I've eaten the world's best breakfasts, but this Sydney hotel wowed me

This globetrotting traveller has tried delicious and extravagant morning meals at some of the world's top hotels - but one Australian location stands out among the best. 

Waiter, there’s a lobster in my eggs. Actually, it’s a marron, the crayfish native to Western Australia, perched on a velvety scramble and paired with pillowy sourdough. If surrealist Salvador Dalí and sensualist Oscar Wilde collaborated on a dish it might well turn out like this. The head shell is filled with zingy hollandaise sauce, the pink claw meat is daintily arrayed on a blue plate, and the entire thing tastes mind-blowingly good.

Served to guests staying at the Grand National Hotel in Sydney’s Paddington, the inspired dish is one of the standout breakfast experiences in the country. A bold assertion but a credible one given this is Josh Niland’s dominion, and the chef is a master of fish-forward cooking (the eggs are richly infused with marron head) and imaginative plating (the fruit arrangement would fill a Dutch still-life painter with envy).

Marron for breakfast at Sydney's Grand National Hotel.

Hotel breakfasts have evolved appreciably from stale croissants. My approach to morning meals at home is at best rudimentary and at worst non-existent. But when I travel, breakfast morphs into a momentous occasion. If it’s included in the price of your stay, so is peace of mind. This is the calm before the storm of searching for food on foot, and vital fuel for the intensity, uncertainty and emotion of the challenge. So have the chocolate-dipped churros – you’ll need the energy spike later.

Breakfast can be a crash course in local customs, and what’s on the menu depends on where you are. In Turkey, I’ll order the full Ottoman spread, with cheese, olives and sesame seed-coated simit, as if I was Suleiman the Magnificent plotting his next move. In Brazil, I’m mad for those sublime cheesy bread balls with the cute name, pão de queijo, though I’ll never understand how locals can eat them and remain so lithe. In Mexico, I might request chilaquiles, or breakfast nachos, to kickstart the day.

Breakfast offering at Como Shambala Estate in Ubud, Bali.

The best resorts serve breakfast with a side of serenity. Consider Como Shambhala Estate in Bali. At its Kudus House restaurant, a repurposed Javanese home with carved teak walls set in Ubud’s jungle canopy, the early meal takes on a spiritual air. The vibrantly virtuous fare might include wok-fried red rice with tempeh, zucchini waffles with smoked salmon, and scrambled tofu with sweetcorn. None of which I would ever prepare at home – another benefit of a stellar hotel offering. Sated, I floated to a walking tour of rice fields, temples and shrines on a beam of enlightenment.

I found a different type of breakfast bliss at Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, in Florence. The storied hideaway is perched in the hills outside the city, so the vistas from its loggia are of domes, bell towers and basilicas. But it was the rococo assortment of pastries that stopped this visitor in his tracks. It seemed as though the pastry whizzes had been up all night baking, with fruit crostadas, pistachio tortas and ring-shaped orange cakes to choose from. I settled on a swirly sfogliatella whose tail had been dusted in icing sugar. My dietary renaissance would have to wait.

Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel in Florence.

From the sacred to the profligate. In the US, brunch is the most sociable, and often decadent, meal of the day. One of the most lavish scenes unfolds at the Parker Palm Springs. Norma’s is the desert lodging’s citrus-coloured terrace eatery where the rollicking menu spans brûlée-topped waffles, eggs Benedict with short ribs, and lobster frittata with caviar. Fancy a tipple before noon? This is the place to channel a rakish, Rat Pack spirit with a morning Margarita, Mojito or Martini. And the tabasco-tinged Bloody Mary, accessorised with a robust celery stick, is sinfully tasty.

Even with all the culinary improvements at hotels, it’s sometimes advisable to go off-piste in pursuit of the delicious. I always travel with a dossier of information and recommendations, which is how, not long ago, I found myself breakfasting at Cafe Medina in downtown Vancouver. Lines are to be expected here, yet it’s worth the wait for the congenial service, heavenly Belgian waffles with berry compote, and hearty Middle Eastern-style dishes like tagine with poached eggs, merguez sausages and a sultry tomato sauce. It was Ottolenghi-esque in its zestiness.

Breakfast at Medina Cafe in Vancouver.

Admittedly, my gourmet safaris don’t always pay off. After subsisting on kimchi stew and rice cakes in Seoul, I craved a bacon and egg roll one morning. A greasy spoon near my Myeong-dong hotel earned online raves for its breakfast sandwiches, and by the time I arrived at 9am the takeaway line clogged the street. Sadly, their egg and cheese toastie was beyond bland, a lacklustre take on the savoury staple. Perhaps it was my fault thinking I could get Bill Granger-worthy treats in South Korea. It was only later I realised I could have stopped by one of the two Bills in Seoul.

Coffee can be another disappointment on the road. The barista diaspora has filtered to almost every corner of the globe, but it’s still exceedingly difficult to find a well-made latte or flat-white inside a hotel.

One exception is the Ace chain in the US. Its lodgings often feature a branch of Stumptown coffee from Portland in the lobby. It’s a drawcard for guests and locals alike, who gather to sip full-bodied beverages, peck on their laptops and imbibe the caffeinated vibe. Even Ace Kyoto has one. For visitors to Japan who might feel disoriented, its coffee tastes like home.

Originally published as I've eaten the world's best breakfasts, but this Sydney hotel wowed me