Healthier and exotic alternatives take over the breakfast menus

Every request for a plate of fried bacon and eggs is firmly rejected at the inner-city breakfast haunt, Reuben Hills. Patrons are instead urged to try soft baked eggs with jamon, buttered spinach, and ranchero sauce on rye bread.

But don't call it a designer breakfast. "We're trying to focus on the humility of peasant cuisine of Central America," said Joey Ingram, head chef at the Surry Hills cafe. "The dish is peasant fare. It's better than fried eggs on soggy toast with overcooked, crispy bacon."

Exotic and healthier versions of bacon and eggs are appearing on more Sydney menus in lieu of the traditional staple.

The creative food director at QT Sydney hotel in the city, Robert Marchetti, said chefs were starting to subject classic breakfast dishes to experimentation because breakfast had been neglected for so long.

''Chefs don't usually eat it and when they do it's after a 16-hour day so not much thought goes into it. It's usually the shift that the weakest chef is put on.''

Mr Marchetti aimed to ''break traditional rules'' with his breakfast menu at the hotel's Gowings Bar & Grill, which features wood-fired, clay-pot eggs with pancetta and cannellini beans on sourdough.

At Runcible Spoon in Camperdown, customers craving eggs and meat are encouraged to order Thai-style fried eggs with nam jim sauce and pork belly.

"It was inspired by my travels in Thailand where I loved the taste of fried eggs with fish sauce," said owner Alex Watts.

"I want to keep it interesting for myself as well as for the customers who have to travel through the back alleys to find us," he said.

At cafe Posto No. 19 in Rushcutters Bay, known for being creative with eggs, fried ones are rarely ordered.

Head chef Daniel-Lee Hill attributes the change to a demand for healthier food.

"People are looking for avocados instead of bacon," he said. "We have an order for fried eggs maybe twice a week. Most people ask for poached and soft-boiled eggs."

Back at Reuben Hills, Seritie Hsu, a designer from Melbourne, has just been served a plate of soft baked eggs with jamon. She hasn't ordered fried eggs for years.

''It makes me feel heavy and lethargic while poached eggs are fresh and clean,'' she said.

''I'm more health conscious these days. Eggs are great with mushrooms and salmon.''