B/W Bagelwich

There has been quite a bit of movement in the stalls located within Food Garden at Asia Square recently — taking over the former premises of Fresh+, the folks behind Cedele Bakery Cafe had opened an outlet of Toss & Turn — The Salad Bar in its place. Dedicated half of the counter space to its operations and Toss & Turn — The Salad Bar, the space is also home to a new concept named B/W Bagelwich, which has a separate counter space that is dedicated to it. Offering patrons a range of bagel sandwiches, B/W Bagelwich offers bagel sandwiches featuring different meats, as well as vegetarian options — think the likes of the Tika Monsoon which features Masala Spiced Chicken Fillets as one of the elements within the bagel sandwich, as well as that of the Tangh Tempeh that features Orange Plum Tempeh, Maple Pumpkin, Zucchini, Red Peppers & Garlic Hummus. Patrons can order the bagel sandwiches in the form of a set, either comprising of coffee / tea / chilled lemon tea, small soup or a smoothie drink at a top-up. Beverage options include a range of espresso-based specialty coffee, as well as a range of tea and variety latte options (think Japanese Matcha and Hot Chocolate). Patrons may also pick up the yogurt, juices and cake cups being placed on display in the display chiller in between the counters of Toss & Turn and B/W Bagelwich should they wish to go for those items as well.

After skimming through the entire menu of what B/W Bagelwich has to offer, we decided to go for the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich. All Bagelwich offerings at B/W Bagelwich is described to come toasted, and comes with elements such as lettuce, tomatoes and sweet red onions; the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich also comes with elements such as slow-braised Korean beef, housemade Kimchi salad and mayonnaise. Patrons also get to choose between the two different bagels offered — the Onion bagel or the Sesame bagel, which we went for the former.

Going through all of the elements within the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich, we felt that the infusion of Korean elements aren’t quite as strong as what we would have expected. While the Onion Bagel itself was toasted for a crusty texture, it lacked the firm bite that one would have expected from a bagel. That being said, the bagel did carried a very light bittersweetness from the caramalised onions which we found to be pretty decent. Moving on to the other elements within, the slow-braised beef chunks were a wee bit too thick and chunky for something to be included in a sandwich; whilst they were reasonably fibrous and created a good bite, we also found them to be a little bit on the drier side as well — the seemingly lack of any marination using Bulgogi sauce was also something they made it distance away from its namesake as well, though the beef chunks were thankfully void of any undesirable gaminess. The housemade kimchi did carry a good crunch as well as a zingy tang as what one would expect — cuts through the meatiness of the beef here though we would probably think that it the bagel sandwich could do with more of the housemade kimchi for a stronger link being a Korean-inspired item. Otherwise, the inclusion of other elements such as that of the lettuce, tomatoes and sweet red onions helped to make the entire bagel sandwich feel more wholesome — the juicy tomatoes helped in providing a refreshing tang, while the sweet red onions gave a crunch and zing that cuts through all the carbs and meat in the bagel sandwich.

Whilst we are ones who would usually enjoy the cakes that are sold at Cedele Bakery Cafe, we couldn’t say the same about the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich that we have had at B/W Bagelwich — the entire bagel sandwich feels rather haphazardly put together, especially considering the choice of the cut of beef that they had chosen to go with the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich. That, as well as how loosely connected it is with the fusion element that it intends to bring off made the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich feel a tad out of touch from what it was expected to be. Nonetheless, we did feel that the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich was quite a hearty offering that feels somewhat clean and easy to eat — a plus considering how bagel sandwiches featuring meat options tend to veer towards the heavier side in terms of flavour and the overall feel. Our experience of B/W Bagelwich could possibly be also due to the nature of the item that we had opted to go for — the Ms Kim Bulgogi Bagelwich being one that is a little more adventurous against their other items on the menu such as the Citrusy Salmon Bagelwich (featuring Norwegian Smoked Salmon) and the Green Tower Bagelwich (featuring a Spinach Lentil Patty) — perhaps better items to opt for at B/W Bagelwich. With prices ranging from $10.80 to $12.80 though, B/W Bagelwich does sound like a reasonably-priced option to think of when dining in Food Garden at Asia Square, considering how most other stalls in the food court have their items similarly priced as well.