Address: 730 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 198698
Opening Hours: Saturday and Sunday 12:00pm – 3:00pm, Tuesday – Friday 12:00pm – 8:00pm, Closed on Mondays
Official Website: https://keens-bagelry.business.site/
Instagram: keensbagelry
Keen’s Bagelry Menu
WTF are Japanese New York bagels? I’ve never heard of such invention. It’s a ridiculous one because the two styles of bagels are at odds with each other. Japanese bagels are soft. New York bagels are chewy. And in that ridiculous terminology, you end up with Keen’s Bagelry — an overhyped bagel spot.
Check out how overly brown those bagels are from the photos. Too shiny. I was already skeptical, because they burned their bagels with too much egg wash and high heat, giving it a rough crusty exterior instead of the right crisp.
Truffle Chicken $12 + $4 (Scrambled egg)
Check out the cross-section of the Truffle Chicken ($16). Looks good on the outside, but your teeth will be at war starting with the tough bagel exterior to the overly doughy, oily insides. That alone makes you want to give up, but go on… Fight your way to have a bite of each layer. The egg is mildly impressive, but the hallelujah ends there as your teeth meets the overcooked marinated chicken leg. I didn’t enjoy my bagel. Especially not after waiting for an ungodly 30 minutes. No bagel spot in NYC will make you wait for 30 minutes for a fucking bagel. (And yes, not even Onalu bagel near SMU would make you wait for it!)
The saddest part about waiting is figuring out where to sit down and actually “enjoy” what you invested your time on. Sure, there are 3 cocktail tables, but you’ll realize, you don’t really want to eat your bagel beside a growing queue ordering bagels.
Now, don’t see this as drama, because this is what amateur Tiktokers can’t really understand and just haphazardly go on and review stuff just to get the video views. It takes years and years of honing taste and going through vast experiences to know what makes a concept click or not. Sure, a hidden bagel gem inside a marketplace is genius, but it doesn’t take you too long to figure out that the “great experience” all ends once you realize there’s no place to sit down and eat… and you haven’t eaten a single bite yet. Should you go to Haji Lane and grab a cup of coffee? Will that coffee shop allow you? Will you even eat that bagel with your heart’s content under the heat of the sun? And what if it rains cats and dogs? Oh boohoo.
I landed at Joe and Dough in DUO Galleria, a brisk 5 minute walk from Curbside Crafters. Thankfully, the staff didn’t shoo me away as I ate my bagel with a cup of Joe. (Props to the guys at Joe and Dough; that’s excellent customer service.) And thankfully, I could only manage half of the Truffle Chicken, and I was extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with it.
I could only conclude that there’s no such thing as a great bagel place in Singapore. Remember Two Men Bagel House? I am going to repeat: those are NOT bagels.
P.S. If you really must try Keen’s Bagelry, just get a cheddar bagel with the mozzarella scrambled egg and torched cheddar cheese. I don’t see any point in wasting away your dollars at such an overhyped place.