daidai — Restaurant in Tokyo

The first time I went to the shop I didn't enter because there were many handwritten signs posted on the window warning this and that. If that's not intimidating the next time I went and checked there was an even bigger poster...

Everything had escalated and more rules were posted. The poster had all kinds of things written on it like: Don't come in if you can't follow the rules! Don't come in if you are not wearing a mask. No more than two people allowed in the shop at a time. No taking photos whatsoever. No touching any of the bagels except for the ones that you buy. The complete irony is there are two little welcome signs on the little wooden stool next to the shop. Welcome my a....

So the only reason I decided to go and buy a bagel is because a very discerning looking madam-like middle-aged customer came out of the shop and told me how delicious the bagels were. Those kinds of people usually really know good quality I thought.

So I bought a bagel with very high expectations and prepared it exactly as instructed. I had to stand in the shop and read a billion other signs inside the shop. my Japanese is not the best so it took a really long time to read everything. The owner seemed very visibly irritated that I was standing there forever reading everything. She was also very visibly irritated that I had only bought one bagel. The bagels are 270yen or more.

The flour used seems to be very high in quality. If you prepare the bagel properly, as VERY specifically instructed by the owner, the outside should be crispy and the inside should be soft. Be sure to read all the instructions in the shop, detailing how you should prepare the bagels. I think the owner was frustrated with people who didn't know how to reheat her "works of art."

Bringing me to my next point. This was a standard Japanese bagel...fluffy and bready. It lacks the density and real chewiness of an authentic New York bagel. If you like Japanese bagels this is the right place for you but I like my bagels dense and chewy.

For this price, I could have gotten a loaf of bread elsewhere. It was almost closing time and there were still quite a lot of bagels left over.

There were some signs in the shop with "bagel" misspelled (Bagle) and I thought to kindly point it out but her very negative vibes were telling me not to say anything. Even when she asked me if I needed a bag it came across as very unfriendly.

Very few times have I ever felt so unwelcome in a shop in Japan. This was unfortunately one of them. If you have the courage to enter the shop go ahead and be my guest. The taste is good but up to you to see if...

最近ベーグル巡りがブームで今回は練馬にある橙ベーグル...

赤ワインに合うパンを探して立ち寄りました。 ベーグルの知識は全くありません。

トースターで温めて食べましたが、生地の甘みを感じます。とても美味しいと思いました。 後日スコーンとプティング(？)も購入しましたが、これらがまた美味しいです。 とにかく甘味に嫌味が無く、ドライフルーツの味に合っていると感じました。 プティングというものは初めて食べましたが、甘味の良さは他と変わらず、赤ワインとの相性も良かったです。

私が訪問するのは帰宅途中の19時ごろです。 ほぼ売り切れ状態からの選択でしたが、好んで選んだ味は全て舌に合いました。

店長と思しき方は「ベーグルを作ることに全てを注ぐ」という印象の方です。 他のお客もいなかったので味について質問をしたら、明快な答えが返ってきました。新たな知識と味を知れて満足しております。 また、他の店員の方はとにかく愛想が良いと思います。

店内のルールの煩雑さに関しては、閉店間際にしか訪れていないために体感しておりませんので、評価の対象外とします。

2022年10月追記 カレーベーグルが美味しかったのですが、割ると中身が片側に寄っており、半分は全く中身が無い状態でした。 今までの経験ではあり得なかったことです。 もう半分からつけ直して食べれば良いことですが、少しでも中心よりに寄せていただきたいです。

また、ソーセージのベーグルも買いました。 店主いわく「国産のソーセージ」という売り文句ですが、シャウエッセンでした。 ベーグルの味が例の燻製臭ですべて飛んでおります。 個人的には鎌倉ハムのような、クセがないながらお肉の味が強い...