Maruichi Bagel

I thought I was SO original with my "New York Minute" video.

I was surprised to find someone else had made the SAME titled Youtube video, and used a fast photo slideshow too. (His was first, 2006). Strange thing was the guy's name was Jimmy as well! I definitely hadn't seen the video before I did mine, so I have to say that was an amazing coincidence.

Since coming back from New York, I'd been trying to find the same kind of bagels as Ess-A-Bagel. I've had Bagel & Bagel ones here. While they actually taste pretty good and offer quite a few fillings, I've always still felt hungry after eating them.

Scouring the net, I came across Maruichi Bagel. There's an interesting story how she went to New York working at Ess-A-Bagel and bringing the New York's style bagels recipe back to Tokyo.

Her unassuming storefront is located in Shirokane-takanawa station on the Namboku and Mita subway lines.

The map on their website is very clear. It's only two streets away from the station. Unfortunately there's not much else to do in this area.

There are quite a few options to choose from. Each bagel is around 200 yen. A half bagel sandwich with a cream cheese filling is 250 yen.My verdict? These bagels although seemingly smaller than Ess-A-Bagel ones, were definitely more filling than Bagel & Bagel.

The taste compares favourably to the New York version too. My only small qualm is that it'd be great to have more variety in the cream cheese options that made Ess-A-Bagel the greatest thing since sliced bread.

If you're in the area though I think it's worth your time to check it out.