Bagel hunt (non-fuwafuwa type)

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Tokyo bagel shop combines tasty food and great service

Although it has no sign or eye-catching show window, Maruichi Bagel in Tokyo's Shirokane-Takanawa district draws a steady flow of customers. Around noon, a variety of plump bagels--plain, sesame, onion and more--were piled up in the show case. "They're irreplaceable," said a woman in her 30s who had come all the way from Soka in Saitama Prefecture. She left after packing 10 bagels in her backpack. Miho Inagi, the busy owner of the shop, finds time to stand behind the counter in between making bagels. "It's a shame to shut myself up in the kitchen when the customers are here," she says.

It was during a trip to New York she made just before graduating from college that she encountered a bagel. She was so impressed by its almost juicy texture and taste that she quit her job to learn bagel-making at Ess-a-Bagel in New York. She opened her shop in Tokyo's Yoyogi-Uehara district in 2004. It was tiny, barely accommodating three customers at a time. But the bagels were chewy and sweet. Lucky shoppers got them fresh from the oven, still warm with a delicious wheaty aroma. Customers were soon lining up in front of the shop to get their bagels as soon as it opened.

At the counter, each customer was asked, "Which bagel would you like?" and "What about the filling?" If two fillings were ordered, the customer would be asked how the bagel should be cut: to separate the two fillings, or in a way that each half contained both fillings. When a customer couldn't decide, Inagi offered tips on the type of bagels that went well with certain fillings and chatted with the customer as she prepared the sandwich at the counter. She stuck to her personal style no matter how long the line outside became.

A year has passed since the store moved from Yoyogi-Uehara. The new store is bigger, and Inagi sells more bagels. But as in the former shop, the staff cheerfully take orders with a memo pad in hand during busy hours and chat with the customers while preparing the sandwich. The new shop certainly retains the atmosphere of the former 5-tsubo (16.5-square meter) shop.

* * *

Maruichi Bagel is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (sandwiches are available from 11 a.m.). Closed Mondays and Tuesdays (and on June 20). Ten kinds of bagels are baked, including plain (180 yen) and blueberry (250 yen). Tuna and egg sandwiches start at 680 yen. Near exit 4 of Shirokane-Takanawa subway station.

http://www.maruichibagel.com

[Samurai_Jerk]

Ess-a-Bagel

Holy crap. This chick should know her stuff. I am so there.

[gkanai]

Maruichi Bagel is the only legitimate bagel shop in Japan as far as I am concerned. Ess-a-bagel was my local shop growing up.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Maruichi Bagel is the only legitimate bagel shop in Japan as far as I am concerned. Ess-a-bagel was my local shop growing up.

Mine too.

I haven't been to Maruichi yet, but now I know it exists and will try to get my ass over there ASAP. Of course I don't expect it to be as good as Ess-a-Bagel (or even Nosh-a-Bagel) but if it's even one fifth as good it'll be better than anything else in Japan by far.

[Taro Toporific]

...Of course I don't expect it to be as good as Ess-a-Bagel (or even Nosh-a-Bagel) but if it's even one fifth as good it'll be better...

Read the Maruichibeguru ingredients and weep:
[INDENT]"[color="Red"]Domestic wheat[/color], water, malt, salt and natural yeast ...Sugar free"[/INDENT]

Most of Japan* is incapable of growing high-gluten, hard winter wheat that is ABSOLUTELY required for making bagels. I strongly suspect that the Maruichibeguru does not specially contract for domestic hard winter wheat. Also note, they say "Sugar free" (not low sugar) but all yeast bread making uses some sugar to feed the yeast.

*A handful of farms in Hokkaido grow hard winter wheat,
but Japanese millers just mix that wheat with regular wheat

[gkanai]

Trust me Taro, her bagels rock.

[Doctor Stop]

Also note, they say "Sugar free" (not low sugar) but all yeast bread making uses some sugar to feed the yeast.

Kind of like the Reinheitsgebot not including yeast as a beer ingredient.

[6810]

Read the Maruichibeguru ingredients and weep:[INDENT]"Domestic wheat, water, malt, salt and natural yeast ...Sugar free"[/INDENT]Most of Japan* is incapable of growing high-gluten, hard winter wheat that is ABSOLUTELY required for making bagels.

While I agree with this. Indeed, you have to wonder about so called koku-san soybeens in soy sauce etc since Japan only produces about 15% of its total and most of that goes into natto/tofu...


This...

Also note, they say "Sugar free" (not low sugar) but all yeast bread making uses some sugar to feed the yeast.

Is not necessarily so. As long as the yeast can make use of the carbohydrates as a food source (and a small amount of malted grain would do the job to aid conversion of starch into sugar) there is no reason why sugar is necessary. Indeed, juice, rice malt syrup, honey etc could be used in place of "sugar" to aid fermentation. Not trying to split hairs (they after all are "sugars" of a kind).

Beer doesn't need sugar to ferment, because the converted (sprouted) grain has enough "sugar" without being sugar to feed the yeast. Indeed, you could even use koji rice as yeast food for priming (bread or beer)(I have and I made rice beer to boot).

[Taro Toporific]

... there is no reason why sugar is necessary. Indeed, juice, rice malt syrup, honey etc could be used in place of "sugar" to aid fermentation. Not trying to split hairs (they after all are "sugars" of a kind)...

Oh, I aggree it is "possible" they didn't use sugar, I just doubt it.

It's just like they say they use "domestic wheat" when all---that's 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999%---ALL domestic wheat flour uses evil foreign gluten to fortify their inherently crappy Japanese flour sold as "high-gluten bread flour." Basically, Japan mislabels 99% of their food just just like China.

[FG Lurker]

Costco (well the Amagasaki one anyway) seems to have changed their bagel recipe. The new bagels are physically smaller but don't seem to be any lighter -- in other words they're denser / harder than what Costco was selling before.

Previously they had plain, cheese, onion, and cinnamon raisin. Now they have plain, whole grain, and cinnamon. I had one of the whole grain ones this morning and it tasted pretty good toasted. Haven't tried them after freezing yet but that will happen soon.

(I'm no bagel connoisseur, just for the record.)

[eddie]

has anyone tried 'tabi' bagel in nezu? pretty nice. very lovingly made. a bit pricey. i lived up the road and would pick up bagels there occasionally. ate them as-is, so maybe you could consider them patisserie-style...

[Samurai_Jerk]

NYC's best bagel shop, Ess-a-bagel, has opened a shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station. According to this blog the bagels are shipped from NY and baked in Tokyo. They're not at as good as the ones in NY but they're definitely real bagels and aren't fuwa fuwa.

FYI, in addition to the bagel place they're selling NY-style pizza, pastrami sandwiches on rye, and soup Nazi soup. I'm sure none of these places will last.

[Taro Toporific]

NYC's best bagel shop, Ess-a-bagel, has opened a shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station. According to this blog the bagels are shipped from NY and baked in Tokyo. They're not at as good as the ones in NY but they're definitely real bagels and aren't fuwa fuwa.
FYI, in addition to the bagel place they're selling NY-style pizza, pastrami sandwiches on rye, and soup Nazi soup. I'm sure none of these places will last.

Damn, I must have passed that Ess-a-bagel shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station many times not knowing it was there.

http://www.daimaru.co.jp/tokyo/floor/b1f.html

Town-Food-B1-Daimaru-Tokyo.jpg

[Typhoon]

Well, other bread products such as croissants can be quite good in Japan, so no reason that someone can't make good bagels.

After all, it's only a bagel.

[Samurai_Jerk]

NYC's best bagel shop, Ess-a-bagel, has opened a shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station. According to this blog the bagels are shipped from NY and baked in Tokyo. They're not at as good as the ones in NY but they're definitely real bagels and aren't fuwa fuwa.
FYI, in addition to the bagel place they're selling NY-style pizza, pastrami sandwiches on rye, and soup Nazi soup. I'm sure none of these places will last.

Damn, I must have passed that Ess-a-bagel shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station many times not knowing it was there.

http://www.daimaru.co.jp/tokyo/floor/b1f.html

Town-Food-B1-Daimaru-Tokyo.jpg

I think it just opened this month. I'm not sure why but they aren't fresh. It's like buying two-day-old bagels. You definitely need to toast them.

[Taro Toporific]

NYC's best bagel shop, Ess-a-bagel, has opened a shop in the basement of the Daimaru at Tokyo Station. According to this blog the bagels are shipped from NY and baked in Tokyo.

I'm not sure why but they aren't fresh. It's like buying two-day-old bagels.

There's several sleazeball-scammingreasons for shipping Ess-a-bagels from NY and baking them on-site in Tokyo:

1) The primary reason is it is just a fucking tax scam. That is, "prepared foods" like frozen or chilled "raw" bagels do not have any import tax, but Japan has massive import duties on winter wheat flour from the Canadian/US high plains that has the high gluten amounts to make proper bagels.

2) Deeply chilled breads can have their final baking delayed up to 36 hours without any "major" degradation of their flavor (all pizza chains do this and most supermarket bakeries).

3) The Shinjuku Ess-a-bagel shop is smaller than my bedroom closet in the States---By using "prepared-n-chilled" bagels, the Shinjuku location only needs space for a cooler, an oven, and a sales counter.

4) The Japanese owners of ShinjukuEss-a-bagels wanted their bagels "authentic" as a sales charm-point/チャームポイント and most likely nobody in management eats or even likes bagels.

Disclaimer: My couple of my best friends from high school ended up as test kitchen scientists
for Stouffer's/Nestlé. Back my university days I would spend my summer vacations
working on various chilled/frozen bread scams for the restaurant industry.

[Coligny]

Well, other bread products such as croissants can be quite good in Japan, so no reason that someone can't make good bagels.

After all, it's only a bagel.

Croissant are not a good metric. The pie sheet is actually easier to do industrially than manually (the same ratio as between hammering a sheet of iron into a car door frame versus having dies press it with an hydraulic ram)
It is not affected by freezing (before cooking) and just require simple baking. It's not uncommon to find delicious frozen box of raw croissant that just need to be cooked on demand in supermarket. And most bakers do it this way in France because it would be too labor intensive to make them by hand.

[Samurai_Jerk]

have you ever tried Maruichi? I'm too lazy to schlep over there on the weekend unless I know it's worthwhile.

I live less than 70m from the headquarters ofJunoesque Bagels (which are edible but smallish and Japanesque) so I haven't gone to the trouble of going to Maruichi Bagels. Mrs. Taro has picked up some bagels from Maruichi, which were OK.

Maruichi's location is not that far from my home so I ought to check them out again since they claim that, "NO SUGAR IS ADDED" and that, "MARUICHI make bagel based on the way of Ess-a-Bagel {sic.}."

(Disclaimer: I suppose I am too fussy, but in Chicago I only eat bagels while they still warm from the oven---Just the funky natto ambiance of Japan ruins the taste of bagels for me here.)

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Well, other bread products such as croissants can be quite good in Japan, so no reason that someone can't make good bagels.

After all, it's only a bagel.

Croissant are not a good metric. The pie sheet is actually easier to do industrially than manually (the same ratio as between hammering a sheet of iron into a car door frame versus having dies press it with an hydraulic ram)
It is not affected by freezing (before cooking) and just require simple baking. It's not uncommon to find delicious frozen box of raw croissant that just need to be cooked on demand in supermarket. And most bakers do it this way in France because it would be too labor intensive to make them by hand.

Best French bread I ever ate was in Vietnam...in the 1980s...when the cuntry was still fucked and barely anything functioned.
But the bread still tasted Nice in France except you have to consume it with the odor of dogshit wafting up your nostrils.

[Samurai_Jerk]

have you ever tried Maruichi? I'm too lazy to schlep over there on the weekend unless I know it's worthwhile.

I live less than 70m from the headquarters ofJunoesque Bagels (which are edible but smallish and Japanesque) so I haven't gone to the trouble of going to Maruichi Bagels. Mrs. Taro has picked up some bagels from Maruichi, which were OK.

Maruichi's location is not that far from my home so I ought to check them out again since they claim that, "NO SUGAR IS ADDED" and that, "MARUICHI make bagel based on the way of Ess-a-Bagel {sic.}."

(Disclaimer: I suppose I am too fussy, but in Chicago I only eat bagels while they still warm from the oven---Just the funky natto ambiance of Japan ruins the taste of bagels for me here.)

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

Anyway, Ess-a-Bagel got me motivated to go to Maruichi early yesterday evening and buy a couple for comparison. The first thing I liked is that is actually smells like a bagel shop when you enter. The second thing that I noticed is they had a big boiling vat. The bagels there are actually pretty good. They're big, fairly dense, and taste-wise they'd be average in NYC which means better than bagels in most places in the US. They're also fresh which makes them better than the ones at Ess-a-Bagel Tokyo-ten. I'm sure if you get there early they'll be nice and warm too. You should definitely check it out.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

I'm more interested in knowing what Mrs. Taro is doing buying bagels for you...(or even more interesting, what she's getting in return for that).

[Samurai_Jerk]

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

I'm more interested in knowing what Mrs. Taro is doing buying bagels for you...(or even more interesting, what she's getting in return for that).

I'm sure I could come up with a witty comment about stuffing the hole in her bagel but that would be too easy.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

I'm more interested in knowing what Mrs. Taro is doing buying bagels for you...(or even more interesting, what she's getting in return for that).

I'm sure I could come up with a witty comment about stuffing the hole in her bagel but that would be too easy.

You fucked her bread? That's pretty sick, mate...

[matsuki]

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

I'm more interested in knowing what Mrs. Taro is doing buying bagels for you...(or even more interesting, what she's getting in return for that).

I'm sure I could come up with a witty comment about stuffing the hole in her bagel but that would be too easy.

Being the creme cheese to her bagel?

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Weird, you posted as me. Or am I losing my mind?

I'm more interested in knowing what Mrs. Taro is doing buying bagels for you...(or even more interesting, what she's getting in return for that).

I'm sure I could come up with a witty comment about stuffing the hole in her bagel but that would be too easy.

Being the creme cheese to her bagel?

To give it a Merkin flavor, his penis butted her jell-o as they sandwiched.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Did we ever figure out how Taro ended up posting as me?

[yanpa]

Someone messed the quotes up when copying'n'pasting

[Samurai_Jerk]

Someone messed the quotes up when copying'n'pasting

No, that's not what I'm talking about. Look at the post by me made at the following time: 28 Oct 2012 14:45

That's actually Taro's post.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

That's actually Taro's post.

Yeah, right...you're just trying to make excuses because you got caught boffing his missus because she was giving you bagels...

[yanpa]

Someone messed the quotes up when copying'n'pasting

No, that's not what I'm talking about. Look at the post by me made at the following time: 28 Oct 2012 14:45

That's actually Taro's post.

Ah, the OL I employ who receives the faxes with the content of the posts, types them into Excel and uploads them to the website via FTP probably got something mixed up.

Either that or Taro's fingers slipped while editing with mod powers.