Derming Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

 

 

 

 

Bakery: Derming Bakery (德銘餅店)

Address: No. 146 Fenqihu, Zhuqi Township, Chiayi County

Website: n/a

Style: Chinese

Price: $$ 

 

As ashamed as I am to admit it, this was actually one of the few entirely traditional pastry shops I visited during my trip to Taiwan. One reason for that is that everything is all ready-packed and gift-wrapped; it's not very plausible for one person and they never really seem fresh. Nonetheless, this one is located among the many businesses along Fenqihu's "historic" shopping street and the one thing really going for it is its pretty decor, with pastries laid out on traditional pieces of furniture. They appear to specialize in three items: flaky pastries, moon cakes and those wafer rolls - perhaps their selection changes according to season/festival, but I can't verify that. 

I arrived around 20 minutes or so before they were closing and they were already packing up - and didn't seem very eager to sell me anything. So I ran in, grabbed a green tea pastry ($40) and ran out. I wasn't in the mood for any of the bean fillings, so I was a little disappointed when I learned afterwards that the green tea filling was bean-based. Another disappointment was that the whole flaky top was stuck to the bag. Taking a picture without the bag was out of the question and even eating it wasn't so fun - I mean, you *want* that flaky dough, not just the filling. That's why I'm never a fan of this plastic-sealed business; in the end, you couldn't appreciate the quality ingredients, because the moist dough tasted like something you could buy in a supermarket.

Rating: **