SALON DE THE de Joel Robuchon

Visit: Feb. 26, 2012
Address: 台北市松仁路28號 3F (Bellavita)
Number: (02) 8729-2626
Website: http://www.robuchon.com.tw/salon/desserts.php

Tea Set for 2 (下午茶組 - 二人份) $1200 NT
Tea Set - Vegetarian Tomates Confites, Courgette et Mozzarella (蔬菜起司三明治) + $100 NT

Vegetarian Tomates Confites, Courgette et Mozzarella

 The tea set included a choice of sandwich, but none of the options suited my sister, so despite the additional cost, she decided to get this. The bread was really unique because it wasn't the normal toast or bread, instead it was extremely thin and crispy. For someone craving something lighter and salty, this might not be the best option because the inside was a little oily from the cheese, and sweet from the red pepper.


Tea Set - Le Cappuccino (熱卡布奇諾) , Madaleine (檸檬瑪德蓮), Chocolate Macaron & Sesame Macaron (巧克力 & 芝麻 馬克龍), Tarte Chocolat- Caramel (焦糖巧克力塔), and Opéra (歐培拉)

From top left: Le Cappuccino, Madaleine, Chocolate Macaron & Sesame Macaron, Tarte Chocolat-Caramel, and Opéra

 Tea Set - Madaleine (檸檬瑪德蓮)
The Madaleine cake was good but not spectacular. I really liked the caramelized outside, but the inside wasn't special at all.


Tea Set -  Chocolate Macaron & Sesame Macaron (巧克力 & 芝麻 馬克龍) ($80 NT each without set)

Form left: Chocolate Macaron and Sesame Macaron

 Unlike usual macarons, these macarons had a little something special inside. The chocolate macaron though wasn't bad, was a little mediocre while the sesame macaron really brought out the sesame flavor. Compared to the macaron I just had at Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI though, these were just not as good.


Tea Set - Tarte Chocolat-Caramel (焦糖巧克力塔) ($190 NT without set)

 The caramel on top completed me <3. Between the caramel and the tart was a layer of whipped cream which was a little unnecessary and just made the dessert a bit too heavy. The chocolate within the tart was also a bit too creamy even though the tart itself was awesome. Overall, the tart was good except... there were peanuts in the tart...whole peanuts. When I bit into them, I must have had a pretty weird expression on my face because I was definitely not expecting peanuts to be in my dessert. Maybe I'm overreacting, but who puts whole peanuts in pastries? The waitress could have told me about them when I asked her what was in the tarte chocolat-caramel. The peanuts were just out of place, and completely destroyed and degraded the dessert.

Tea Set - Opéra (歐培拉) ($200 NT without set)
I was really impressed with the number of different layers in the cake. The outside was of dark chocolate, while the middle layers consisted of coffee, chocolate, cream and probably a lot of others. Although the dessert looked impressive, I didn't really enjoy it that much. At the first few bites, the cake was pretty yummy, except when it's for me to finish the entire piece, I started to feel really grossed out. This is something I'd share with a few other people, but I definitely cannot take the creaminess alone.


Tea Set - Wedding Imperial (皇家結婚進行曲) ($250 NT without set)

Wedding Imperial

 The caramel scented tea was a really nice and refreshing fit for afternoon tea.

Tea Set - Le Cappuccino (熱卡布奇諾) ($200 NT without set)

Le Cappuccino

 I didn't try this, but according to my sister the cappuccino was a little heavy. Not sure if it actually was, or it was because of the desserts we had.


A few other items we ordered...

From left: Brioche au Sesame, Canele, and some sort of pastry

Brioche au Sésame (芝麻布里歐)
The Brioche au Sesame just tasted like regular bread with a little bit of white sesame filling. Although I really liked the sesame filling since it wasn't overly sweet, I really wished that there was a lot more of the fTilling.


Canelé (可麗路)
The Canele was very ordinary. I felt like the insides were a little too moist and packed, while the outside wasn't caramelized enough. After finishing the Canele, I suddenly missed the Canele from Le Gout.

Galette Bretonne (小圓酥餅)
I really liked this cookie-like/pie-like pastry. It tasted like crumbly pie crust except with a more cookie-like texture. Actually, now that I think of it, it reminds me a little bit of some of the yummy Chinese cookies.


Mille-feuille à la Fraise (草莓千層派)

Mille-feuille à la Fraise

I'm starting to realize that it's hard to stop people from eating or butchering the dessert before take my picture.The crispiness of the dessert as well as the natural tart flavor from the strawberries really balanced each other out. As I chewed on the dessert, I actually smiled because I haven't had such a good mille-feuille in a long time.

I think I've heard too much about SALON DE THE de Joel Robuchon for it to ever live up to my expectations. Although the tea set and pastries were a little on the pricey side, the breads were surprisingly reasonable. If you just simply want something good to go with your drink, I think that focusing your attention on the bread would actually be a good idea. I definitely recommend SALON DE THE de Joel Robuchon for those looking for a nice place to enjoy some afternoon tea.