Now if anybody tells you that bagels are something like our Sibu Foochow delicacy – the kompia, do not believe a word they say!
It was around lunchtime when the Sunday service that we attended finished and the Santa Parade was not due to start till one or two hours later so we grabbed the chance to go for lunch first and Melissa took us here…
…as I had heard so many people telling me that bagels…
…and kompia are the same and when overseas, the former could be a good-enough substitute.
She ordered…
…the Pilgrim (NZ$9.90) for me…
…which had turkey ham in it and thick black coffee which, I must say, was very very nice.
She had the classic bagel with chicken (NZ$8.90)…
…and a mochaccino…
To be fair, I would say that the bagel tasted great but credit should go to all the very nice filling that they stuffed inside. The bagel itself was hard, so very hard like bread that had been kept for a few days and if it had any taste, I was not able to detect any.
I had bagels once when somebody opened up a shop in Kuching but for obvious reasons, it did not last very long. Well, at least, I’ve tried it on home ground now…and I can safely say that it is definitely nothing like kompia, nothing like it at all.
Moving on from bagels, I stopped by Fix (their equivalent to our 7-Eleven) and picked up these pies on the way back to our apartment…
They’re NZ$2.99 each. There was an offer of two big ones for NZ$5.00 but I did not fancy the flavours of the fillings in those. Well, I would say they were all right…
This was the ham and egg one but it certainly did not get me jumping up and down with delight and I did not like the pastry very much.
Melissa dropped by this shop…
…and bought this bar of chocolate…
Maybe it’s age but I seem to have lost my sweet tooth. I may take a bit of the sweet stuff, things like chocolate, ice cream or cakes…but not too much and I would not like anything that is a bit too sweet. The chocolate that Melissa bought was all right – not too sweet but I thought it was…chocolate, same as any other. Perhaps it was creamier, I wouldn’t know…and anyhow, it was made in Ireland!!! LOL!!!
Well, stay tuned, folks! More NZ posts coming up!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
How could Kompia and Bagels be the same? They are totally different things! But I didn’t know that bagels could be used in place of sandwiches.
Precisely but that was what people kept telling me…so now I know! 😉
i miss perth T.T Seems like you were having a great time in New Zealand tho 🙂
I most certainly am. Never been to Perth, will try to hop over one of these days.
Have to agree with u. Our kompia is still the best!! Even without filling, they are just so good….mmmm
Yalor!!! Dunno what all those people were talking about. Don’t even come near half as good… So hard, can even hurt the gums… 😦
Well, Arthur, there’re good bagels and there’re bad bagels. The bad ones, exactly as you described but the good ones, they’re very similar, although even then, being oven-baked, they’ll never be as good as our charcoal-fried kompia.
The texture, the taste all different. I guess they’re the closest one would get when looking for kompia substitutes.
I have to agree with Philip. There are good ones and bad ones. The good ones which I had before in Perth are chewy and slightly salty, similar to kompia. Some also have sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top. Eat it with smoked salmon and cream cheese……wooi, syiok nya! Actually, the bagels I had in Coffee Bean in KL are also good.
Personally, I’m not a fan of kompia either…except the pork belly ones at Noodle House perhaps. Bagels, also good…though hard, the ones I had – I was ok with that…but not something I would be dying to eat it again. Tried it once, ok already – at least when people talk abouyt eating bagels, I would know exactly what they’re talking about. The plain ones I had in Kuching long long ago – can’t exactly remember what they were like.
The best bagels are those straight from the oven, not hard at all and still piping hot and add the sesame seeds, it can almost pass for kompia. But it’s really hard to find good bagels these days, most of them are factory produced and taste like stale bread. In San Francisco, I only buy them from House of Bagels. Talking about hard bagels, I find overnight kompia,equally hard too, almost as bad as overnight bagels.
True! True! The very nice ones at Old Street when I was a kid…no need to wait till the next day – once cold, you throw at the wall, the wall will crack. LOL!!! 😀 The ones I buy these days…not really hard the day after or even a few days after – just toast in the oven to heat it up a bit and it will be hot and crusty. Just stuff in the filling of choice, they will taste really great!
I may not have tasted kompia and bagels but I can tell they cannot be similar at all! Hah! Hah! I am sure they are good in their own way. The fillings look very good and you say the bagels were hard? Hmmm…..I agree with you that age may have to do with us not appreciating the sweet stuff we used to love as kids. Same with me, not really jumping up and down when eating chocolate 🙂
I remember how I used to love all the sweet stuff but somehow, not anymore. Yup…the filling was very nice but the bagel was hard – I was ok but I heard the Melissa’s parents complained that it hurt their gums when they tried it the first time.
That’s a big leap of faith — never tasted something but you know what they taste like.
They certainly look good…and they tasted pretty good too – just that they’re not like kompia like what many people claim they are…and between the two, I think kompia’s nicer…but that again is subjective – some may think otherwise.
I tasted bagels in LV… they need to be “sapu-ed” with something or filled with something.. like bacon, ham or as displayed above… gosh.. now I am feeling so hungry cos it is 8.15am now! Should I go for noodles or BBQ dumplings… hmmmm…
Humph!!! Wanna torture me, eh? I’m ok….must take the chance to eat all the tings they have here and all that we can’t get at home. Eatin and eating till I’m bursting at the seams! 😦
By looking it, I thought the texture will somewhat be similar le. And will be bland as well like kompia without filling
Good kompia is fragrant, a little salty…and with filling, simple out of this world. This one, we can substitute with bread and eat as a sandwich – the same or perhaps even better. Not rock hard.
I had a bagel with bacon and egg once here too, but it wasn’t as hard as you described it to me. LOL! But I’m still not used to the texture though, bread rolls or English muffins for me please! 🙂
Yup! Bread rolls and croissants would be nicer.
Looks totally different from kompia but tastewise I would not know, hehehe!!!… and boy!!!…I love the chocolate. Yum!!!…Yum!!!…
You love chocolate? This one is not bad, very nice…
Who doesn’t? Any for me? Wink!!!..Wink!!!…
I’m not so crazy about chocs. Growing old perhaps…so that’s the only one that we bought. Wanted to try what we’ve not eaten before and what we can’t get back home.
you need to toast the bagels so the textures are crispy and a little chewy. If its eaten on room temp, its hard and super chewy… hehehe… love mine with cream cheese and jam… usually I go for cinnamon raisin bagel or sesame seed… miss this cos I use to get good ones in US.
and yes… at first it was hard for me to accept but somehow learn to love it when I had it warm and toasted with melted cream cheese… 🙂
It was toasted and served hot – I would not say it was crispy…but it was crusty on the outside, hard but crusty. I would not say it was chewy on the inside though. Oh? You had the US ones too? Philip lives in the US – maybe the ones there are nicer than the ones here.
Somehow bagels remind me of the french loaf we have here. Lovely pictures. That chocolate cafe’s colors look good enough to eat too. Reminds me of Swiss white chocolate. Yum! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.
The original french loaf is supposed to be hard. Between the two, I think french loaf is nicer.
It looks yummy too! The filling is quite generous. If only conversion ain’t the problem….
Never ever convert when overseas. Convert before leaving home…and if one thinks it is too expensive, then stay at home – will not enjoy one’s holiday when converting all the time and getting upset and miserable at how exorbitant everything costs.
Not a fan of bagels myself. Never even bothered to eat one while we were in NY, and in my opinion not even in the same league as kompia. Makan bagel, jaw very penat and no enjoyment in the mouth whereas kompia, oh la la. Eat, mata steam only.. Hehehe.
( feel so weird commenting in your blog when you are sitting beside me.. Lol!)
I don’t get to read till you’ve posted the comment mah! 😉
Hey Shereen, this is exactly what i think when i see your comment over here for past few days! I was thinking, eh, Arthur is at your place, and you’re commenting on his blog. ahhahahhahha..so cute!
Yes, such nice and wonderful people, the Fieldens – welcome us into their home, took us to tour all over the place here and fed us so well that I can hardly get up and walk. Having a terrific time here!!! Should have planned to stay till after Christmas or better still, till after New Year’s Day! LOL!!!! 😉
I can see the bagel looks pretty tough..but the generous filling has covered up the ugly side of it.ahahahah
The filling’s good…with the bagel, it comes across pretty good really just that it is not the same as kompia.
Yay, I can’t wait for more of your NZ posts!
Never quite fancied eating our local delicacies abroad – because the taste has been altered. Would rather eat my share here or bake/cook ’em.
Why do you think I went for the bagels? And the pies… We don’t get those in Sibu either…unless I make my own.
DON”T leave NZ without trying New Zealand SOFT(ice cream)
Had three already…one a gold medal winner. Watch out for the posts on those…
up until there you still got the best looking foods huh
they were all seems scrumptious
Have to try the stuff we can’t get back home… Wouldn’t have the chance once I’ve gone back.
that mocha chino was the best
it seems so creamy and
chocolately
My daughter’s favourite drink…
Never try kompia before, but by the look of it, kompia and bagel should be different. The pie is not nice? From the photo, it looks good with the ham and cheese stuffing. Was reading the comments and found out that you are still at NZ. For sure you are having some good times there ya!
The pie filling was nice, but the pastry not really. Mine nicer. Will be here till end of week.
hmm I use to eat bagel all the time..
Bagel with sandwich?
very innovative…
Innovative? Where do you eat that? In KL? How? With cream cheese only?
I love bagels! It’s best to eat it with savoury fillings like ham, bacon or cream cheese. But sadly, there aren’t many good bagels in Malaysia and mostly are frozen ones.
I guess not like going to the peninsula and eating kampua there. You’ve tried kompia before?
Bagel and mochaccino..perfect for breakfast or tea break.
Over here, i know at San Francisco Coffee they serve bagel with filling, nice. When i still work at my old office, sometime i had it for lunch.
So far, bagel that i bought it is quite soft, not as hard as you describe, i will eat it with some jam. It is quite nice actually, i like. 🙂
It is nice even though I was not too fond of the texture of the “bread”… The mochacinno’s Melissa’s. I don’t drink those – the milk will make me sleepy… 😦
Bagels same like kompia? That’s interesting. Have not tasted or even heard of it anyway looks yummy.
You haven’t had kompia before…so you can’t compare.
Usually bagels shouldn’t be that tough? The chewiness comes from boiling the dough before baking. The longer they are boiled, the chewier (probably not a word). The technique is a little similar to kompia but I don’t think they taste the same. I like smoked salmon and cream cheese on bagels! 😀
No boiling in making kompia, is there? And of course, the charcoal grill makes a world of difference. Ya, I would agree with you – they’re not the same. Period. 😉
The bagels look like to die for kind…so yummylicious and the cup of mochaccino… sluuurrrppp
The bar of chocolate is even more tempting. yum yum
Enjoy your holiday. Best regards.
Thanks. The bagels were great.
Heh! I agree, bagels taste nothing like kompia, I think people often relate the two coz they’re made without yeast. I do like bagels though and that shop looks great! 🙂
Still a couple of days more to go! Enjoy your holiday buddy!
Yup, back in the country now, flying back to Sibu tomorrow. Yup, the bagel I had was very nice – I liked it, just that I thought it was nothing like kompia.