Suwon brunch café: cutting a thick corn bagel at Orange Bagel

There's no one who hasn't been here yet, but no one who's been here only once~

A classic line in the foodie world, haha~

Spacious parking lot, and honestly, what more needs to be said—

• Cafés near Seoul
• Places worth visiting in Gyeonggi~
• Suwon brunch spot~
• Suwon café~

Right away, right away—

Orange Bagel~

Orange Bagel's three floors and parking

Orange Bagel is a 3-story café on Omokcheon-ro in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon. The first floor has the ordering counter, a space to shop for goods, and spacious tables. The second floor has spacious tables too, haha~ and outdoor tables. The parking lot is spacious as well.

Nice photogenic red brick, haha~ and a New York subway map I've never actually ridden, haha, I don't know much about it~

I still haven't made it up to the 3rd floor. Looks like there are outdoor tables there. I promise to visit the 3rd floor next time~

What we ordered: mushroom cream soup and laugen bagel

Today it's you!!

On this nth visit to Orange Bagel, I decided to deliberately include two things. Between bread and mandu (dumplings), I like sweet red bean bread and meat mandu, but even though I love eating them, they leave my stomach uncomfortable afterward. So naturally I've stopped eating bread and mandu unless it's a special occasion.

Lately though, I've fallen for bagels. Even eating a lot of bagels doesn't leave me bloated or queasy or heavy in the stomach — I love that.

Plain bagels are great too, but—

• Corn bagel loaded with sweetness~
• Bagel packed with chives~
• Even after this many visits, I still hadn't tried the 'mushroom soup' — today's the day!!
• And lately I've had my eye on the Laugen bagel!! Salt bread is so popular these days. Salt bread and butter~ a dream combo!!

Let's take a look through photos~

My companion already knew my taste and had put a corn bagel on the tray before I even said anything, haha

Red bean butter bagel, one covered in sesame seeds, jambon bagel — truly so many kinds.

Is it a bagel or is it a burger? Haha~ it looks like the bagel is opening its mouth. Isn't that just too cute~

How to cut a thick bagel without losing the filling

When cutting Orange Bagel's thick bagels, the angle of the knife matters a lot. Just keep the tip pointed straight down. It's about as sharp as a pork cutlet knife, not razor sharp, so if you press straight down with the knife held vertically, the filling stays put and you can enjoy it cleanly!!

See the salt sprinkled on top? Today's highlight is the Laugen bagel. Not sure I can describe the taste well, but I'll do my best~

At first glance it looks like a red bean bun shyly holding a big slice of cheese, but look closer and you'll see coarse salt sprinkled on top, giving it that irresistible sweet-and-salty, nutty finish!!

Orange Bagel's review event changes often — on our visit it was a 'hidden drink and bagel chips.' We ordered so much already, so we'll skip the review this time, haha

Full order and prices at Orange Bagel

Laugen butter bagel ₩6,900 Corn bagel ₩6,900 Garlic bagel ₩6,300 Mushroom cream soup ₩8,000 Orange breeze ₩7,500

That's what we ordered. When you're tired of coffee, I recommend the orange breeze~ it's filling. (I had miyeokguk early in the morning and lunch was late, so we ordered a bit heartier~ haha)

Last time there was a discount for soldiers, police, and firefighters. This time it looks like they've partnered with Suwon Samsung Bluewings. I'm pretty clueless about soccer, but I think I can tell the design is meant to evoke the Bluewings uniform, haha

After ordering, I grabbed the buzzer and found a seat, then wandered over to the photogenic goods zone to take some pictures. Cute little items — imported goods, but they don't feel foreign at all, they somehow fit Korean sensibilities well. Oh, the drinks came out fast~ I'll introduce them again in a moment~

They also have cheeses to spread or dip your plain bagel (or other breads) into. There's basil sauce too, so you can mix up the flavors. I want to buy one of each, but today I'll hold back!

Ah, I almost forgot the plates, haha

How the corn bagel, garlic bagel and mushroom soup taste

The garlic bagel is the easy one. It's scored like a regular-size pizza, so you just tear along the lines~

And now, the corn bagel in question~ can you see it? The anticipation for how good it'll taste—

What can I even say~ sweet corn, and underneath, more corn mash~ bagel, and inside, sweet mashed corn with all sorts of good stuff, haha, and then more bagel~~ and today's hidden touch — see the salt sprinkled on top? That's the kicker!!

And the mushroom soup I really wanted to try~ mushroom porridge? Mushroom soup? Haha, anyway it's nicely salty and really delicious~ that salty edge pairs perfectly with the sweet corn bagel!!

And for the drink, the orange breeze~ less rich than an affogato, much smoother than a cappuccino~ it feels like coffee, affogato, cappuccino, and orange juice all at once! I scraped the cup clean to the bottom.

Scraped it with a spoon, haha. The mushroom soup, playing the 'salty' role in the sweet-salty combo, is really tasty.

It never tastes like this at home. That's exactly why it was even more delicious. Food on a proper plate is just better, right?

Laugen butter bagel: for salt bread lovers

I had high expectations for the Laugen bagel. I've been really into salt bread lately, so this is exactly the flavor I like. It tasted just as expected.

My companion stuck with the easy ones, haha, and I took on the challenge of cutting the tricky corn bagel. I missed filming it, but if you just hold the knife straight up and down, it comes out clean like this!!

This is the Laugen butter bagel photo, haha~

Kind of looks like a well-braised pig's trotter too, hahahahaha. Anyway, it was delicious and I ate well. A neighborhood favorite in the making — the big Suwon café, the Hwaseong Bongdam café, the name that comes to mind for Suwon brunch cafés — Orange Bagel~ highly, highly recommend~

With so much orange throughout, the photos come out really, really nice. Now I understand why so many visitors take pictures in the goods shop~

If you like soccer, this place might catch your interest too~ definitely worth a visit~

There's no one who hasn't been here yet, but no one who's visited just once~

You'll understand what I mean~ ate well again today. Looking forward to the next visit~~

Who Orange Bagel in Suwon suits best

• Date spot: for couples just starting out~ haha, great for cozy, lovey-dovey time over good food~
• People who know their coffee: this place is well known as a real coffee spot.
• Anyone wanting a quick, filling meal: it's hearty~
• Chatty groups~: comfortable chairs, spacious room, and a variety of bagels make it good for lingering a long time too.
• Surprisingly, quite a lot of people come here to study~ I guess a bit of ambient noise helps with focus?