Dean & Deluca @ Breeze Center - now open

Well, that’s not too bad; I mean, Au Bon Pain is 150 too, but they’re made to order and are quite large. My prices comment was really directed at the majority of the other stuff in the shop.[/quote]

Have you been to D&D in NYC? Or Balducci’s? You need to mortgage your first born for some of the cold cuts. (though it may be worth it)

I had a couple things there recently and was pretty surprised by the whole experience: a decent amount of brie in my sandwich and actual fresh cranberries in my muffin are worth a couple hundred nt to me. :lick: Service was good, too.

i really like D&D actually.
i know its not really cheap, but they really have great food there.
the salads are top notch, the sandwiches are also great and the warm dishes they have are also really good quality.

the cooked ham is always delicious, they have a good asortment of sidedishes (polenta, ratatouille, roasted potatoes, sauteed onions and whatever).
for teh salads the duck breast salad is awesome, waldorf salad and seafood with aurora sauce are very nice too. what i like about their salads is that they change the selection regulary, so you dont have always the same choice.
staff is very friendly there.
fav sandwiches are roastbeef (awesome beef!!), eggplant with brie, san daniele ham with parmesan and teh salmon sandwhich. the italian veggie sandwich is also good.

and BTW: the ready-to-cook pasta sauces they have there is also very nice when u wanna cook a quick pasta at home.

plus next to them is one of taipei’s best bakerys: Maison Kayser.
and in SuperBreeze you can also get some nice stuffs as well.

But not for much longer. The place is closing down next month, FTV said today.

The general tone of the report was that ‘people who think 400 NT is the normal price for a breakfast should soon be looking elsewhere.’
I must say I agree with them, that place was far too expensive.

But not for much longer. The place is closing down next month, FTV said today.

The general tone of the report was that ‘people who think 400 NT is the normal price for a breakfast should soon be looking elsewhere.’
I must say I agree with them, that place was far too expensive.[/quote]
They have a fantastic deli, but otherwise their selection is disappointing. One thing I love about the D&D in Napa, CA, is the huge selection of cheeses. The one at D&D Taipei is outclassed by the one at the Breeze Super next door.

OK, the writting is on the wall:

[quote]“
If Dean & DeLuca decides to stay,[color=#BF0000] we will put more effort into matching its products with local culture and flavor,” [/color]Wang Yu-wen (王玉文), an official in the mall’s sales & promotion department, told local cable channel USTV.

Wang dismissed speculation that Dean & DeLuca was going to pull out of the market, saying a decision had not been made. But he said the outlet has fallen short of its annual sales target, without providing any figures.

[/quote]
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/12/12/2003430925

“local flavor”… for 10 thousand nts…I don’t think so. Marks&Spencer’s II.

:runaway:

[quote=“Icon”]“local flavor”… for 10 thousand nts…I don’t think so. Marks&Spencer’s II.

:runaway:[/quote]
Their deli will start selling duck tongues, stinky tofu, and four-god soup?

No surprise, too expensive, poor choice and judging by the amount of food that people left on their plates during lunch break it wasn’t that tasty either. Had a set meal there once myself and didn’t like it, too. Their sandwiches used to be great, until they hiked up the prices and put them pre-wrapped into the self-service cooler. :thumbsdown:

their 32 layer lasagna is teh good.

all of you (even those of you who b*tch and moan about the price) should try that.

their quiche isn’t too bad either.

… and they’re offering some very choice looking roasts and hams for Christmas, according to a brochure stuffed in our mailbox. like, honey smoked ham, 450/kg. might get me some of that.

Their mistake was thinking wealthy people in Taiwan know the difference between a decent salad (or bread or cheese etc.) and something thrown together with lettuce and 1000 island sauce. Plus Taiwanese prefer hot food. They could have also done a salary survey to find out how much the average westerner earns here. Poor research on their part. They probably thought, the Breeze does okay so we will. The Breeze has lots of Asian food for the Japs and Taiwanese, that’s what keeps it going. The prices they were charging for stuff like olive oil, ridiculoso! There’s no way in hell from any aspect that I can see that they are going to be able to adapt to local market, they are shutting down for sure. And Sandman, you can get a sub these days for 69NTD! Maybe they’ll put a ‘LuWei’ shop in instead :slight_smile:

so true, went to a BBQ this summer, the host went all out, quality steaks from Costco, great cheeses, wines, imported beers etc…fabulous spread. The funny thing was a few of the Taiwanese guys who wouldn’t dare try any of that whitey fare sent their wives down to the 7/11 mid party for cocktails weenies and Taiwan Beer. I shit you not.

My landlord is a typical wealthy Taiwanese man. His uneducated family were lucky enough to own a big chunk of farmland in what later became a valuable area, so he now has many rental properties. I can just imagine him walking into Dean & Deluca, picking up a $390 jar of capers, commenting on the fact that they look like frog eyes, and shaking his head at the weird shit foreigners eat, laughing, then heading out (without buying anything) in search of the nearest shabu shabu.

Then there’s me, a typical long-term foreign resident. I walk into the place, shake my head in disbelief at what they want for a tiny box of imported pasta or a tiny bottle of gourmet olive oil, then I head home and make my own damned pasta noodles for a fraction of the cost, and serve them up with perfectly good, extra fruity extra virgin olive oil at under NT$500/liter.

I never could see how they would make money off of anyone except a very tiny number of atypical rich locals, a very few rich expats, and a few fools.

Maybe they cater to the same people who buy the Cartier and LV stuff upstairs… :idunno:

Like I said, a few fools.

Cept the Taiwanese girls who buy LV and Cartier bags will happily hop on the MRT and go to the Shihlin nite market to pig out. They are unlikely to buy all that western stuff to eat.

Actually to many Taiwanese xiaojies, an LV bag is an investment, as they can sell it on again for some fraction of the price, so they think it’s smart I guess. Same with the Cartier. It’s all maarketing sh%te. Stuffs all made in China for pennies. Didn’t know what LV was until I came here. Then went back home, found out the local girls had gotten into it aswell, arrgh.

I meant it sort of ironically, as I think someone in D&D saw the stores upstairs and his eyes just spelled $$$, thinking the same “rich” people who shop there would actually buy his stuff.

I agree with Dragonbones and Headhoncho II as I have seen quite a few “fools” -ex. fashion conscious/depressed xiaojies with new credit cards, like my friend’s niece, who has like 5 of those bags, on a clerk’s salary- actually buying stuff there. Interestingly, last night on the news they were pointing out how expensive these stuff is here in Taiwan compared to the same item in HK or even Japan. Nonsense.

I guess it is even worse for you guys who’ve seen the real deal in US or UK and then see how it “translates” -or rather, does not translate- well here.

If you guys were in charge, what would you do differently?

If I was in charge I would have made it into a faux ShangHainese ‘The Emperor’s LuWei’. :slight_smile:

But then you have to design your own mascot. One of my friends is so excited: she’s filling up this card and when she gets it all filled up -by going to eat there twice or more a week- she gets a cute “god” fridge magnet! Awesome!