Head out for breakfast
View(s):How would you like your eggs? We’re taking them sunny side up this week on Take 3 as we set off to find the perfect big breakfast. Here’s what you need to know.
Coco Veranda | No. 32, Ward Place, Colombo 7. Tel: 011 7635635
The first perk with Coco Veranda is that you needn’t get out of bed to have their breakfast – they deliver. This might also help offset the thing we least liked about their breakfasts – the sausages. (We do acknowledge though, that breaking out your own frying pan quite defeats the purpose.) In pursuit of the truly magnificent breakfast, we tried both Coco’s Big Breakfast (Rs.650) and the English Breakfast (Rs.730).
The Big Breakfast qualifies because of a generous serving of French toast that accompanies the scrambled eggs piled into a soft, pillowy yellow-white mountain. The toast steers on the right side of sweet, but the bad sausage sinks the ship. The slightly heartier selection on the English Breakfast is the way to go, but let us state for the record that chicken bacon is a poor substitute for the real thing. Both meals come with a choice of tea or coffee.
What we didn’t try? The Works: 2 sausages, 2 burger patties, egg any style and bread (Rs.690). What we wished we had tried? The Ham and Egg Breakfast cups (Rs.540). Rumour has it that the Eggs Benedict are good (Rs 440) and if you have a sweet tooth, there’s waffles (Rs. 470) and Banana Bread with Strawberry Compote (Rs.620) to entice you in. On the plus side are warm, efficient service, funky decor and (on that morning) great music. They’re open from 7a.m. and stay open till midnight – their Crescat outlet closes an hour earlier but has a nice outdoor seating area. The ‘Sun Up’ menu is available all day.
Sugar Bistro Crescat Boulevard, No. 89, Galle Road, Colombo 3. Tel: 011 2446229
There’s a lot to like about Sugar Bistro – those pretty wooden white table ornaments, the outdoor seating in the evenings, the selection of table wines and of course breakfast. They’re open for business by 8, but don’t count on leaving till at least an hour after you arrive. This multi-course breakfast deserves that, especially considering that at Rs. 900 (Rs.1008 with taxes), it’s the most expensive of our selection. Served between 8 a.m and 5 p.m. it includes a choice of orange or ambarella juice, a delicately arranged fresh fruit platter, two farm fresh eggs cooked any way you want them, a choice of pork/beef/chicken sausages, beef/pork bacon, a breakfast potato (a.k.a a kind of crispy hash brown), a grilled red tomato, a small serving of baked beans and toast with butter and jam on the side. Plus a small pot of tea or coffee.
It looks great and tastes great, leaving you feeling pleasurably full. However, if you’re not up for the full deal (or the expense), they have a range of smaller, very well priced alternatives. Try two poached eggs on toast with grilled asparagus and a lemon hollandaise served with baked beans for Rs. 250, the fresh waffles served with fruit compote and honey or kitul treacle for Rs.200 or the open sandwich of smoked bacon on a bed of lettuce and grilled tomato, topped with a fried egg for Rs. 300. (There’s more stuff too.)
Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean 2 Maitland Crescent, Colombo 7. Tel: 0773928888
The thing that should inspire you to spend your morning at Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean is the endless refills on both beverages – unfortunately, this generous offer only lasts till 11 a.m., but the dedicated drinker can put away at least three cups before then. The breakfast (we’re sorry to come to it second) is available all day and is actually very good. We tried The Ultimate Breakfast (Rs.590) and waived on the option of adding a hash brown or baked beans for an additional Rs.100. You can have orange juice as well for Rs. 200, but alas no free refills on that. Our coddled eggs were deliciously runny (avoid this option if slippery egg whites aren’t your thing), the sausages are delicious and juicy and are paired beautifully with a light, fresh salad of tomato and lettuce dotted with crinkled little raisins that burst sweetly in your mouth. Slabs of toasted bread (bordering perilously on dry) accompany the meal.
Once again, if you’re looking for something simpler, we recommend the Ham, Cheese and Egg Muffin for Rs. 420 or the Eggs Benedict for Rs. 540. Incidentally, the Salmon and Egg Muffin is the most expensive thing on the menu at Rs.690. However, if you have a sweet tooth (and perhaps even if you don’t) the thing to try is the chocolate croissant (Rs.240). Rich, decadent and simply loaded with chocolate, it’s a meal in itself.
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