By Amanda Pampuro
I’ve never been much of a morning person, but I love breakfast — hot coffee and buttery toast, fresh orange juice and oatmeal, Earl Grey and sausage, or green tea and rice. Because breakfast is a state of mind, I believe it should be available morning, noon, or night. Whenever you start your day, start it right.
The Other Burger King Reins on Rice
Guam’s diner for over 25 years, King’s Restaurant serves quick comfort food 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and hails the fiesta food year round. Talk about freedom! With two locations, by Harmon Loop and in Tamuning by GPO, one of their signature dishes is King’s Fried Rice Ala. A generous scoop of their house fried rice is crowned with an egg — ideally sunny side up or over easy so you get the yolk — surrounded by a court of Chamorro sausage. This simple and fulfilling dish is good any time of the day.
Comfort Food in the Capital
Located in the capital of Hagåtña, Linda’s Coffee Shop is a homey restaurant with traditional island breakfast food: rice, eggs, and meat. Besides booths, this diner also has a Pacman machine and a lunch counter worthy of being illustrated by Norman Rockwell. At Linda’s you can order steak as a side dish and rice as a main course — do with that what you will, as long as you try the corned beef fried rice. This dish blends salty meat with sweet rice and you won’t stop eating until you see the plate. Topped with a yolky egg, this meal just might make you want to crawl back into bed.
Fifties diner décor makes modern munchies
Down the street from the University of Guam in Mangilao, Ron’s Diner is there when students need a solid breakfast most. Besides the usual fried rice and omelets, Ron’s serves some of the best French toast on island, and the secret is in the peanut butter. If it sounds like a strange pairing, that’s because it is, but I assure you, dear reader, such duets make the world a better place. Just think Elmo and Andrea Bocelli, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Run DMC and Aerosmith. When the saltiness of the peanuts melts into the sweet syrup, the flavor combination c’est trés bien! Besides that, the omega fatty acids in the peanut butter are good for whatever test life throws at you.
Food That’s Good for You, Good for Farmers
When Pika’s Café says it strives to be a local restaurant, that doesn’t just mean serving rice and having a 671-phone number. To Pika’s, being local means supporting the island’s farmers, incorporating homegrown ingredients, hiring musicians, and covering the walls in local art. The owners of Pika’s understand what it means to be a community, and do their best to contribute to the kind of world they want to live in.
That’s all well and good, but how’s the food?
Delicious! In addition to Kahlua French toast, and the Chamorro Benedict, Pika’s serves up an incredible steak and egg breakfast burrito. With juicy steak and fluffy eggs in a flour tortilla, this is not grab-n-go food, but a burrito to savor. Unfortunately, Pika’s only serves breakfast in the morning, but if you miss out, their regular menu of burgers and sandwiches is almost as good.
Leggo my Bagel
My favorite part about going to a steakhouse is the soft, caramel-colored bread. I could make a meal out of a chewy baguette or a flakey croissant, fluffy pitas or a crusty sourdough. So for breakfast, I say, nothing beats a toasted bagel. After much trial and error, one coffee shop chain has revealed a beautiful breakfast bagel sandwich: Port of Mocha. As a bonus, each sandwich comes with a complimentary coffee or tea, and there are plenty of comfy seats about the cafes.
Hash it Out After Midnight
Whether you party until dawn, or just work swing hours, Kracked Egg in Tumon is the place for night owls. A breakfast joint open from midnight to 2 p.m. knows exactly who their customers are and what they want: hearty, sobering food and strong coffee. The corned beef hash stands, because the Kracked chefs use big salty chunks of the real stuff, and not just meat scraped out of a can. The corned beef is fried with golden potatoes, and served with rice— because potatoes are just a side dish to the rice.
Best Breakfast Beverage
You cannot talk about breakfast without talking about the beverage that fueled the Great Awakening of America. Every village on Guam has a quiet café well worth visiting, but for fresh roasted coffee, stop by Roasted in Tamuning, by Airport Road. Between the coffee and the granola — which is also homemade — the aroma in the doorway is enough to brighten your day. Bonus points to Roasted for being one of Guam’s chicest cafes.
