from Cedele because we love both their pumpkin and walnut loaf). You can add a slice of sandwich cheese or top with cherry tomato like what shown above for a hearty quick breakfast.

OVERNIGHT OATS WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

Recently we are into Overnight Oats craze so basically I would make a jar with rolled oats, yogurt, milk and chia seeds (plain version) at least once/twice a week to have it for breakfast or lunch. You can read more about our overnight oats recipes at this link here. 

(Yield: 1/2 Cup | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 125g Blueberries, rinse and drain well
• 1 Tablespoons of Caster Sugar
• Zest Of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon juice

Method:-
1. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat until the sugar melt and some berries have burst. (Do not overcook the berries else the compote will end up to be with too much juice)

2. Remove from heat and serve warm with pancakes or crepes. Alternatively you can store cool compote in sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

*On a side note, the blueberry sauce will thicken after it cools down or keep in the fridge.

A short cooking clip on homemade Blueberry Compote.

My yummy overnight oats with homemade blueberry compote, fresh blueberry and crashed oatmeal cookies. You can find the recipe for Homemade Yogurt here.

Blueberry Overnight Oats

(Yield: 1.5 cups | Preparation: 3 minutes | Standing Time: Overnight)

Ingredients:

• 6 Tablespoons (45g) of Organic Rolled Oats
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Milk (can be slightly more)
• 150g Plain or Greek Yoghurt
• 1 Tablespoon Organic Chia Seeds
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract, optional

Method:
1. Using a clean sterilized glass jar, add rolled oats, chia seeds and yoghurt.

2. Pour in milk till almost 3/4 full, drop in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you are using then gently stir the mixture with a clean spoon to loosen the oats at the bottom of the jar.

3. Add in blueberries, covered the jar and leave the mixture overnight in the fridge.

4. In the morning, before having your oats you can top honey, fresh fruits, nuts or some homemade blueberry compote.

Pancake with blueberry compote

[Pancake Set] For a quick Monday breakfast fix, you can make some fluffy pancake (recipe) within a few minutes with batter that prepared the night before. Top it with some blueberry compote, extra berries and drizzle of honey. For a savoury treat, you can add also add a slice of unsalted butter, cream cheese spread or some scrambled egg.

[#Eatclean] French Toast top with diced fresh fruits and drizzle of wild honey together with homemade yogurt and blueberry compote as well as some scrambled egg from the leftover egg mixture used for making the french toast.

French Toast
Ingredient:

• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Tablespoon of Milk
• 2 Slices of Sandwich Bread, halved
• 4 slices of 1" thick baguette

Method:
1. Whisk egg and milk together till combined then soak sliced baguette or bread completely in egg mixture.

2. Melt butter in frying pan over low heat, arrange prepared bread on frying pan and pan-fry till golden brown on both sides.

[#Eatclean] with some Avocado and Scrambled Egg on Cheesy Baguette serve with homemade yogurt and blueberry compote.

Cheesy Baguette

Method:
1. Lightly toast the baguette (halved) in the toaster for 3 minutes on each side.

2. Lay sandwich cheese on warm baguette then top with scrambled egg and sliced avocado.

A Quick fix with some NEW Nestle KOKO Krunch (Choco Caramel flavour) over a bowl of cold milk and sliced banana.

BREAKFAST TAKEAWAY

[Store Bought] Bunny Custard Bun

[Store Bought] Bunny Custard Bun

Bought this Kitchen Joy Bunny Custard Bun (SG$3+) sometime back from Cold Storage and these bun are from CP Food Brand. Taste wise still quite decent but don't expect those flowing lava custard bun (奶黄包) like those serving in dim sum restaurant.

[Store Bought] Hokkaido Cheesecake

Despite the variety of cakes available in the bakery, my first choice always goes to Japanese Souffle Cheesecake as I love its light and fluffy texture that melts in your mouth leaving it with a fragrant milky taste. And it's such a pity that I didn't get to enjoy many of those authentic Japanese cakes and pastries during my last trip to Tokyo because those in my family don't really fancy sweet desserts.

Above is the new Hokkaido Cake made from 100% Hokkaido milk which is available in 3 sizes (small, medium and large) at Kuriya Fish Market, Man-Ichi and Ichiban Sushi. 



My favourite chocolate coated croissant with almond flakes from Four Leave Bakery. Always get this to go with my coffee black for either breakfast or tea-break.

[Singapore Local Breakfast] Old-school Chinese Pancake (面煎馃 - Ban Jian Kuih)

Assorted Chinese Pancake (面煎馃 - Ban Jian Kuih) with either peanut, shredded coconut or even new flavour like D24 durian.



My morning fuel when I don't feel like preparing my own breakfast in the kitchen. I would usually grab 3 Assorted pieces of these Chinese Pancakes for S$2.00 (or some time SG$2.40 from certain stalls) to go with my must have coffee.



Nowadays it's quite difficult to find good Kuih Kopes (Kuih Lopis) as compared to years back. This traditional Malaya dessert is made from glutinous rice that is wrapped with banana leave (usually in triangle shapes) and boiled till cooked through (quite similar to our Chinese rice dumplings - 粽子). After which they will be coated with a layer of prepared shredded coconut (fresh shredded coconut steamed with a mixture of salt) and serve together with gula melaka syrup (melted palm sugar).

[Singapore Local Breakfast] Butter Kaya Toast with Soft-boiled Egg and Coffee

This is one of the typical breakfast items found in Singapore which consists; Butter Kaya Toast (the one appears in the bamboo steamer is steamed bread with butter kaya), half-boiled Egg and Coffee/Tea. For me this is quite similar to the western poach egg on toast too just that different culture present it in different way.

This is how we enjoy half-boiled egg with coffee and toast/bread in Singapore.

Economical Fried Bee Hoon (经济米粉) is another common breakfast which we usually have. You can choose from fried bee hoon (vermicelli), yellow noodles and kway teow (flat noodles) to pair with your desire sides such as fried chicken wings, luncheon meat, fried egg, spring roll, fish cakes, cabbage and etc depending on what the stall offers.

[Singapore Local Breakfast] Chee Cheong Fun with assorted fillings

Chee Cheong Fun also known as Rice Noodle Rolls (猪肠粉) is one of the common items serve in dim sum restaurants. The rice noodle is usually wrapped with fillings such as shrimps, BBQ pork (char siew), shredded chicken and etc together with some sauce mixture. For your information usually those rice noodle rolls in the food centre does not comes with any fillings and they are served together with some sweet sauce and topped with sesame seeds.

[Singapore Local Breakfast] Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak often comes with combination of fragrant coconut rice together sides like fried chicken wings or fish, fried eggs and anchovies peanuts. Sometime you can also find old-school type of nasi lemak tha this is wrapped with banana leaves too. Between you can easily get this rice dish in either Chinese or Malaya food stall at most food centres or coffee shops.

[Singapore Local Breakfast] Fried Carrot Cake (white)

Fried Carrot Cake (chai tow kway) is a popular hawker food which comes in either "white/black" version with steamed carrot cake fried with beaten egg till crispy like pan-cake style. Personally I preferred the black version which is fried together with decent amount of sweet soy sauce which makes it more tastier than the white. Love my fried carrot cakes with lot of "Chye Poh - Preserved turnips" and chopped spring onions.

Lean meat porridge with century egg

Above are some of my favourite local (Singapore) breakfast items which we often get from the food centre or coffee shop  during breakfast time.  And there are still many others like Bak Chor Mee (minced meat noodle), Wanton Mee (dumpling noodles), Teochew / Cantonese Porridge, Dim Sum and etc which I would share in further breakfast ideas post. Till then hope you will enjoy this Breakfast post for our "Weekly Meal Planner' column, enjoy your breakfast friends!~.