Breakfast for 132 yen — Mornings like this, living in Vietnam

I'm really enjoying myself like this.

Just because I live in Vietnam doesn't mean I eat pho or banh mi every morning, you know. Breakfast at our house is surprisingly ordinary. I toast some bread and spread jam on it. I open the fridge and grab something to drink. This morning, I've slathered on plenty of kumquat marmalade. Vietnam has an abundance of fruit, so choosing a jam is fun, too. Mango, passion fruit, pineapple, strawberry. Even jams made from fruits that are a bit unusual in Japan, Because here you can buy it at a casual, affordable price. Kumquats are one of them. Back when I was in Japan, when it came to kumquats, they were something you simmered until sweet and ate in winter. Something that was at my grandmother's house, that she'd tell me to eat, saying, "It's good for your throat, so have some." But now, I spread it generously on my bread first thing in the morning. When the place you live changes, even the very same fruit can leave quite a different impression, I find myself thinking. Now then, I did the math on this morning's breakfast. One slice of bread, 1,500 VND. That's about 9 yen in Japanese money. For the kumquat marmalade, I roughly calculated the amount I eat in one sitting: about 8,000 VND, around 49 yen. The SINGHA sparkling water is 12,000 VND, roughly 74 yen. The leftover red syrup from when I made the plum compote, and the half a lime, were things I already had in the fridge, so I'm not counting them this time. In total, 21,500 VND. That's about 132 Japanese yen. So cheap~~. When I put it into numbers, it makes me a little happy. This morning's drink used the leftover syrup from that plum compote. When you make a compote, after you've finished eating the fruit, a beautifully colored liquid is left behind. Throwing it away really does feel like such a waste. I pour a little into a glass, squeeze in some lime, and top it up with sparkling water. Taking a sip, I think maybe it could be a touch sweeter, and add some more compote liquid. No, maybe that's a bit too sweet, so this time I add more sparkling water. While fussing about like that, my morning drink comes together. It's quite a tasty one, this. The sweet-and-sour tang of the plums, with the sharpness of the lime. The fizzy, sparkling carbonation goes so well with a muggy Ho Chi Minh morning too. Rather than the compote itself, I might be looking forward to this even more. And the thing I set the bread on is a plastic plate I bought at the market for about 30 yen. This one is really, truly flimsy. When you pick it up, it's surprisingly light. Of course, there's no sense of luxury to it. But in the morning, I just can't help choosing this plate. It's light, it won't break, and it's easy to wash. For a single slice of bread, this is good enough. Or rather, this is exactly what I want. Even the slightly flashy colors like yellow and pale blue aren't so bad in the morning. Just setting out a single slice of bread somehow brightens up the table. Bread with kumquat marmalade. Yesterday's compote syrup, with lime and soda water. A flimsy little plate I bought at the market. Writing them all out like this, none of them amount to much. But breakfast—maybe this much is just fine. I take out whatever's in the fridge, add a little touch to the leftovers, and arrange them on a plate I'm fond of. And that comes to 132 yen. Yeah, cheap after all. And, it's a pretty nice morning, you know. Relocation Life Ranking