For two Sundays in a row we have been having a calorific laden breakfast. Please calorie police stay away from my page because after days and days of eating 2% fat yogurt, organic muesli, fruits I just needed a break from health conscious breakfast.

Besides a parcel arrived from UK bearing some goods that I have been craving. Mae of Rice & Noodles sent me a parcel.. and it contained black pudding.

See I don’t know Mae personally but being both of Filipino descent we have shared quirks on our way of eating. Mae once posted on her blog that after a drinking session, a hangover she made English breakfast, a fry up the next day. I noticed that she did not have the black pudding..she ran out but she asked me if I like it.

Of course I do.
Long before I went to UK for holidays and to live there for a short time, I already had my English influence through friends and teachers at school.


I am the kind of person, you would call a 3rd culture kid. Meaning having a foreign parents in a a foreign country and has adapted other cultures mostly from friends and if lucky from school.
I was sent to an English international school. Most of my closest friends were half English, Sophia, Stephanie, Helen (Sophia and Steph have English mums while Helen’s dad was English).
One of my favourite teacher was Welsh who influenced my love of English literature.
Then my ex boyfriend was half English too.
All these people have actually given me a lot in terms of adapting to their culture.

When I first went to UK for my work, I did not feel so foreign at all. OK London is multicultural but the feeling I had was different. As if I had lived there long before.

Back to the English breakfast. When I was in UK we didn’t have this every weekend. My arteries will clog up for sure and when am with my sister we normally mix both English breakfast with Filipino one.
Ahh of course all the calories but heck when you are with good company whom you love dearly the health warnings becomes blurry.


But, we have spent a great deal travelling around UK, staying at wonderful B& Bs. And there is no way you can refuse a traditional English breakfast.
One of the best we had was outside Durham. When you are travelling North towards Scotland at A1 and you will see the sign Scotch’s Corner (it’s the highway that will take you to west coast of UK) there is a little place there called Gretna Bridge near Barnard castle.

There we found the most beautiful B&B’s owned by an ex interior designer. The Coach House is assumed that this place was the one which Charles Dickens introduced in his “Nicholas Nickleby”, where the bags alighted from their coach journey from London before resuming their way by cart to Dothebey’s Hall.

What they offered us for breakfast was actually home grown, including the bacon. We saw the pigs and the chickens.


Her husband would help her with the cooking and would tell us stories of their shooting parties. I love that when he served us breakfast he was wearing a complete shooting outfit,bond cap, breeches, shooting waist coat, tweeds.
I still even remember the plates as they were old pieces and had Sea Cloud on it. Sea Cloud is a classic tall ship now use for cruises.
I saw Sea cloud twice both in Cannes and St. Tropez, such magnificent tall ship will never ease out of your memory!


Durham Cathedral

The whole setting was like as if they were doing photo shots for the magazine Country Living.
It was a full English breakfast. When I say full, it was not just the fry up – fried eggs, bacon, black pudding, mushroom, tomato and hash brown potatoes. There were selection of toast (brown and white) and of course the fried bread. Jams and marmalades, baked beans, fresh juices and fruits.

So when Mae parcel arrived, my friend who had witnessed my joy when I opened the parcel actually said…”see how food can make sha so happy!!”

Sunday came, Swiss cheese did the cooking while I prepared the bread, butter and jams. Halfway through, I felt something was missing.
Swiss Cheese was quick to tell me, BAKED BEANS.
So I checked my secret stash. What? I ran out of baked beans.
We had eggs, Irish bacon, oyster mushroom, tomatoes, black pudding and fried bread.
We relished every bite and savoured the moment.


What is black pudding?
It’s also known as blood pudding, its made of pig’s blood, suet, breadcrumbs and oatmeal.
Its similar to the German Blutwurst, ah the Swiss have the same. I have eaten blutwurst in Appenzel on “metzgete”, slaughter day.
In France I have bought boudin rouge.

Some facts about English breakfast.

Its not eaten daily in UK anymore. This is mostly enjoyed on weekends on a leisurely pace.
Also because this is fatty, this is like a treat these days.

In UK there are cafes that specialise of serving English breakfast the whole day…all day breakfast!
“Such cafés (“caffs” or “greasy spoons”) are typically frequented by construction workers working in the local area, or passing truck drivers. As a consequence the very strong tea that is often served in such establishments is colloquially known as “builder’s tea”.

Mae’s parcel contained some goodies that I will use soon and post here. She was hoping to send me Jersey cream which I love so much but impossible to send. She opted instead for Jersey fudge which I have transferred into this container for my eyes to feast. Wrong… but for my sweet tooth to feast.

The Coach House
2 The Square Greta Bridge
Barnard Castle
County Durham
DL12 9SD
Tel: 01833 627201