When I think of Hanukkah, I think of a festival of lights… and people eating some kind of Jewish food. So when my friend asked me whether I wanted to go bagel hunting during the Hanukkah season, I gladly accepted – after all, what food symbolises Jews more around the world than the humble bagel?
Our first stop was at the Kosher Food Centre, which is situated next to Perth’s main Jewish Synagogue on Plantation Street, Menora. The Kosher Food Centre is a small supermarket that is stocked with both traditional and modern Jewish goodies from Australia and around the world including these cookies from Israel.
It is run by Bernard Bettane, who is a former 5-star hotel Chef with Kashrut training in both France and Israel.
My friend is a stickler for authenticity, so she believes that in order to have a real bagel; it must be certified as being kosher. To find out whether a product is kosher or not, the bakery or deli should have a certificate of approval from the local Kashrut Authority, display a Kahsurt Authority symbol on the product packaging (circled below)… or be found at a proper kosher food store.
The strive for kosher-certified bagels made things slightly difficult when I took her to check out Lawley’s bakery in Mt Lawley, which is not visibly certified as selling kosher bagels. That, and the bagels looked ’smaller’ and were selling for between 10-40 cents more expensive than the Kosher Food Centre’s bagels!
At the Kosher Food Centre, we purchased a few plain bagels and a health bagel which cost $1.10 each. I had the plain bagel, which had a beautiful glow on the outside. Biting into it, I discovered that although it was chewy, it was not dense like biting into a piece of cardboard.
My friend ate the health bagel which is made out of nutritious ingredients such as rye. Unfortunately, she said that was really hard to bite into, and definitely not as tasty as the plain bagels – probably because it was so healthy! 
According to several sources on the internet, a real bagel must be crisp on the outside and dense and chewy on the inside. I have also read that some people prefer Lawley’s bagels to the Kosher Food Centre’s because it is much denser and therefore more ‘authentic’.
Although some Jews and bagel lovers may scoff at my liking for the softer, less ‘authentic’ bagels found at the Kosher Food Centre, I loved their regularly-baked bagels because they are glorious, hand-made bagels that are not too hard to bite into.
Since I have eaten those so-called ‘less authentic’ bagels, I have been asking myself – does it really matter whether a dish or food product is authentic as long as it tastes good or is perhaps an improved version of it? What do you think?
Kosher Food Centre
3 Plantation Street (Synagogue Carpark)
Menora WA 6050
WWW: http://www.kosherfoodcentre.com.au
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I wanna get me some bagels! Where’s Menora?
Menora is next to Dianella/Mt Lawley/Yokine-ish area. Basically you keep going up Alexander Drive (if you’re coming from the North Perth area) and Plantation Street will be somewhere on your left. The area around the Synagogue (also known as the Perth Hebrew Congregation) is surrounded by lots of old folks homes and/or retirement villages.
good post!
a few years back i was on the hunt for good bagels around perth, but never knew where to look. i think authentic bagels are supposed to be boiled in water first, then baked. that’s what makes them dense. i read that somewhere..
i think i’d prefer to try the “authentic” version of a dish, as well as other variations of it. just so i can say “yes, i have tried an authentic bagel”, and from there, I have a better basis for making comparisons.
I’ve heard the kosher food mart has a whole lot of great stuff, I keep meaning to drop by and check it out! Thanks for the reminder.
)
Mel – Thanks for your insight into how bagels are supposed to be dense. I suppose the bagels at the Kosher Food Centre are boiled or baked for less time…
I think it can be hard to find an ‘authentic’ dish unless you know it is from an authentic place… or you go to the country where the dish originates from. For example, I know a lot of Asian people would never go to an Asian restaurant that is Australianised. Australians would say it’s authentic, but Asians wouldn’t.
Steph – You’re welcome! It does have a lot of great stuff… including some very interestingly named biscuits. I will leave you to it to discover those interestingly named biscuits!
Personally I don’t care how authentic something is as long as it’s yummy
I don’t have any dietary restrictions as such though.
What interestingly named biscuits?
Biscuits…!!! 
Maguro – yes, the taste factor is the most important thing!
$ensei – Yes, yummy biscuits.
Would you like to eet sum mor? haha :p
I like the softer version of bagels as you can cut them easier to insert fillings such as salmon. As for authenticity, preference is acquired, and shaped by one’s upbringing and cultural and geographic environment.
I find the ‘authentic vs others’ subject as a reflection of one’s nostalgia of past enjoyments. A Chinese living in LA will missed the pork dumplings that he used to eat at the road stall on the way home from school in Canton, just as a New Yorker living in Abu Dhabi will crave for the burger and fries he grew up with in The Bronx.
Sam – That’s so true. You can only compare ‘the best’ in terms of taste compared with other dishes that you remember eating; as well as what your food preference is (eg sweet, sour, salty, etc).
Has the Kosher Food Centre moved? Saw it on SBS and went looking for it but could not find it. Some houses seem to being built at 3 Plantation St? Thanks
Hi Airwalk, sorry for the late reply. It should still be there.
Did you see the Synagogue on Plantation Street? If so, just before it you’ll see a car park. Right at the end of the car park you’ll see a shop there.
Hope that helps!
Hi Angie
It’s Ros, from The Kosher Food Centre (KFC). Thanks for the great write-up!
Just to inform the folks out there in bagel cyberspace, yes the KFC is still in Plantation St, Menora. It is a bit tricky to find, however once found, never forgotten! Go to the end of the carpark of the Synagogue….
The Kosher Food Centre bagels ARE authentic (hand) boiled bagels (not steamed), made from a recipe of an eastern european jewish baker in Sydney. We found early on that the Perth consumers prefer the “softer” texture rather than the heavy dense bagel. Our bagels are found through-out the metro area in up-market cafe’s and growers markets and many of our customers take them interstate and overseas with them!
And, yes, The Kosher Food Centre is filled with lots of fab goodies, vegan & dairy free goods along with a lot of South African favourite foods!
Hi Ros
Thanks for visiting my website and for providing us with extra info about your shop and your bagels.