Skip to content

Top Navigation

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Trip Inspiration
  • Plan Your Trip
  • World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises
  • Travel Tips
  • News
  • Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure
  • Explore

    Explore

    • World's Best

      The greatest islands, cities, hotels, cruise lines, airports, and more — as voted by you. Read More Next
    • The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020

      Whether you're traveling solo or planning a family vacation, here are the 50 best places to visit in 2020. Read More Next
    • Let's Go Together Podcast

      Start listening to T+L's brand new podcast, Let's Go Together! Hosted by Kellee Edwards. Read More Next
  • Trip Inspiration

    Trip Inspiration

    • Trip Ideas
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Spring Travel
    • Summer Travel
    • Fall Travel
    • Winter Travel
    • Solo Travel
    • Romantic Getaways
    • Luxury Travel
    • Beach Vacations
    • Adventure Travel
    • Road Trips
    • Family Travel
    • National Parks
    • Holiday Travel
    • Travel Photography
    • Photo of the Day
    • Culture and Design
  • Plan Your Trip

    Plan Your Trip

    • Travel Guides
    • Flight Deals
    • Travel Deals
    • Ways to Save
    • Hotels + Resorts
    • Attractions
    • Amusement Parks
    • Disney Vacations
    • Festivals + Events
    • Airlines + Airports
    • Buses + Trains
    • Ground Transportation
  • World's Best

    World's Best

    • Top Hotels
    • Top Cities
    • Top Islands
    • Domestic Airlines
    • International Airlines
    • Tours
    • Safaris
    • All World's Best
  • Destination of the Year
  • A-List Travel Advisors
  • Cruises

    Cruises

    • Find A Cruise
    • Caribbean Cruises
    • River Cruises
    • European Cruises
    • All-Inclusive Cruises
    • Family Cruises
    • Alaskan Cruises
    • Disney Cruises
    • See All Cruise Vacations
  • Travel Tips

    Travel Tips

    • Travel Trends
    • Packing Tips
    • Points + Miles
    • Budgeting + Currency
    • Customs + Immigration
    • Responsible Travel
    • Travel Etiquette
    • Travel Warnings
    • Weather
    • Mobile Apps
    • See All Travel Tips
  • News

    News

    • Wellness
    • Celebrity Travel
    • Animals
    • Jobs
    • Offbeat
    • See All News
  • Food + Drink

    Food + Drink

    • Restaurants
    • Wine
    • Beer
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Bars + Clubs
    • Celebrity Chefs
    • Cooking + Entertaining
    • Food Fairs + Festivals
    • World's Best Restaurants
    • See All Food + Drink
  • Travel Accessories

    Travel Accessories

    • Travel Bags
    • Shoes
    • Travel Tech
    • Shopping
    • Style
    • Gift Guides
    • See All Travel Accessories
  • Check-In

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Food and Drink
  3. World's Strangest Breakfasts

World's Strangest Breakfasts

By Joshua Pramis
August 04, 2011
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
Credit: Cory Freitas
Diseased corn may not be the first thing you crave in the morning. But travel to Mexico and that’s what you’ll get if you order huitlacoche with your eggs.

To the locals who enjoy them regularly, huitlacoche and other breakfast ingredients are just as run-of-the-mill as a stack of pancakes doused with syrup. And sampling these foods is a great way to explore the local culture—huitlacoche, for example, is considered a delicacy in Mexico. (It’s also packed with protein and minerals.)

Sometimes the menu item is something familiar, but comes with a twist. Take porridge. If you order up a breakfast bowl of porridge-like congee (slow-cooked rice) in China, brace yourself: it comes topped with a century egg. Though it’s not actually 100 years old, the egg has been aged for weeks (or months) until it takes on the aroma of ammonia and sulfur and has a gelatinous texture.

When in Scandinavia, you can treat yourself to a bowlful of its version of yogurt: filmjölk. The creamy substance is made in much the same way as yogurt—by fermenting milk—but the resulting flavor of this variation resembles a cross between buttermilk and sour cream. It’s often topped with cereal.

But hey, let’s be real. You don’t have to go overseas to find some strange noshes; there are plenty right here in America. Head to the mid-Atlantic, for instance, and you won’t have a hard time finding scrapple—leftover scraps from a pig that are boiled, minced, mixed with cornmeal and seasoned, and then fried up for your eating pleasure.

Read on to see our list of strange breakfasts from around the world. And go on, the next time you have the chance, be adventurous and try them. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

What’s the strangest breakfast item you’ve come across during your travels? Share your experience by posting a comment below.
Start Slideshow

1 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Japan:Chawanmushi

Credit: © Amana Images Inc. / Alamy

Steamed eggs and dashi seasoning (a soup broth base) give this dish a silky and custard-like texture. The eggs are topped with an assortment of ingredients, from shiitake mushrooms to shrimp to chicken to kamaboko (a mixture of cured white fish and starch).

1 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Mexico:Huitlacoche

Technically speaking, this is diseased corn. But don’t worry, it won’t harm you to eat it—in fact, this fungus is considered a delicacy in Mexico and typically costs more than “normal” corn. Spores infect the corn, turning it black and giving it a mushroom-like flavor. Huitlacoche typically comes up on breakfast menus as a filling in omelettes.

2 of 13

3 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

China:Congee with Century Eggs

Credit: © Nopphadol Viwatkamolwat / Alamy

Congee is a porridge made by slow cooking rice for an extended period of time, until it takes on a thick, creamy texture. What makes this dish truly strange is the topping: century eggs. These are eggs that are traditionally wrapped in a mixture of clay, salt, ash, lime, and rice for several weeks. The result? The yolk turns green, and the white resembles amber or sometimes is almost black; the consistencies are creamy and gelatinous, respectively, with a pungent odor of sulfur and ammonia.

3 of 13

Advertisement

4 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Scotland:Haggis

Credit: Courtesy of Chiara Canali

Who’s up for oatmeal for breakfast? Plenty of Scots—although oatmeal is often just the beginning. They’ll add onion, suet, and various spices to the dry mix. Oh, and don’t forget the minced sheep heart, liver, and lungs. Simmer all those ingredients for a few hours in water or stock, wrap everything up in a casing (or sheep’s stomach, if it’s super traditional), and you’ve got yourself some haggis.

4 of 13

5 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Jamaica:Ackee

Credit: FoodFolio / Alamy

Despite being chock-full of nutrients, this fruit—which is a staple menu item throughout Jamaica—is actually poisonous if not prepared correctly. Resembling scrambled eggs, ackee is typically served with whitefish for breakfast.

5 of 13

6 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Pakistan and Bangladesh: Siri Paya

Credit: Laine MacWilliam

Siri means head, and paya means feet. So you might guess where we’re going with this one: siri paya is a soup made from slowly cooking the head and feet of a cow, a lamb, or a goat, then adding tomatoes, onions, and curry spices. Are you head over heels for this dish yet?

6 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Korea: Kimchi

Credit: Bellaphon

Nothing will wake you up in the morning quite like this potent dish made of fermented veggies (often cabbage, green onions, radishes, and ginger) with the added punch of both garlic and red peppers.

7 of 13

8 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

U.S.:Scrapple

Credit: Kevin Lee

Waste not, want not. Popular in the mid-Atlantic states, scrapple is made from the parts of a pig that, well, you’d have nothing else to do with except make scrapple. The scrap meat is boiled, minced, combined with cornmeal, and seasoned with various spices. It’s molded into the shape of a loaf, then sliced up and fried in oil.

8 of 13

9 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Thailand:Spicy Rice Noodles

Credit: © Bon Appetit / Alamy

In Thailand, a common morning meal consists of flat, wide rice noodles that are topped with tongue-tingling chiles (either preserved or fresh) served in vinegar.

9 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Scandinavia: Filmjölk

Credit: © L Ancheles / Getty Images

Made from fermented milk, this product is somewhat like yogurt with a taste that resembles a cross between sour cream and buttermilk (if you can even imagine what that’s like). It’s traditionally eaten in the mornings with cereal mixed in.

10 of 13

11 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

U.S.:Loco Moco

Credit: © MIXA / Alamy

This traditional Hawaiian breakfast feels more like a heavy dinner. (At the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, for instance, the loco moco packs an estimated 871 calories.) Cooks start with a plateful of rice, add a hamburger patty, pour on some gravy, and top it off with a fried egg. If you want to really embrace the Hawaiian spirit, sub the hamburger patty for a slice of fried spam.

11 of 13

12 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Russia:Syrniki

Credit: Natalie Barth

Think of these as the same kind of pancakes you’re used to eating, but with some soft, white quark cheese mixed in. Fried up in oil, syrniki have a crispy exterior with a rich, creamy filling. The toppings range from savory to sweet, including sour cream and honey.

12 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 13

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Vietnam:Pho

Credit: Cory Freitas

This simple soup—prepared with rice noodles, basil, lime, bean sprouts, and either beef or chicken—is a surefire way to guarantee you’ll have tons of energy throughout the day. The ingredients aren’t out of the norm, but many of us tend to think of a big bowl of hearty, hot soup as a later-in-the-day meal.

13 of 13

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Joshua Pramis

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 13 Japan:Chawanmushi
2 of 13 Mexico:Huitlacoche
3 of 13 China:Congee with Century Eggs
4 of 13 Scotland:Haggis
5 of 13 Jamaica:Ackee
6 of 13 Pakistan and Bangladesh: Siri Paya
7 of 13 Korea: Kimchi
8 of 13 U.S.:Scrapple
9 of 13 Thailand:Spicy Rice Noodles
10 of 13 Scandinavia: Filmjölk
11 of 13 U.S.:Loco Moco
12 of 13 Russia:Syrniki
13 of 13 Vietnam:Pho

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message
Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap
  • Travel Guide Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletters
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
Travel + Leisure is part of the Travel + Leisure Group. Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Travel + Leisure is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation Travel + Leisure Group All Rights Reserved, registered in the United States and other countries. Travel + Leisure may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.travelandleisure.com

View image

World's Strangest Breakfasts
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.