CLOSED/bakeries: i recommend BREADTALK

CLOSED! a/o 2008

BREADTALK
218-2, Lequn 3rd Rd
(台北市樂群三路218-2號)
Carrefour, 1st FL
Dazhi district of Taipei

(02) 8502 0177
www.breadtalk.com

$

date visited: 8/5/2006



After running some errands at Carrefour (which by the way is pretty cool), I passed by Breadtalk on the 1st floor of the supermarket's building. The buttery smell of freshly baked bread caught my attention and I wandered in. There are a lot of bakeries all over Taipei, but BreadTalk stands out for a couple of reasons.

The signs detailing most of the breads had both English and Chinese, which made it easier to tell what it was. Also, there is a large glass window into the kitchen, where you can watch the chefs make lots and lots of bread.


Also their selection is a little more unique than the average Taiwanese bakery's. I think they change their selections everyday (since the counter had a stack of signs that were not in use) and today BreadTalk actually had three types of Naan- cheese, curry and yogurt flavors. There were huge loaves of bread, mini- loaves, the pigs in a blankets, puff pastries and sweets. By the counter, they even had a presentation of their new feature: a huge loaf of white bread, with 2 chicken legs in curry, wrapped in aluminum foil in the middle. When you unpacked the curry, you could dip your bread in it. It was unique and the first time I ever saw anything like that anywhere. At breadtalk.com, the Singapore based chain calls themself a "revolutionary boutique bakery" and a Taipei Times article declares them "bread designers." After seeing that, I would have to agree.

I ended up getting 2 naans, 1 loaf of white bread with garlic butter, 1 small loaf of sesame bread with cheese inside, and 1 butter sugar bread (all NT$30-$35) Waiting in line, I was tempted to get a few slices of garlic bread and something with hot dog in it, but I didn't- the line was getting long. The butter sugar bread was soft, and the sugar inside was like a hard brown sugar. The curry naan was spicier than I expected, though it probably would have tasted better heated. The cheese naan was a tad bland- soft and chewy- rather than crispy on the outside like you would get at an Indian restaurant. I'm saving the other ones for tomorrow, but I think they will not disappoint. If they taste as good as BreadTalk smelled, I might have to go back for the garlic bread.