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Egg crepes with mantou

From running a culinary school and delivery kitchen with her chef father Avinash Rajput to opening the first-ever pan-Asian eatery to serves breakfast, Aakanksha Rajput is wearing her love for Asian cuisine on her sleeve. During her travels across Singapore and Thailand, she realised that breakfast in different parts of Asia was varied and flavourful. Back home, he hunted for a place to try kaya toast, congee, or avocado and egg baos, but came away disappointed.

Cantonese Congee

Edamame, her Asian breakfast café in Versova, opened last month to bridge the gap. "The menu includes dishes that I tried at local hawker centers and small cafes when travelling across the continent," she says. The menu is compact and comprises about 12 breakfast dishes (R285 onwards) and beverages to go along, including the now famous Vietnamese coffee and Korean strawberry latte. "My personal favourite is the Cantonese congee and Thai Buddha bowl," she says of the slow-cooked rice porridge, and one pot meal. The Ji dan bing crepes, Vietnamese bahn mi, Japanese fluffy pancakes, breakfast baos and kaya toasts make up the rest of the menu." The idea [behind the cafe] as to offer something new but with flavours that are comforting and familiar. A breakfast that transports you to the streets of Asia, in short."

Vietnamese Breakfast Bahn Mi

Mumbai's eateries are cashing in on the growing popularity of having a healthy and hearty breakfast, while trying to offer something beyond pancakes and porridge. The many countries that make up the Asian continent have a particular favourite breakfast dish, and it's this vast gamut of taste flavours that chefs and restaurateurs are dipping into. Indonesia has nasi goreng; Vietnam has the iconic noodle broth, Pho; the Chinese have their congee. A traditional Japanese breakfast consists of what we would imagine as lunch dishes - steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and a variety of sides, including tsukemono (Japanese pickles), nori (dried seasoned seaweed), natto (fermented soybeans), kobachi (vegetables) and green salad.

Akansha Rajput, Founder, Edamame

At the newly opened Japanese restaurant Tsubaki in Worli, Chef Ganesh Sonari says they are soon going to serve Japanese breakfast with tofu miso soup, dashimaki tamogo (omelette), yasai curry rice, tori katsu (chicken cutlets) and yaki sakana (grilled fish). "Asian food is best prepared by speciality chefs and the ingredients have to ve authentic. This makes the cuisine an expensive one to dabble in. A niche, urban segment is willing to spend on an Asian breakfast experience," says Sonari. Since the Japanese breakfast is a whole meal in itself, the restaurant has been mindful of keeping the portions small. We don't want it to stuff the guest. The dishes tend to be lighter, not greasy or deep-fried." The dishes at Tsubaki are priced at Rs 800 onwards.

Chef Ganesh Sonari, Tsubaki

Hakuei Kosato is no stranger to India. The Japanese founder of Sushi & More, the chain of takeaway and delivery outlets in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurugram, is hailed for making the Japananse raw fish eat accessible and affordable, with vegetarian and Jain options no less. When he started as a supplier of Japanese ingredients for 5-star restaurant SanQi, only the Taj's Wasabi and ITC's Pan Asian were competitors in the space. The market now, is dotted with mighty contenders. He says, "In Japan, breakfast sushi is a treat eaten at local fish markets like the Tsukiji market in Tokyo. The core of the market hawks raw fish, and a large outer market serves fresh sushi. Here, people enjoy a morning seafood donburi bowl or sushi. The Japanese tradition usually follows Japanese steamed rice with miso soup and a small dish like grilled fish and natto [fermented soybean served with Kikkoman soy sauce]. Some also like onsen tamago [poached egg la hot spring bath] with pickles that are light and healthy."

Hakuei Kasato, Sushi & More

As part of Sushi & More's breakfast menu, he serves the traditional steamed rice with miso soup and a few sushi varieties. These are sold at counters inside Foodhall branches 10 am onwards for those looking for a quick Asian breakfast (R260 onwards). "Southeast Asia, in my opinion, is highly diverse, ranging from Thai to Vietnamese to Indonesian; it's quite colourful and distinct from Japan. Asia is a massive continent housing a diverse range of cultures. In India, there is a market for Asian breakfast restaurants and we are only beginning to scratch the surface of this interesting food segment."