Dean and Deluca @ Orchard Central

Dean and Deluca has to be the latest and most talked about addition in the Food and Beverage scene. Hailing from US of A, the name itself brings expectations of good coffee, bakery items and America’s answer to Jones The Grocer. Bliss for consumers who have more options. I should classify this as teething problems because there is no queue system – people reserve seats with anything that looks ‘chope-able’ –tissues, towels and everything else but a physical person. No staff is on standby to help you with the seating arrangements either so this, trains the eye and reflexes well.

menuboard\

Deciding what to eat can be a headache.

mad queues

Even after the taxing grabbing a seat exercise, the agony does not end. Queuing to get to make orders is less taxing on the mind but definitely taxing on the body – it barely moves! A minimum 30 minute wait in line and another 15-20 minutes (depending on what you order) is almost mandatory. They really know how to make diners hungry for their food. All you ever need is someone to bag pack nearly every item off their baker’s shelves to hold up the queue and I was secretly happy I was just before her.

Their operations are not fully up hence they are still being supported by Baker and Cook and Maison Kayzer. Some spot tags of “Exclusively baked for Dean and Deluca” yet it belonged to items like butter croissant. Really? I saw the same croissants at their Scotts Square outlet. Nonetheless, it is a novel idea of bridging the distance of Baker and Cook for the cityfolk. As much as I am yearning for a visit, the journey to Hillcrest has put me off to date.

Like Da Paolo, there is a counter of ready cooked and microwave food which one can quickly put together a 3 course meal. Some go by weight so be wary what is chosen if not a simple looking suckling pig roulade could burn the pocket.

tag

Order tags.

cutlery

Cutlery so shiny!

tuna fricose

Nicoise Salad ($10, half portion)

I found the tuna a tad fishy though overall the salad was decent.

salmon

Broiled Atlantic Salmon ($12)

Yet another stab at fishy. Boo to that, honestly.

chunk

Pan seared Beef Tenderloin ($28)

steak

Seared a brilliant pink yet it was barely warm when served. Kudos to the chef for not overcooking a gorgeous chunk of meat and yes, it was all tender and good. Main grouse – no sauce to up the goodness of it.

Haricot Vert Almond ($4, half portion)

Just beans if you ask me, nothing great.

All of the above placed in two plates cost a whooping $54 and the brain did not grasp the prices until the till churned my receipt. If I see it as two mains dishes it is really moderately priced yet for a place like Dean and Deluca, I am barely impressed.

eggs benny

Egg Iberico ($25)

Orders off the menu require some waiting time. With the burgers unavailable that day, most if not every other order was Egg Iberico. Two poached eggs with hollandaise sauce piled on iberico ham and tomato brioche bread. The only item that stood out was the poached eggs – score on the runny test! Everything else just fell through the nooks. Iberico ham utterly subpar, I could barely taste it and the brioche was so stiff, I wonder how stiff it really is even after soaking in the yolk for quite a bit. Sorely disappointed with this one, I can already think of more than one good alternative to this.

raspberry tart

Almond Rasperry Tart ($8)

Loved the crumbly tart base with almond sponge and occasional sour berries.

carrotcake

Traditional Carrot Cake ($8)

Tooth achingly sweet, this carrot cake lacked the bite or even balance of raisins, walnuts and carrot. Too heavy on raisins and sugar.

Until the hype is truly over, I can get my all day brunch fixes in a comparatively more organized Wild Honey.

trolleys

The supermart next door awaits for those who are not keen to join in the mad queues.

mart

I suppose I can spend a good part of the afternoon buying stuff here.

Dean and Deluca
Orchard Central, 4th Floor

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