Review: Dean and Deluca
Visited Dean and Deluca with my 2 girlfriends for a meetup in a long while on a Friday evening (13 December), right in the middle of the festive Christmas season. It was a joy to walk past all the cheerful Orchard Lights, which really got me into the festive mood.
The first thing that struck me while looking at their menu was how expensive their offerings were. For their all-day breakfast platters, prices start from $20 and upwards, unless you take the simple stuff like muesli, which is priced at $19, but obviously, it is not worth it to go all the way there just for the simple things. I had a hard time deciding what to order, since all of the all-day breakfast platters looked so good.In the end, the girlfriends both ordered the New Yorker ($22) and I settled for my own mix-and-match dinner from the selection of meats/salads/quiches/pies which they showcased at the counter.
The New Yorker, according to the description, consists of gently scrambled eggs, chives with dill cured salmon, and red onions served on a toasted bagel with cream cheese. The portion seemed a little small and underwhelming for $22. Sadly, this dish was nothing to scream about. The bagel was disappointing, as it was pretty hard without much chew to it and we could not see/taste the cream cheese any where. The scrambled eggs were pretty exquisite in flavour, not like your normal scrambled eggs as it had a tang to it, perhaps because of the dill, so it can swing both ways as to whether it can be considered delicious/weird. For me, I liked the exquisite tang and the texture of the eggs, so I found it delicious. Overall, this dish is just not simply worth ordering. If you want to try the scrambled eggs which I found well-executed, you can perhaps order the American Breakfast ($23), which may offer more value for money (includes sausages, scrambled eggs and bread etc).
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| The New Yorker ($22) |
On the other hand, my own mix-and-match platter turned out to be more value for money, since it was definitely bigger in portion. I ordered 200g of Roasted Herb Potatoes and broiled Norwegian Salmon, all for $15.90. It came with a simple greens salad. The potatoes can be seasoned to your taste, as they come unsalted, so you can add your preferred amount of salt and pepper. As for the broiled salmon, it was pretty much tasteless, except for the natural salmon flavour and the fish meat bordered on dry. Once again, unimpressive, probably something you can cook at home with an oven. Do note that if you wish to mix and match your own platter like I did, it is subject to what is offered on the day that you go, as they do change/replace their items subject to availability.
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| Mix-and-match platter selection: Roasted Herbed Potatoes and Broiled Salmon ($15.90) |
Lastly, we finished off dinner by sharing the Caramel cheesecake($8). I have tried the cakes from Dean and Deluca on a previous occasion, when we celebrated a friend's birthday and purchased 2 slices. From my memory, the Green Tea cake was pretty mediocre, so I was hoping this dessert would change my impression of their desserts for the better. Happily, the Caramel Cheesecake turned out to be the best item of the night. We enjoyed every bit of it, from the caramel glaze on top to the smooth cream cheese layer and the fragrant biscuit base, not unlike graham crackers. Definitely an order you will not be disappointed with.
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| Caramel Cheesecake ($8) |
Overall, the mains can definitely be much better, especially given its higher price point. Should you visit, it would be better to order the caramel cheesecake along with another main, though whether the other mains will be better remains to be seen. If you do not wish to spend so much, you may also try out the lasagna/quiches which are on display at the counter going at about $10+, which will fill you up all the same and probably taste better than the mains we had.
Dean and Deluca
#04-23/24 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road
, right in the middle of the fe...){kind=link}
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