L.E.S. Bagels in McKinley Hills

Given that I always have very limited time available whenever I visit Manila, I make it a point to fill up all meals with family gatherings or friends meet-up. For some of my close friends though, breakfast get-togethers have become a regular habit and we get more creative with it each time. Such was the case with my dear friends S and D. We normally would meet up for breakfast at a restaurant or coffee shop, this time though, S invited us to her lovely home for her to make us try her coffee creations. I loved the idea!

Check out her beautiful Cafe Mocha, I hope S would someday open her cafe and I'll surely tell the world about it. Watching her in her kitchen is like watching a younger version of Julia Child working her magic around.

I initially wanted to bring some Singaporean baked bread to our breakfast get-together but things just got too hectic before flying home that I wasn't able to find the time to visit my favorite bakery. Boo! Well, it was a good thing that we saw L.E.S. Bagels which is right beside Main Street in McKinley Hills -- our first stop upon landing in Manila.



L.E.S. Bagels has been in my list since last year after hearing my sister rave about their delicious sandwich spreads such as the LOX (Php. 260 - Php. 950) that's a delicious combination of smoked salmon and cream cheese. I'm so glad that I finally had the chance to pay L.E.S. Bagels a visit. Aside from LOX, they also have the Sundried Tomato and Olives which look so delicious too.

They even have sweet bagel fillings for those who wants to take the fruity approach. Apple Cinnamon or Blueberry, anyone? Of course, bacon lovers will rejoice over the Bacon and Cheddar filling. If you ask me, these would make great dips for your bag of potato chips too.

Now, what's a visit to L.E.S. Bagels without the bagels right? They surely are taking their bagels (Php. 40/each) seriously as there are a total of 14 types to choose from! As if choosing between plain, garlic, sesame or whole wheat is not hard enough already. There's Black Sesame, Pumpernickel, Chocolate, Asiago and more! Since I'm going for the LOX, I thought that the savory flavored bagels would go best with it. I got the Plain, Garlic, Whole Wheat and Sesame to try.

We heated up the bagels the next day and sadly they came out to be overly chewy. A tad too chewy to be enjoyed. It's a good thing the LOX was pretty good but we were not able to enjoy it so much as the bread was so hard to chew on. Wish I brought pan de sal or crostinis with me instead. I'm pretty sure the bagels served in the store would have better quality. I wasn't sure if we toasted it wrong or it's stale already.

For the price, I admit that I was expecting more. The LOX was indeed a good choice albeit being quite pricey. The bagels were chewy and hard so I didn't enjoyed this at all. Will I give L.E.S. Bagels another try, yes but I'm having the bagels in the store this time.

Check out L.E.S. Bagels at Tuscany Estates, Upper Mckinley Road, McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Call them at 804-0423.