Breakfast is the meal most easily forgone for a lie-in, despite its importance to our health. Start your day off the right way with Vogue’s selection of breakfast places worth waking up for.
Elephant Grounds
Strategically situated beside the Mid-Levels Escalator, Elephant Grounds offers a number of pastries baked in-house from a grab-and-go counter for workers rushing down into Central, while those with a bit more time on their hands can people-watch from the casual tiered seating. Healthy breakfast options here range from açai bowls to mixed berry yoghurt parfaits, bolstered by a selection of double-shot espresso drinks.
61 Caine Road, Mid-Levels, 2535 7155; elephantgrounds.com
Teakha
While tea expert Nana Chan’s cafe on Tai Ping Shan Street is a little hidden away, its eclectic curation of Asian teas, some of which come included with the purchase of a pastry as part of its breakfast offer, make Takha well worth seeking out. The Vogue favourite is the hojicha au lait, paired with the deliciously fruity cranberry orange pancakes.
18B Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, 2858 9185; teakha.com
Elementary
For those early starts on the weekend, head to Tai Hang’s Elementary – hard to miss with its distinctive, two-toned facade. This Australian-style joint serves up serious health food that remembers to taste good, such as the holy kale (mushroom, quinoa, fingerling potato and poached egg) and smashed avocado (poached eggs with goat cheese, pesto, quinoa and multigrain). Finish up with a berry beet smoothie for that extra health kick.
15-16 School Street, Tai Hang, 2362 2812; elementary.hk
Athletic Juice & Espresso Bar
Look past the designed-for-Instagram avolatte (a latte in a hollowed-out avocado served atop a bed of its own flesh) and you’ll find that this Star Street cafe offers a wealth of potent antioxidant-loaded juices, shots and smoothies. Its coffee menu also comes with a choice of almond, cashew, coconut, hazelnut, oat or soy milk, making for one of Hong Kong’s most complete choices of non-dairy substitutes. Pick up an avocado sourdough sandwich too and you’ll be ready to face the day.
2E Star Street, Wan Chai, 2385 1013; athleticjeb.com
Green Common
Apart from being a grocery store, Green Common also offers vegan cooked food options for guilt-free satiation. Founded by staunch environmental advocate David Yeung, the deli chain (which has nine locations across Hong Kong) carries a breakfast menu that imitates classic, meat-heavy breakfast options with a twist – by using convincing plant-based meat substitutes such as Omnipork, Beyond Meat and the Just Egg substitute, made in California using mung beans. What these dishes lack on the Instagram front, they more than make up for in eco-consciousness.
Shop B2, B/F Landmark Alexandria, 18 Chater Road, Central, 3582 4463; greencommon.com
Brew Bros Coffee
Brew Bros’ second Hong Kong outpost can be found in sleepy Shek Tong Tsui, where Japanese barista Hikaru Ono’s beans sourced from Melbourne’s Market Lane have been waking up Hong Kong’s caffeine addicts since 2016. Meanwhile, a menu created by the former head chef of Cafe Deadend tempts the taste buds with dishes like crab toast topped with avocado and fennel, and Earl Grey tea-cured salmon with scrambled egg on sourdough. We suggest you return on cheat day for the irresistible brioche French toast.
53 Hill Road, Shek Tong Tsui, 2803 2323
Bakehouse
Don’t be intimidated by the perennial line snaking out the door of Swiss native Gregoire Michaud’s artisanal Wan Chai bakery, the grab-and-go counter offers the same quality of transcendental baked goods that has made this a morning favourite for many workers in the area. Made fresh everyday using fine flour from Suire Mill in France, the croissant and pain au chocolat are delightfully crispy, alongside more substantial sandwiches and tartines.
14 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai; bakehouse.hk
Nood Food
A welcome sight at the beginning and end of many yogis’ morning routine, Nood Food has counters in every Pure Yoga branch across the city. The Star Street location is the most spacious, making for a relaxed environment in which to enjoy a range of superfood smoothies, açaí cups, raw food snacks and cold-pressed health shots concocted by Chef Moy, who is also a practising yoga teacher. The recently-introduced Impossible Burger rounds out the menu for those craving a meat-free main.
3-11 Wing Fung Street, Wan Chai, 2298 5310; allnood.com
Editor
Gavin YeungCredit
Header image: Arthur Elgort/Conde Nast via Getty Images
