Starbucks Cinnamon Rolls Suck, so what are the alternatives?

No cinnamon, no icing.

There, I said it.

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Yes they do indeed suck. They also have some sort of dubious sweetening syrup (itā€™s not sugarā€“what is this?) and no discernible cinnamon taste. :-1:

Guy

The worst part is that theyā€™re dry. Itā€™s like eating cinnamon toast without the butterā€¦or the cinnamon. Canā€™t say that Iā€™ve ever had a good cinnamon roll in Taiwan, which is probably good for my waistline.

Is it a conscious decision and do they do it for the local taste or a conscious decision to save money or something or is it an unconscious decision?

I wouldnā€™t doubt that skimping on the cinnamon is a cost-saving measure. And itā€™s easier to just drizzle some corn syrup on the thing than to give it a proper frosting.

Also, itā€™s a truism that the Taiwanese tend to like their drinks much sweeter than Westerners and their pastries drier and less sweet. I think itā€™s telling that Taiwanese usually call pastries ā€œbread,ā€ as itā€™s kind of all the same to them. The pastries arenā€™t sweet enough (and donā€™t have enough butterā€¦or even real butter at all), and the bread is too sweet.

Then again, it seems like itā€™s harder to get a decent cinnamon roll in the U.S. these days. I blame Cinnabon.

Hey make it in a factory in Xindian. Yum.:ponder:

Man the coffee is great in taiwan but the pastries suck.
Itā€™s not that they donā€™t like nice parties, they mostly donā€™t know what real pastries taste like.

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For sure. Iā€™m very satisfied with the coffee choices available these days, and the pastries are improving slowly but still mostly pretty sad.

Iā€™m not so sure about that. When I try to turn on Taiwanese friends to good pastries in the U.S., they usually say ā€œToo sweet, too rich.ā€

I went into a new Mr. Donut that opened in Banciao, had a coupon for a free coffee if I bought a donut. There was a cinnamon swirl drooler in front, loaded with dark brown cinnamon. I closed my eyes and dreamed of a Cinnabon middle of the bun back in the USA. But once I bit into that ā€œwhatever it wasā€ I almost spit it back out. The cinnamon was JUST cinnamon, no brown sugar, no butter, The dough part tasted like dry cake. Not my idea of a donut at all. There is a donut place near the wharf in Bali that fries em up with taro filling that are pretty tasty though.

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Why Cinamon roll in Taiwan? You r in TW!!!

Why, when one is transported to Taiwan, would oneā€™s craving for a cinnamon roll magically disappear?

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Agreed. I tried their cinnamon rolls yesterday realizing that I will probably regret even before the purchase. :joy:

Itā€™s not a mistake I would ever make a second time. Now, just looking at their cinnamon rolls gives me a dry, scratchy feeling in my throat.

Why do their basic products (including COFFEE) suck so much? Uni-Presidentā€“the local operator of Starbucks in Taiwan, as well as much elseā€“may well be hugely profitable, but in terms of delivering a quality product, these guys are like Midas in reverse.*

Guy


[* i.e. able to take GOLD and somehow magically transform it into something far sh*ttier.]

For those of you guys in Taipei, you can give this a try if you are craving a cinnamon roll/donut like snack. Taiwanese style, canā€™t live up to US style donuts, but sure as hell beats Starbucks.

Two locations for you guys to choose form

I think? Their original flavor has some cinnamon sugar on there.

I was just looking at the pictures. My god, they look like giant deep-fried squid rings!

They arenā€™t cheap, but I can assure you, they arenā€™t empty inside like Dunkin Donutā€¦donuts in the states.

Iā€™m easily pleased, I like them, but not sure what everyone else will think.

I suppose if you can guarantee they arenā€™t squid-filled, I can give them a try. How much will one of those faux squid rings set me back?

Just checked. Theyā€™ll cost you a whopping 25NT.

Weird, I remember them being more expensive.

Coolā€¦for that price Iā€™ll even try a squid one!

I Googled 台ē£ éŗµåŒ…åŗ— č‚‰ę”‚å· and found four places in Taipei on Google Maps, with a little information on each one, but Iā€™ve never been to any of them, and I donā€™t know whether they have the kind yā€™all like.

Reminds me of an old song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAdtUDaBfRA

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