SarahDG: Why do Westerners insist on such boring breakfasts? RobtS: A friend told me that her mother used to fry up a pound of bacon and a dozen eggs every day when she was growing up. SarahDG: Eggs are best for topping laksa, not for scrambling. Anyway, hit up East Corner Wonton, an old-school Cantonese café that serves congee to a stream of regulars every morning. If you're not up for a 1,000-year-old egg at 8 a.m., go for the combination congee, which harbors bits of squid, beef, and rice within its milky depths. RobtS: I know it's a breakfast dish, but I'd rather have congee for lunch. SarahDG: Let me persuade you. The salty, clean rice flavor with occasional jolts of ginger is better than Wheaties. Plus it's cheap, and the chewy squid gets your jaw warmed up for the day. RobtS: I always end up dumping all sorts of organ meats into it, like intestines, and I'm just not ready for that at breakfast. SarahDG: I'm sort of shocked that you're not ready for intestines the moment you jump out of bed! RobtS: I prefer to put on my jaunty beret and get an almond croissant at Tartine. The owners are from Brittany, and the pastries are huge and rustic. SarahDG: I like the idea of you in a beret. How do they make it, with marzipan? RobtS: No, they split a regular croissant, pour butter all over it, close it up, and rebake it with a topping of slivered almonds and crystallized sugar. SarahDG: Oh, my God! That sounds like it belongs in How Do You Spell G-U-T-B-O-M-B? RobtS: Good idea. I'm on it!