Got to know about the opening of the new The Bagel Bunch recently via social media — it does seem to be correct to say that while the folks in the Central Business District now has Keen’s Bagelry to savour on, the folks working in the Buona Vista / Biopolis / Metropolis area has The Bagel Bunch to rely on. Located within The Metropolis, The Bagel Bunch is a new addition to the neighbourhood — they have occupied the space which was formerly occupied by The Co., which has itself made its move to Everton Park and now runs under the Quah Song & Co. brand instead. Tucked in a corner at the back of the building that it is situated at, The Bagel Bunch can be considered a hidden since it is mostly blocked by thick pillars and not quite visible from the typical walking path / main road — one can find The Bagel Bunch by going around the main entrance of Tower One; it is also situated not too far from the outlet of Ya Kun Kaya Toast at The Metropolis either. Those whom are familiar with the space that The Co. had used to operate out of would probably know that the shop soace is rather tight — as a result, The Bagel Bunch can be described as more of a takeaway kiosk though there seem to be outdoor tables placed along the walkway outside of the shop within a sheltered area of the building for those whom intend to dine-in. The look of The Bagel Bunch is pretty vibrant and playful with its colourful shopfront; the large use of white and orange also creates a bright look that stands out from the other dining establishments in the area. As the namesake suggests, their menu revolves around their bagels; and in partiuclar, their bagel sandwich offerings. Beverages available at The Bagel Bunch includes drinking chocolate, espresso-based specialty coffee and canned beverages.

Skimming through the menu available at The Bagel Bunch, we had initially found the Butter Chicken Bonanza to be quite an interesting item considering how we had not come across a bagel sandwich offering that sees a fusion of an Indian element thus far, though we were told that it was unavailable on the Sunday that we made our visit to The Bagel Bunch. Considering so, we found ourselves settling for The Bagel Brunch; an item which is being marked with a thumbs up icon on the menu beside its name, and is described to come with elements such as five-spiced bacon, egg, cheese, hashbrown, pickled red onions and scallions cream cheese. Patrons do get a choice to pick between their preferred choice of bagel amongst the three (3) different bagels that they have to offer — namely the Plain Bagel, Sesame Seed Bagel and the Cheddar Bagel; we went with the Cheddar Bagel for our order of The Bagel Brunch. All orders are prepared fresh upon order, so do expect some waiting time for the bagel sandwiches to be prepared — patrons will be informed to collect their order once their receipt number is being called out on the display that faces out of the shop. The Bagel Brunch is essentially the bagel sandwich that one should go for here if one is craving for something akin to a wholesome brunch plate; it does sound simple on paper, but it is nothing short of being comforting nonetheless. Sinking our teeth into the bagel here, we liked how the Cheddar Bagel did not feel too dense; easy to chew through despite the melted cheddar over the top and therefore didn’t feel particularly overwhelming. The Cheddar Bagel still carries a good bite to pull apart nonetheless despite not being too dense; something that one would expect minimally for a bagel. The five-spiced bacon was done in a way that the bacon was chewy rather than crispy; this adds quite a fair bit of textural contrast to the bagel sandwich considering how most of the elements in this one are a little bit on the softer side — all that whilst adding a note of savouriness typical to cured meat to the bagel sandwich.

Interestingly, the egg was done in a form close to a folded omelette; also seemingly in an effort to create more textural contrast in between the layers, though other elements like the hashbrown felt like it was lacking a bit of the crispness that we are looking for in a fried component. The cheese was the one that further enhanced the savouriness for a punchy flavour, but the scallion cream cheese was the element that help bound all of the elements together with its creaminess that brought the entire bagel sandwich together. Pickled red onions does seem to be included give a light, tangy crunch for a bit of flavour contrast to reset the tastebuds from the heavier elements. Meanwhile, we had also went for the Flat White — they do offer two sizes for their hot variant, being the Medium and Large; we went for the former. The Flat White here comes with a nutty and earthy flavour profile; medium-bodied, and provides a good caffeinated kick for a morning perk-me-up. It was a little bit of a shame that we aren’t able to give the more inventive creations at The Bagel Bunch a go during our visit as those items were sadly unavailable during our trip there — items like the Korean Fried Chicken bagel sandwich do look like fairly interesting dishes to go for given what other similar establishments are serving up. While only giving a small part of their menu a go, The Bagel Brunch that we have had does seem to be quite a decent offering that is bound to satisfy those whom are looking for a hearty brunch — definitely a spot that is likely to become more popular with the folks working around the Buona Vista neighbourhood in time to come!