Always eat a local breakfast: Marion Grasby's travel tips and highlights

MasterChef alumni Marion Grasby has been to 27 countries around the world - and this passionate foodie's top tip for travellers is to start the day right. 

Cook and presenter Marion Grasby has delighted in introducing her family to Thai culture. 

I got my first passport when…

I was about three and we travelled to Bangkok from Darwin to visit my mum’s Thai family for (my) first time.

My first holiday memory is…

A beach holiday we must have taken as a family to Thailand when I was little. I remember sliding down the hotel pool slide which looked out over a small beach. And then eating a warm banana fritter on a rickety little table in the sand.

I’ve been to 27 countries…

Including Finland, Taiwan, Korea and Cambodia. And I’ve lived in three countries: Australia, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

My favourite place in Australia is…

On a boat, moored off Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. I love waking up super early and having the entire stretch of white silica sand to myself for my morning run. And any day spent there is all the better if you can manage a decent catch of fish.

The place I’d rather be right now is…

Slurping a steaming bowl of spicy noodle soup somewhere on the streets of Bangkok.

Marion Grasby at Bangkok Chinatown.

The place I’ve visited most often is…

Bangkok. I’ve always loved it, even as a kid. The busy, hectic city, the smell of fried chicken from a street cart, the sweet mangoes, a mouth-numbing spicy laab salad... I love all of it (except the traffic). Aside from Bangkok, my most travelled country is Spain. I adore Spanish food and wine and have travelled to Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Grenada, Seville and Valencia. Each place has its own regional specialities but forme, the pintxos in San Sebastián and the food of the Basque region are top of my list. It’s where the famous Basque cheesecake comes from.

My most memorable travel experience happened when...

We took our young children to Thailand for the first time last year. I felt like I was a child again, experiencing it all again with so much wonder. And I was so proud of how much local food they were willing to try and how much they loved it, even the curries.

The travel destination on my bucket list is...

Sicily, to eat my body weight in arancini.

My holidays are mostly devoted to…

Walking, running, eating and drinking. I love to run through a city early in the morning. It’s when you often see a bit more of what it’s really like to “live” in that place. A good run also makes me hungry for the rest of the day so I can happily indulge in seafood pancakes at a market in Seoul, Korea, or go on a bar crawl through the old town in San Sebastián, Spain, eating as much pintxos as I can.

The advice I’d give to young travellers is…

Put the camera down every now and then and just live it.

The place that most surprised me was…

Lapland in Finland. We spent a magical Christmas there and met “Santa” in the most incredible snow-covered forest. I was surprised at just how much I loved the experience as an adult. I also had lunch in a restaurant made entirely of ice, sweated it out in a traditional wood-fired sauna and did a cold plunge in a frozen lake.

The best thing I’ve eaten while travelling was...

The freshest sea urchin (uni) at Nijo Market in Sapporo, Japan.

My go-to dish for room service is…

A classic club sandwich eaten in my pyjamas with a glass of wine.

The travel tips I’d like to share are…

Always eat a local breakfast. I find it fascinating how different breakfast can be when you travel. In Spain I’m all about the pan con tomate, which is crunchy toast topped with grated or crushed tomato and drizzled with olive oil. But in Japan I’ll be eating steamed rice with grilled salmon, pickles and miso soup.

Travel has taught me...

To embrace the chaos, particularly now that my holiday travel is mostly with my husband and two young children. I want travel to be something exciting and as stress-free as it can be for them, so it’s important that I’m the one to keep a cool head when things go wrong.

FLIGHTS MISSED? The worst was a flight our family of four missed from Athens to Mykonos because our bags (with all of our passports in them) were stolen.

PASSPORTS/VISAS/WALLETS/LUGGAGE LOST? See above – our bags and passports were stolen in Greece.

FAVOURITE TRAVEL COMPANION? My favourite travel companion is a good, thrilling crime novel.

FLIGHT / CRUISE/CAR OR TRAIN? My favourite is always a flight.

CHECK-IN OR CARRY-ON? Check-in for sure.

I MANAGE JET LAG BY... Eating breakfast and dinner in the local time zone.

Originally published as Always eat a local breakfast: Marion Grasby's travel tips and highlights