This Swiss German inspired breakfast reminds me of Hong Kong.

Yes. Hong Kong. I used to travel there a few times a year to review product lines with our overseas partners. The time change is 12 hours so it’s a complete day to night flip. Jet lag can always be a bear and I would inevitably find myself waking at 3am every morning. Try as I may to go back to sleep, I was up for the day. I would bide my time with work, working out, making calls home (where it was early evening,) and getting ready for the day.  Breakfast in our hotel didn’t begin until 7am, so by the time that rolled around, I was quite ready to eat.

It was my favorite time of day on those work trips. I was always first to breakfast, not only of my team, but of anyone in the hotel. The restaurant was on a top floor with windows overlooking the harbor and it was serenely beautiful early in the morning. I would sit with my tea and watch the occasional boat go by and wait for the rest of the world to slowly emerge.

Breakfast could be ordered but there was also a small continental bar that offered fruits, pastries and other small items. My favorite item was the muesli (aka Bircher Muesli,) which was raw oats soaked overnight with milk and yogurt and all kinds of delicious additions. It was cold and creamy, nutty and sweet. They served in it in tiny martini glasses topped with fresh berries. I loved the creaminess with the added texture of nuts and coconut. I had it as part of my breakfast every day on every trip. On one trip, I asked for the recipe, which unfortunately has since been lost, but I remember it was quite simple and had coconut and nuts in it. Basically, it could be replicated easily, so I have since made many different versions of it.

For this particular morning, I chose a cherry almond combination and it was delicious, Morello cherry almond muesli to be exact.  Normally, I might say this is a great warm weather breakfast, but we love it so much, it’s become a year round favorite. It’s so easy because it’s made the night before (takes 5 minutes) and is ready to be adorned with our choice of fruits, nuts or other toppings in the morning. A small bowl of the muesli mixed with fruit and nuts is unexpectedly hearty and holds all of us over until lunch. My kids like it because it looks a bit like dessert.

I think it’s rather funny that the first time I tried muesli was in a hotel in Hong Kong. You, however, need not wait impatiently for the doors of the restaurant to open. Your muesli will be ready whenever you are.

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