Early Bird Breakfast Club is all about comfort food that lifts the mood, since a good breakfast, eaten at any time of the day, offers a warm, new start.

At its Bonifacio Global City  branch—open 24/7 on weekends—a crowd of morning runners and night clubbers enjoy a breakfast of tenderloin tapsilog and a bowl of Yin & Yang Champorado sweetened with Belgian dark chocolate.

Owners Ellen and Kendrick Co are the couple who recreated breakfast food—and made it photogenic.

The Bacon & Eggs Nest is a pretty dish of a bacon-wrapped bread cup topped with egg and cheese. The Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwich has gooey melted cheese oozing between toasts, served with roasted tomato soup drizzled with cream—an Instagram dream.

Early Bird’s pastel interiors with floral accents has a welcoming, garden-party vibe.

“It is a cozy, homey café with English touches,” explains Ellen. She and Kendrick worked with English chef Matthew Hornsby-Bates in creating Early Bird’s trademark dishes, such as the Sweet Glazed Katcino, a chicken tocino katsu, and The Early Bird Full English, a huge breakfast of English banger, bacon, grilled tomatoes, eggs, baked beans and black pudding.

Holiday menu

For the holidays, Bates collaborates with actress Bettina Carlos and her daughter Gummy for a Christmas menu. It includes a starter of Malunggay Toasts with Tinapate, a creamy smoked bangus spread that comes with strips of crunchy malunggay crostini.

Wanting something low-carb but flavorful, Carlos came up with Stuffed Chicken with Ris-oat-oh served with savory steel-cut oats instead of rice. The roasted chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella, cheddar, sun-dried tomatoes and basil is a lean but filling meal.

New holiday desserts include the Green Tea Calamansi Cheesecake and Choco Mallow Pancake—chocolate pancakes with marshmallow spread, crispy cereals, chocolate sauce and a choco ice cream lollipop.

Kids—and chocoholics— would love the Dinotella drink with Milo and Nutella.

‘Puto bumbong’ pancakes

“Early Bird has gained a following, especially among families, since we opened the first branch at BGC in 2013,” Kendrick says.

It has since expanded to Century City Mall in Makati, Eastwood Mall in Quezon City, and Nuvali in Laguna.

For the Christmas holidays, Early Bird serves its seasonal special: Puto Bumbong Pancakes.

This stack of fluffy purple pancakes is topped with toasted coconut that gives it a nutty flavor, and melted cheddar that balances the sweetness. Dip it in whipped coconut cream, and enjoy with cup of tea or coffee. As a treat, balikbayan who present their boarding pass and passport (stamped Sept. 1-Jan. 31, 2017) eat it for free.

Other returning favorites are the Cranberry Piglet, a festive appetizer of skewered roasted sausages wrapped in bacon on a bed of cranberry-balsamic salsa, and the Bacon and Pineapple Scotch Eggs.

Early Bird is also offering edible gifts such as the Belgian Chocolate Ensaymada, Quezo de Bola Ensaymada, Chocolate Stuffed Madeleines, Breakfast Empanas and Banana Loaf. Get freebies such as pillows and planners with dine-in purchases starting at P1,500.

Visit www.facebook.com/earlybirdbreakfastclub; follow @earlybirdbreakfastclub on Instagram.