Adelaide Breakfast - Various venues for a great breakfast.

Hotel Adelaide International
Over the years, Postcards has ventured into many of the restaurant kitchens of Adelaide, but like many of us, has tended to skip the most important meal of the day - breakfast! So we thought it was about time that we took a quick Cooks tour of just a few of the early morning eateries around the city.

And this would have to qualify as the room with a view. The Hotel Adelaide International has had many incarnations since it was opened as one of the first International Hotels in Adelaide back in 1960, and over the years this has been the breakfast setting for overseas visitors planning a days outing in our fair city. And for these tourists from New York State, what we take for granted ranks as something very special indeed.

"So what do you think of the view?"

"This..this is beautiful"

"It's one of the most impressive skylines I've ever seen".

"You think so - what make you say that?"

"There are green things out there. There are mountains out there. You have churches out there. You have everything out there"

"Yer, the steeples, the church steeples are beautiful, with the mountains as a back drop, it's just spectacular".

"The only area that I've seen that rivals Adelaide is Vancouver in British Columbia. Vancouver is gorgeous, and they're breathtakingly beautiful places".

It may not be Yankee Stadium, but for these visitors the view of Adelaide Oval and the surrounding parklands and "mountains" as they call them, are proof that Colonel William Light got it right when he decided that this was the place for our capital, and when it comes to local history, these travellers have been doing their homework.

"It was 150 years ago - 1836 - yer the planning of the city back then for now, you now it fits, everything it still fits, that's what I mean, it still fits".

For that morning get together with a view that's hard to beat, head to the top floor of the Hotel Adelaide International. It serves breakfast from 6.30am until 10.00am daily with fried eggs, bacon and grilled tomatoes on offer for $10.20. It's also open for dinner from 6.00pm.

The East Terrace Continental
Meanwhile across the "woods" as these visitors refer to the parklands, the East Terrace Continental caters for a steady stream of city bound office workers catching up on the days events. This streetscape hasn't changed in years, but the interior of the Continental has certainly grown, incorporating some of the past favourites along this strip like the old Ditter's Nuts store and Belmont Chocolates. But there's still plenty here to expand the waistline of any breakfast sweet tooth.

The banana pancakes in maple syrup or cream are a meal and half at $8.80, while the eggs benedict is also a favourite. The East Terrace Continental with its view across to the nearby parklands is open daily and serves breakfast from 7.00am until 3.30pm.

Ruby's Cafe
Not surprisingly the East End Market precinct has always had its fair share of early morning eateries. Back when this was a working market, Ruby's CafÈ was a favourite haunt of the red-eye shift. The original proprietor, Ruby Jones, was local legend. She opened the cafÈ just after the war, and for three decades her bacon and eggs and raisin toast were a must for any worker who'd finished lugging around the stalls of the Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange.

Now Susan Moore and Terry Owen are still serving breakfast on the old laminated tables that Ruby shipped in all those years ago. And while the standard breakfast is still in vogue, Susan's brought a touch of Asian to Ruby's.

"So what goes into the Asian omelette?"

"Well I start off with some eggs and uhmm fresh chilli and some fresh coriander and a little bit of water and that's the base".

It's then placed in a pan under low heat and allowed to simmer as Susan prepares the rest in a separate pan which includes peanuts, zuchini, capsicum, green beans, more coriander and chilli, some mushrooms and a little bok choy. And it's all left to simmer in a combination of sauces.

"So what are they?"

"Just some soy sauce and some fish sauce to keep it very simple, and a little bit of sesame oil to give it a little bit of a boost and that just steams away".

The final touch, a handful of bean sprouts and when ready another East End Breakfast, albeit a little more multicultural than in Ruby Jones' day.

"We call that our Ruby's Asian Omelette"

At $9.20 it makes for a great start to the day. Breakfast at Ruby's is only available on Sunday, but it is an all day affair. The breakfast menu is available from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Meanwhile Ruby's CafÈ is open daily for dinner.

For more information you can email info@postcards.sa.com.au