We greeted the day with different interpretations of breakfast: some have become classics in their own cultures and been adapted into others.

Americans, for instance, prepare a flurry of cereals such as corn flakes, oatmeal, porridge and grits. They like to linger over blueberry pancakes, waffles, and French toast, or settle down with a warm bagel or doughnut and brewed coffee. They also have bacon, smoked sausages, and patties.

For Filipinos, we have pork meat with noodles and vegetables (batchoy), arroz caldo (soupy rice with chicken) and sopas (elbow pasta with sausage and vegetable) to warm the stomach. But it is rice reincarnated as sinangag (fried rice), served with daing (dried fish), longganisa (local sausage), tocino (marinated pork meat with a variety of flavors), and the like. That comprises the complete Filipino breakfast. Often, the spread includes an "ulam" (viand) such as paksiw (fish with vinegar) or adobo (Filipinos all time favorite). For simple Filipino breakfast, pan-de-sal and coffee will do.