Everton Park does seem to have returned as one of the trendier spots for F&B establishments to pop up these days — while the neighbourhood has seen some brand names such as Pickle Bakery and Handcraft Coffee moving out of the estate in recent times, there seems to quite a significant number of new tenants whom have also started business; these would be the likes of ice-cream shops like gelatolabo, as well as O Happi Place and sando specialists, 46Mittsu which have moved recently set up shop in the Everton Park HDB estate. Being the latest addition to the neighbourhood, Bag Me Up Bagel House occupies the former space which used to house the now-defunct Handcraft Coffee — being more of a hole-in-the-wall spot, Bag Me Up Bagel House is an establishment that is more poised towards takeaway operations; the establishment serving up a good variety of bagel sandwiches with different fillings which does seem to be quite a healthy range of items for an establishment of its size. For those looking for beverage options at Bag Me Up Bagel House, the establishment offers patrons specialty coffee — think of the usual range of espresso-based coffee such as that of the Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino and Latte, as well as milk teas such as the White Peach Fresh Milk Tes and Osmanthus Fresh Milk Tea.

We were initially pretty intrigued with their Bag Me Up Signature Bagel — the bagel sandwich interestingly features unagi, ham, lettuce and a homemade herb sauce; we were however being told that the Bag Me Up Signature Bagel was already out of stock during our visit made during weekday lunch hours. We found ourselves switching to the B.E.C Bagel instead — the B.E.C Bagel features elements such as caramelised bacon, scrambled eggs, torched cheese, pickles and a homemade sauce. We actually found their decision of offering a B.E.C Bagel being a rather strange one — this is especially considering how they are located relatively near to Sando specialty store 46Mittsu which is just a few steps away; 46Mittsu also serving up a similar Sando named the B.E.C as well. Nonetheless, the B.E.C Bagel from Bag Me Up Bagel House does seem like a neater rendition of the B.E.C that 46Mittsu serves up — lesser of a mess to have. Sinking our teeth into the bagel sandwich, we noticed that the bagel carries a good bite and chew — the bagel carrying distinct layers of textures coming from the various elements such as that of the caramelised bacon and scrambled eggs; the former wasn’t quite as caramalised as what we had expected, seemingly missing of that sticky sweetness but still carried a chewy texture and savoury note of cured meat nonetheless, while the folded scrambled eggs were fluffy though not as runny as that served in the B.E.C at 46Mittsu. We didn’t exactly find the torched cheese and pickles carrying distinct flavours or textures within the bagel sandwich; perhaps we were expecting a prominent tanginess that cuts through all the bread and meat with stringy and oozy melted cheese here which it didn’t seem to quite carry, though it is noted that the homemade sauce does seem like a crossover between tartar sauce and Hollandaise — it is creamy and tangy; quite made up for the lack of pickles that made the B.E.C easy to have despite being a bagel sandwich tends to be a little bit on the heavier side.

Given the proximity of Bag Me Up Bagel House is located from 46Mittsu — where both establishments serving up almost similar fare with the difference being how Bag Me Up Bagel House has a primary focus on bagel sandwiches, while 46Mittsu emphasises on their Sando offerings; it is quite expected that there would be comparisons made between the two. This also does not help when Bag Me Up Bagel House does serve up relatively similar offerings as 46Mittsu; an example would be the B.E.C Bagel which we have had at Bag Me Up Bagel House and the B.E.C which we went for during our visit earlier in the year to 46Mittsu — though the other items from Bag Me Up Bagel House does seem a little more unique to their own. Overall, Bag Me Up Bagel House’s bagel sandwiches does seem to be priced slightly friendlier to the wallet in comparison — the lowest priced bagel sandwiches are listed at $10.50; this would be the B.E.C Bagel and the Trustful Bagel, where the latter is a vegetarian option featuring sautéed mushroom, scrambled eggs and a truffle schmear. The highest priced bagel sandwiches at Bag Me Up Bagel House would be their Bag Me Up Signature Bagel, as well as the We Will Wagyu Bagel — the latter featuring wagyu beef patty, torched cheese and pickles. In terms of satisfaction, the sando from 46Mittsu would be our pick — a tasty, sloppy mess that is big on flavour which we found to be impossible not to love; the bagel sandwiches from Bag Me Up Bagel House would however appeal to those that like neater sandwiches that are easier to have without all that sauce going everywhere. With sandwiches that both seemingly cater to their own target audiences, it would be interesting to see if Bag Me Up Bagel House will ever achieve the popularity in the neighbourhood to the likes of other establishments known for their bagels such as that of Two Men Bagel House; still an interesting alternative option for those looking for some bagel sandwiches in the vicinity of Outram Park MRT Station though.