Part of your complete breakfast

Tony the Tiger and Wheaties says a complete breakfast is made up of a tall glass of milk, another tall glass of orange juice, and a bowl of cereal with strawberries on top. Whatever. Give me a bowl of tocino, longanisa, eggs, and rice and i’ll be doing back flips.

But pritong isda’ is the king of all Filipino breakfasts. Forget Folgers, the smell of fried fish wakes me up like a slap in the face. There’s nothing like taking a warm, freshly fried piece of isda’ in between my fingers, sawsawing it (dipping it) into a small dish of hang patis (spicy vinegar), and throwing it inside my mouth with a warm ball of freshly cooked rice.