Fragrant-from-the-oven, freshly hand-crafted bagels, filled to bursting with everything from roasted ribeye to seared lamb and cured salmon: Move over, toasted sandwiches; hit the road, flame-broiled burgers - Christine's Bakery is now the Klang Valley's bastion for rolls-with-a-hole that you can genuinely sink your teeth into, showcasing why bagels have become beloved from the street carts of Krakow to the delicatessens of New York.
Christine's introduced its bevy of bagels in August 2019, after cultivating a reputation as Sunway Geo Avenue's best bet for baked fare throughout the past two years. These bagels are the brand's own recipe, firm and crisp to the bite, thick and tender to the chew, available in five wholesome versions: plain, seeded, salt, all sorts (with nine grains), and pumpkin.
Patrons have a choice of 11 different combinations for their stuffings, with plenty of possible add-ons for further customisation, all assembled to order for optimum textures. With this vibrant variety, it's no surprise that some enthusiasts return to Christine's multiple times each week for their bagel fix.
The bagels are built for big appetites, possible for even two light eaters to share for lunch. If you're hungry enough to seemingly eat a cow plus a sheep, the Incredible Hulk is a behemoth of a bagel, towering with Australian beef ribeye, New Zealand seared lamb, house-smoked chicken, fried egg, mozzarella cheese, onion jam, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and beetroot - stacked with more than sufficient protein, carbs and fibre to sustain you through the longest day (RM26.80).
Seeking the succulence of steak without having to visit a steakhouse? Christine's It's A Steak Out is stacked, serving up the casual convenience of being able to sink your teeth anytime into an Aussie ribeye, cooked to the ideal juicy doneness, layered with just the right proportions of mozzarella cheese, mustard BBQ sauce, pickled cabbage, caramelised onions, lettuce and tomatoes for rich, robust nourishment (RM24.80).
Love lamb? Mr. Baa Baa promises punchy pleasure, courtesy of grilled NZ lamb with a pronounced meatiness, buoyed by mozzarella, mustard BBQ sauce, pickled cabbage, garlic aioli, mint leaves and cranberry jam, each brightening up the bagel with aromatic, tangy dynamics (RM21.80).
Other protein possibilities span both land and sea, from Hawaii (RM18.80) to the Surf (RM22.80) - the former features roasted chicken meatloaf with a sunny-side-up for that perfect partnership of chicken and egg, complemented by roasted pineapple, cheddar, tomatoes and cocktail sauce for a zesty creaminess, while the latter casts its net on silky salmon that's gently cured in Christine's own kitchen, completed with cream cheese, capers, cucumbers and red onions for a contemporary take on the salmon-with-cream-cheese bagel classic.
For meat-free meals, the selection includes the Mama Shroom, sweetly earthy with roasted portobello mushroom, cheddar, mozzarella, lettuce, roasted onions, tomato, egg and garlic aioli (RM16.80), and the Aussie Style (RM18.80), a Melburnian brunch devotee's medley of avocado, fried egg, mozzarella, mango chutney, pickled cabbage, caramelised onions, tomato and lettuce - each confidently balanced in elaborate ensembles of flavours and textures, the hallmark of what makes Christine's bagel burgers impressive.
Other options include the Bird (with house-smoked chicken for its centrepiece), Hawt Chix (baked chicken meatloaf with mango chutney), Meadow (roasted Aussie ribeye with assorted accompaniments) and Moo-ing Avocado (beef breakfast strips with avocado, egg, beetroot and more).
The bagels are typically available 730am-5pm daily, but beyond bagels, Christine's also boasts bread and pastries galore, with more than 50 varieties to be discovered, from Danish hazelnut rolls to Portuguese egg tarts, French almond croissants to Japanese anpan buns with red bean fillings.
Whether you're here for bagels or a brunch/teatime treat, sit and linger with a pleasantly brewed cappuccino for a warm, soothing hit of caffeine (RM11) or a cookies-and-cream ice-blended for cool comfort (RM14). Christine's is also a participating cafe in Eat Drink KL's coffee pass subscription, so you can enjoy coffee at a discounted rate here.
Many thanks to Christine's Bakery for having us back.
Christine's Bakery
B-02-01, Sunway Geo Avenue, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Selangor. Tel: 016-363-4183
This post first appeared on eatdrinkkl.com
