Best of both worlds: iHOP pancakes and Pinoy breakfast

GIVE A HOP FOR BREAKFAST. Mornings are crucial to how the rest of your day will go. Start them right. Photos from Stratos

Breakfast -- no matter what you take -- can make or break your day

MANILA, Philippines - Mornings are such an important part of the day for me. They can spell how my day will go, set the tone. If I don't have a good morning, by lunchtime, I would already be thinking of ways on how to save my day.

Which is why breakfast is important for me, too. When I have breakfast, I normally have it by myself (not a talker in the morning) or, if I don't, I usually stay quiet and eat thoughtfully. I like enjoying every bite and appreciating every taste and texture of my food.

Call me weird, it's okay. :) I eat like that. How about you?

I talk about breakfast because I am thinking of iHOP, the all-day breakfast and pancake place that opened in the Philippines in March 2013, to much excitement from fans who loved going to their branches abroad.

iHOP Philippines turned one just last month. To celebrate, they introduced Pinoy breakfast favorites to their menu:

• Savory Pork Longganisa
• Breakfast Beef Tapa
• Classic Chicken or Pork Tocino 
• Lean Chicken Sausage

Each dish comes complete with garlic rice, two eggs (cooked any style you want) with atchara (my favorite, especially if from Pampanga) and seasoned vinegar. They can also come with iHOP's trademark pancakes: Buttermilk Pancakes, Stuffed French Toast, or Brioche French Toast.

NOT WITHOUT PANCAKES! A sample of iHOP's Pinoy breakfast

“These Filipino breakfast favorites will be exclusively offered in the Philippines for a limited time,” said Archie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc. (GRCI), the company that brought iHOP, California Pizza Kitchen, Morelli's Gelato, and PF Chang's to the Philippines.

Now that it's summer, iHOP also ups the ante to comfort dining by introducing 4 new ice cream parfait flavors, made and co-created with Nestle Ice Cream.

They are:

MANGO PEACHES AND CREAM. Blend of mango and cheesecake ice cream

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES. Vanilla ice cream layered with strawberry and blueberry syrups, topped with crispy golden hash brown (HASH BROWN!) and cheesecake bits

MIZED BERRY. Chocolate ice cream smothered with strawberry and blueberry, drizzled with yogurt and finished with oatmeal on top

CHOCOLATE DECADENCE. iHOP's Butter Pecan Syrup, dark chocolate, white chocolate chips, maple candied bacon, chocolate ice cream

iHOP branches are at W Global Center in Bonifacio Global City, UP Town Center, Entertainment Mall of SM Mall of Asia, Century Mall, and Filinvest, Alabang. - #CoffeeWithKai