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.
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Deciding what to eat can be a headache.
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Deciding what to eat can be a headache.
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.
Order tags.
Cutlery so shiny!
Order tags.
Cutlery so shiny!
Nicoise Salad ($10, half portion)
Broiled Atlantic Salmon ($12)
Yet another stab at fishy. Boo to that, honestly.
Pan seared Beef Tenderloin ($28)
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.
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.
Almond Rasperry Tart ($8)
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.
The supermart next door awaits for those who are not keen to join in the mad queues.
The supermart next door awaits for those who are not keen to join in the mad queues.
I suppose I can spend a good part of the afternoon buying stuff here.
Dean and Deluca
Orchard Central, 4th Floor
Salmon and beef both on one plate? Seriously?!
ReplyDelete@ice: hahaa...yeah their way of plating.
ReplyDelete