lsland Breakfasts: Filipino Tapsilog & Hawaiian-Style

Daybreak on these cold mornings in Vancouver brings lots of food choices but lately, the warm island weather of the Philippines have me craving food from my childhood. 

Did you know: Rice is deeply ingrained (pun intended!) in the Filipino culture and cuisine, so naturally the first meal of the day (as well as lunch and dinner) would include rice. 

Filipino Tapsilog Breakfast
My blog post on tapsilog is my favourite Filipino breakfast made with tapa (fried, cured beef strips), sinangag (fried garlic rice), and itlog (sunny side-up fried egg). You get the fragrant garlic fried rice, buttery egg and savoury tapa all in one delicious plate. Tapsilog is my perfect comfort food in the morning to warm and fill me up for the day.

Candice's Cusina's Tapsilog

Tasty Tip: Leftover rice for sinangag (fried garlic rice) is preferred over freshly cooked because day-old rice has a drier and hardier texture can withstand the high cooking temperature of making fried garlic rice.

Hawaiian-Style Breakfast
A sunny start to 2017, my husband, Jaeger, and I were able to escape the unusual freezing temperatures of Vancouver to balmy Waikiki for a much deserved vacation!

Aloha from Waikiki!

On our first morning in tropical paradise, we seek out a hearty Hawaiian breakfast and landed in Waikiki Breakfast Kitchen.  A small hole-in-the wall eatery connected to a moped rental on a small side street off the main road, Kalakaua Avenue.  They operate on island time, a little slow because there was only one person who took the orders, cooks and cleans. For the food and value it's worth the wait! They serve breakfast all day and had a good selection of local favourites all under $5 USD.  

Waikiki Breakfast Kitchen Menu, cheap and cheerful!

We went for the Hawaiian-style hot breakfast, menu item #1 of spam, sausage, eggs and rice for exactly $4 USD. I liked that they had condiments like spicy sriracha and furikake, a Japanese condiment, a mix of sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, ground dried fish, salt and pepper, that I put on top of my breakfast for added flavour. Yum!!

Hawaiian-style breakfast

This Hawaiian breakfast was delicious with the silky sunny side eggs, fluffy white rice, savoury spam and sausage that provided ample energy to last the day's sightseeing, walking and shopping!

Island Breakfasts Comparison
Tapsilog and Hawaiian-style breakfast are very similar in taste and texture with rice, egg, and savoury meat. A good combo to soothe a hangover or kick start the day. 

Living in Vancouver, you will get the side eye for having spam in the Hawaiian breakfast (or in any meal) because meat-from-a-can isn't too appetizing for most healthy West Coast local. 

Spam!
photo credit: Beyond Kimchi

The tapsilog gets bonus points because you can make the tapa at home by marinating the beef in a sweet soy sauce then cooked until the meat becomes a tender jerky and ready for breakfast.

Tapa marinating in goodness!

Deliciously cooked tapa! 

Like the Filipino tapsilog, the Hawaiian breakfast isn't fancy but they are both breakfasts of champions that will fill you up for the day. They are also so satisfying because the rice, eggs and savoury meats feel and taste like home.  Salamat and Mahalo!

Masarap & Ono!!