Breakfast for American couple

[Chopstix]

Hi! I need menu advice from our American friends here for this American couple whom we've invited for breakfast at our home this Friday.

My husband's colleague and his wife are in Thailand now for an 'exploratory' visit. They are contemplating the company's offer to re-assign and relocate them here in Bangkok for a couple years. They are from Los Angeles. I believe they've been here a week now so they are probably a bit acclimatized to the weather and to the food by now.

Needless to say, we'd like to make a good impression to help them decide. I'm thinking of serving them a mix of Asian and Western food for breakfast. This will show them that Asian food is wonderful and that western conveniences are easily available.

The proposed breakfast menu:

Mushroom & Chives Omelette
Sliced Chinese Sausages
Fried rice: Either Thai (Khao kluk kapi), Chinese, or Indonesian (Nasi Goreng)
Croissants (from a great French bakery here)
Specialty Bagels (from the western grocery)
Two cheeses (Emmenthaler and Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
Tropical fruits (Mangoes, Rose apples, etc.)
Milk, Orange Juice, Coffee, Tea

My questions to you are:

1. Is this menu too much? Where I come from, breakfast is normally a serious affair with lots of food to choose from. Besides, this is to play it safe since I don't know what they like/don't like.

2. I think the Thai khao kluk kapi is a wonderful dish although it might be too bold a dish to serve them. It's actually fragrant jasmine rice fried in pungent shrimp paste, mixed with raw sliced shallots, thin green mango strips, crispy dried shrimps, glazed sweet pork, cilantro and bird's eye chilies. I can just serve the chilies on the side to manage the heat. So is this too risky a dish and I should just go with either Chinese or Nasi Goreng?

3. We're not coffee drinkers so we don't have a coffee maker/brewer. Is it a no-no to serve instant coffee to them? If you tell me so, I'll go out and buy me a simple coffee maker tomorrow.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DaCook]

I'm not American, but Canadian and American breakfasts are very much the same. If you invite me to a breakfast like that, I would be very impressed. Stick with the Thai rice. I am sure they would like to be introduced to the regional foods, I know I would. Everything else sounds wonderful too. That is a very large menu for breakfast, I hope they are very hungry. I wouldn't go with 2 cheeses for the bagels, just stick to cream cheese, it is pretty much what most North Americans like on bagels. I am dying to know what rose apples are though. Unfortunately you would never get me to drink instant coffee. You can get some really cheap drip models that make pretty good coffee. Just put the coffee grounds in a paper filter and pour boiling water into it and let it drip. Or you could get a cheap perocator if you can find one, but better yet, just boil some water with coffee grounds in a pot, simmer for a bit, turn it off and drop a couple ice cubes into it. The ice will make the grounds "settle" to the bottom. It's what we call campfire coffee. Just be careful when pouring. Hope that helps. BTW, do you think I can make it there by breakfast?

 

[licia]

It sounds wonderful to me. I agree about only cream cheese with bagels. Since you don't have a coffee maker, you could serve tea.

 

[buckytom]

but Canadian and American breakfasts are very much the same.

i couldn't disagree more. maybe all canadian breakfasts are the same (possibly outlining my theory that you're not all peaceful, happy productive people, but drugged into submission thru your back bacon, doughnuts, and maple syrup), but as the united states is a large country with many regional differences, so goes the menu.

think a bagel, lox and a schmear in nyc; grits, biscuits and sausage gravy down south; to a southwestern egg burrito or western omelette, well out west.
and i think jkath has an avocado with every meal, starting with breakfast. the z just eats the leftovers from yesterday's buffet tables...

getting back to reality: chops, the menu looks great, but i'd offer grapes with the emmenthaler, and a jam, jelly, or preserves with the bagels and cream cheese. it seemed to me that the only thing missing was something really sugary like jelly or jam.

 

[DaCook]

i couldn't disagree more. maybe all canadian breakfasts are the same (possibly outlining my theory that you're not all peaceful, happy productive people, but drugged into submission thru your back bacon, doughnuts, and maple syrup), but as the united states is a large country with many regional differences, so goes the menu.

think a bagel, lox and a schmear in nyc; grits, biscuits and sausage gravy down south; to a southwestern egg burrito or western omelette, well out west.
and i think jkath has an avocado with every meal, starting with breakfast. the z just eats the leftovers from yesterday's buffet tables...

OK, OK, OK, you got me! I was just thinking of most of the brekkies I've eaten in the northern states.

 

[urmaniac13]

Hey Chopstix, if I were the guest I would love to try your full Thai traditional breakfast. Khan Kluk Kapi sounds delicious!! (I suggest you would never call it with an abbreviation with its initials though... just to avoid any nasty misunderstanding!!) I would like a full recipe (with maybe some suggestions/ideas for substitutions if not everything is available elsewhere...we CAN get jasmine rice though!!)
But if you would like to play it safe your idea of fusion menu will be nice too... who can resist a fresh French croissant!!

As for coffee, don't worry too much about it... no one dies if they don't have a coffee for just one breakfast (well, maybe with the exception of pdswife... ). Offer a few variety of teas instead, black and green.

 

[DaCook]

As for coffee, don't worry too much about it... no one dies if they don't have a coffee for just one breakfast (well, maybe with the exception of pdswife... ). Offer a few variety of teas instead, black and green.

And DaCook.

 

[Chef_Jen]

i couldn't disagree more. maybe all canadian breakfasts are the same (possibly outlining my theory that you're not all peaceful, happy productive people, but drugged into submission thru your back bacon, doughnuts, and maple syrup), but as the united states is a large country with many regional differences, so goes the menu. .

Uhhhhh Canada is just as big with just as many cultures!! And doughnuts is more of an american thing then canadian... (hence coffee shops and cops shows) And actually a cooked breakfast traditional

Eggs
Bacon
Sausage
Beans
Toast
Mushrooms
Tomato

You know your Regular Dennys Grand Slam style breakfasts

You get that in both canada and USA.. i think thats what Dacook was referring to!!! LOL Face it americans and Canadians eat the same things!


As to your menu It nice. The rice dish seems very strong for the morning but they may like it you never know!

I say serve some nice Tea in the morning!

 

[Lynan]

What time is the breakfast scheduled for? My point is, if more like a brunch then I would offer restrained Thai food. I, personally, cannot imagine eating cream cheese/jelly and bagels with any Thai food. You cant escape the intensity of their food with chilli, lemongrass, cilantro,tamarind etc. Our food at the same meal does not integrate well IMO.
A gentle introduction to the delights of Thai food for your breakfast would be wonderful. I have been known to eat a Beef Salad for breakfast in Thailand!
Otherwise, something simple like an omelette as you mentioned but with local flavours, a grilled tomato would go well with that for a token Western item. Lots of gorgeous fresh squeezed exotic juices, some yogurt, maybe like mango or coconut, and maybe the traditional Kao Tom Moo? I agree about tea being served, and heaps of the best fruit in the world!! Id love a dish of Mango and Sticky Rice for breakfast!!! lolol
Good luck and let us know what you served and how it was accepted.

 

[Lynan]

ChefJen...your brekky is JUST as we Kiwis like...lololol
On Sundays only to preserve our figures.

 

[Chef_Jen]

Lyn I agreei was thinking that rice dish was a lil too much for someone who isnt use to it!

 

[Ishbel]

The Canadian/Kiwi breakfast sounds like a 'Full English' breakfast or a 'Full Scottish' - which in many places includes all or many of the items below

Fruit juice/fruits
Cereals
Porridge

Eggs
Tattie Scone
Fried Bread
Bacon
Sausage
Lorne Sausage
Tomato
Black Pudding
Mushrooms
Haggis
Beans (a step too far, in my estimation!)

Followed by lashings of toast and butter, marmalade/jams and tea

No wonder so many tourists say that an English/Scottish breakfast in an hotel or a B&B sets them up for a full day of sightseeing!

 

[Lynan]

Ishbel...pure Scottish blood flows thru' my veins, all my Grandparents emigrated to NZ from Scotland so that explains it!! Black pudding..I adore the stuff but its so hard to find someone who makes it properly. When I lived in Italy I suprised the locals by gobbling up the Salsicce di Sangue ( Blood Sausage).
Im a Scots girl thru' and thru'...lolol
And lets not talk about faggots. Oh yum.

 

[Ishbel]

OOOH NO..... Faggots are English Got to confess, I'm not keen on the full 'Ulster Fry' - but it's what made the British what they are today....








overweight, etc!

 

[Lynan]

OOOH NO..... Faggots are English Got to confess, I'm not keen on the full 'Ulster Fry' - but it's what made the British what they are today....
overweight, etc!

I always knew I suffered from delusions...Pommie stuff huh?? Oh well. gotta give em' credit, Faggots are tasty wee things!
And porridge,with cream and brown sugar. Thats for me tomorrow. I have a wonderful memory of my Granny stirring her porridge with a huge wooden spoon and it was the best Ive ever tasted. My other Granny only used her wooden spoon for a certain part of my anatomy. lolol

 

[Chopstix]

Thanks folks for all the inputs and the humor served on the side! I am a little apprehensive about the kkk dish myself (disclaimer to be inserted here by urmaniac ). The dish CAN BE fierce, especially in the morning. I'll try to think up a milder dish that's suitable for breakfast. If all else fails, I'll just deconstruct this dish on the platter so that the guests can choose which deadly ingredients to leave out. It will look nice and colorful too. The traditional Thai breakfast of rice soup or soupy rice is actually kinda boring.

The breakfast is set pretty early, at 7.30am. So maybe it's safest to serve this fusion menu. I've been known to serve all-asian/thai lunch and dinner to westerners but breakfast is another thing altogether.

Bucky, I agree about the touch of sweetness! I have an unopened jar of Nutella. Very French. Will that do? I was also thinking of putting some grapes with the cheeses, not just great for taste but for appearance too!

Ok. Loud and clear on the instant coffee. I actually went to the mall today to check out a nice Krups dual-system coffee and espresso maker with steamer. It was at 30% off with a free Krups coffee grinder thrown in. I'll sleep on it...

But I have another stupid question: If I don't buy the coffemaker, can I just serve tea that's in tea bags or is that uncouth too? Sorry, we Asians generally don't mind getting served instant coffee and tea in tea bags y'know... Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Lynan]

Put your teabags in a teapot and they are hidden!! And acceptable for sure!!

 

[Chopstix]

I am dying to know what rose apples are though.

I searched the internet and what I found is not the same fruit as what is known as Rose Apple here or Macopa as it is known in the Philippines. I'll try to post a picture of it for you, DaCook. Pls give me a few days.

 

[Chopstix]

I would like a full recipe (with maybe some suggestions/ideas for substitutions if not everything is available elsewhere...we CAN get jasmine rice though!!)

Urmaniac, please wait and I'll post the recipe for you one of these days... I'm glad you're interested in it! It's one of my favorite Thai dishes!

 

[Ishbel]

I always knew I suffered from delusions...Pommie stuff huh?? Oh well. gotta give em' credit, Faggots are tasty wee things!
And porridge,with cream and brown sugar. Thats for me tomorrow. I have a wonderful memory of my Granny stirring her porridge with a huge wooden spoon and it was the best Ive ever tasted. My other Granny only used her wooden spoon for a certain part of my anatomy. lolol

The special type of wooden or horn spoon for porridge is called a spurtle - and SUGAR AND CREAM? You are a heathen... Salt and a Leeeetle milk only!

BUT, they hold a Porridge competition every year at Carrbridge and the prize is a golden spurtle. Here's a photie of the winner holding said spurtle. Mine is made from stag horn! http://www.goldenspurtle.com/photo2002zoom01.htm

Chopstix - sorry to go off subject in your thread!