How a Hong Kong bagel wholesaler turned her shop into a New York-style deli with the ‘best bagels’ in the city – helped by an Italian-American chef

Rebecca Schrage used to nag her friend, chef Vinny Lauria, to buy her Schragels bagels to serve at his restaurants. Although he never did, she got an even better outcome.

Lauria ended up giving Schrage free advice when she turned her bagel shop in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, into a sit-down restaurant with an expanded menu earlier this year.

“He is a good friend,” Schrage says. “He was one of the first chefs I met when I was starting out, transitioning from finance to bagels. We are both from the United States, from the same area. We just became friends and he’s been so supportive.

“When I needed some help with the restaurant, he was someone I consulted and got feedback from.”

Schrage, who switched to her Jewish grandparents’ profession of making bagels in 2014, and Lauria, head chef of Hong Kong Italian-American restaurants Fini’s and Frank’s, are both New Englanders. She is originally from Massachusetts, while Lauria is a native of New Hampshire.

After moving from Graham Street, in Hong Kong‘s Central neighbourhood, to a corner shop on Jervois Street in Sheung Wan, Schragels’ range of deli delights has extended beyond bagels.

“I would say it’s friendly advice,” Schrage says of Lauria’s input. “A lot of the stuff I was actually doing already – like smoking meats, making rye bread, matzo balls – but he helped to refine the dishes and shared his experience in operations.

“My background is running a factory, producing bagels and delivering them wholesale and retail. But as our first dine-in location I wanted it to really feel like a New York, Jewish deli. It’s been challenging, but it’s been really fun as well.

“From the beginning, the idea was to keep it simple and make really authentic products. When it came to executing a Reuben sandwich or a latke, it wasn’t about reinventing anything or tailoring it for the local market. It was just about nailing a true New York delicatessen experience and trying to replicate that here.”

Lauria is Italian-American, but when he lived in Manhattan he was the private chef to a Jewish business tycoon, so he’s become well-versed in the intricacies of kosher cuisine and deli flavours.

“I kind of just help her improve where I can, to get the ball rolling,” Lauria says. “Rebecca didn’t have the expertise of a chef to work with her, so I lent whatever I knew to her.

“As a friend, she would always invite me to come by the store. Since I love talking shop, we ended up having fun brainstorming over beers and laughs. Plus, I love her products anyway and want her to be successful.

“For me, I love a place like this to go eat and hang out.

“It’s still her ideas and her thoughts, but I would just suggest little things like ‘boil [the bagels] a little longer’, ‘add a little more yeast’, ‘proof the dough a bit more’, and stuff like that. Just playing with different parts of the process until I thought it got to be an outstanding product.

“Now, I truly think they’re the best bagels in Hong Kong,” he adds.

It’s been a challenging few years for Schrage beyond just pandemic-related issues.

As well as becoming a single mother just over two years ago, she was involved in a joint venture in an eatery called Mendel’s that blew up in a commercial dispute with her former partners, leading to a very public fiasco including incidents with bodyguards at the shop’s entrance and accusations of harassment.

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Schrage says her lawyer is prohibiting her from speaking directly about the matter as certain issues are still working their way through the courts, but she is chalking up the various difficulties of the past three years to life lessons.

“I’ve learned a lot,” she says. “But I feel like everything happens for a reason. Over the years, I’ve realised I can do a lot of things on my own. I guess I’m pretty strong-willed when it comes to my vision and wanting to keep things really authentic.

“I also feel like Hong Kong is one of the very few places in the world where starting a new business is not the most daunting thing. If you’re passionate, people here are generally very willing to help. It’s a networking city.”

“People have asked me, ‘How did you get through it all?’ and I’m like, the reality is you just get up and deal with it,” Schrage says. “I’m a very positive person.

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“During the pandemic, I appreciated the beauty of having so much time to spend with my newborn daughter. Sure, I was ‘stuck’ at home but it was beautiful.

Schrage’s chutzpah – belief in herself – has been instrumental in making better bagels. In the past, she tried to sell her home-baked goods to many top restaurants besides Lauria’s, even before she established a production kitchen.

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“I worked my butt off making batch after batch. Then, like a month later, I gave him new samples. He loved them and started ordering immediately.

“Kelly Clarkson is right when she sings, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.”