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WA-BAGEL Review – Vancouver’s First Spot for Japanese Style Bagels

I first wrote about WA-BAGEL earlier this year and they finally have a solid open date. They are officially opening on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. This Tokyo-meets-New York concept features a sweet and savoury selection of chewy, airy, and delicious bagels. WA-BAGEL is a counter service spot and will be open Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Guests can also order and dine at the building’s spacious communal concourse, located just outside the shop. Japanese-style bagels are made with Canadian flour and unique techniques inherited from Japanese food culture. This gives the bagels a chewy and light consistency. Instead of mixing ingredients into the dough, they are instead rolled in which means every bite has some filling. I got a sneak peek before the official opening, so check out my full WA-BAGEL review below!

WA-BAGEL Review – Specialty Bagel Flavours and Premium Bagel Sandwiches

WA-BAGEL Review - Vancouver's First Spot for Japanese Style Bagels Kinako bagel filled with a sweet and nutty roasted soybean powder

At launch, the menu will feature 10 flavours (from $2), as well as seasonal offerings, including: the Original Wa-Bagel, made with koji-yeast; Kinako, filled with a sweet and nutty roasted soybean powder; Red Bean & Cream Cheese, filled with a sweet red bean paste and cream cheese and topped with sesame seeds; and Mochi Matcha, filled with mochi, red bean paste, and chopped walnuts.

If those don’t tickle your fancy, WA-BAGEL has two topping options with its Original Wa-Bagel flavour – the Bagel & Schmear with a selected cream cheese flavour (plain, shiso ume, tofu hummus, maple walnuts), and a Toasted Bagel with butter.

For more filling options, there is a small menu of premium sandwiches that is created in collaboration with Miku and Minami’s talented team of chefs. The sandwiches are:

WA-BAGEL Review - Vancouver's First Spot for Japanese Style Bagels Pacific Premium Sandwich Smoked sockeye salmon with pickled red onion, cured cucumber, shiso, caper crisps, and shiso ume cream cheese on a plain bagel

On my visit, I got the Pacific Premium Sandwich and the Kinako Bagel and Sweet Potato and Black Sesame. The highlight for me was definitely the Pacific. I love the use of so many Japanese flavours on such a classic combination. The shiso ume cream cheese is so savoury with just the perfect hint of sourness. It is a fantastic sandwich.

WA-BAGEL Review - Vancouver's First Spot for Japanese Style Bagels

The Kinako bagel has plenty of soybean flavour and is a good ‘classic’ bagel if you’re not a fan of too much dairy. This bagel has a nice chewy texture, and definitely tastes better after a 20 second spin in the microwave.

WA-BAGEL Review - Vancouver's First Spot for Japanese Style Bagels Sweet Potato and Black Sesame bagel

The Sweet Potato and Black Sesame has plenty of sweet potato filling and is not too sweet. The crunch of the sesame seeds add a really nice textural contrast. Both bagels were pretty messy to eat however, so I wouldn’t recommend eating them while walking.

Worth a Try?

Yes, if you’re a fan of bagels this is a unique and delicious take that is worth trying out. I can see it being pretty busy during the lunch rush for the Downtown crowd. At lunch time, in addition to the bagels there will be a small selection of Aburi sushi options from Miku available.

WA-BAGEL by Aburi
Address: 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 2X8
Website: https://www.instagram.com/wa.bagel/

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