This New Bagel & Waffle Bar Has Lobster Bagel & Celeb Fans Like Patricia Mok

The bar is designed by architect Quck Zhong Yi, who was also the stage and large props designer for the 2018 National Day Parade. Which may explain the dramatic ambience in the dimly-lit spot, which can seat about six diners indoors and another six al-fresco. Located right next to Tanjong Pagar Plaza Food Centre overlooking Orchid Hotel, the bar interior is also circular-shaped like a bagel.

KM Bagel & Waffle is named after its two owners, Keith Poon, 35, a sales VP for an investment company, and Mariusz Grzes, 30, a relationship manager at a real estate company. The duo had decided to offer bagels as it’s a popular breakfast item in Mariusz’s native Poland, and waffles as it’s Keith’s favourite snack from local bakeries. Prior to becoming an RM, Mariusz also worked as a chef and cooked for Team Great Britain’s athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

As Mariusz has a day job, he doesn’t personally cook at KM. Instead, the kitchen is helmed by head chef Jeremy Low, 29, previously from mod Asian bistro Hathaway at Dempsey Hill. Incidentally, Hathaway is owned by the folks behind Fusionopolis bakery Bread Yard, which supplies the bagels here (the waffles are made a la minute in-house).

The bar is somewhat of a celeb haunt; Keith tells us that Ann Kok, Patricia Mok and husband-and-wife singers Tay Kewei and Alfred Sim have dropped by his bar for a meal.

Be warned that prices here are on the atas end. There are five a la carte bagel dishes on the menu here, plus an Octopus & Waffle ($34) with grilled octopus legs. We recommend going for the sesame-crusted bagels here – they are crisp to the bite, with a good chewiness. Good for cradling fluffy scrambled eggs and crustacean chunks for the Lobster Scramble (pictured, $28). The waffle could be better, though. It lacks eggy flavour and is soft even when freshly served. The fancy plating here is also a tad too precious for our liking; the food would have been much more enjoyable served no-frills in a cafe setting.

If you like heartier bar food with your booze, there’s also a five-course Signature Chef’s Curation Menu ($118 per pax), where you get savoury and dessert bagels and waffles with cocktail pairing by head mixologist Richard Li, formerly from Tanglin Club and National Gallery’s rooftop bar Smoke & Mirrors. For the price, you also get lobster with your bagel – half a Boston chonker and New Zealand clams, all drizzled with miso butter. There's also a waffle course with duck.

Address: #02-101, 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, S081007

Opening hours: Open daily Wed-Fri 3pm-10.30pm, Sat & Sun 12pm-10.30pm

www.kmgroup.sg

Photos: Alvin Teo/ KM Bagel & Waffle