Here is some good news for people who like to hang out in Starbucks. The Starbucks “Cafe & Dining” store near MRT Neihu Station in Taipei officially opened last Monday. It is the first ever Starbucks store in the nation to put main courses on its menu. Starbucks has begun to serve homemade breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with some experimental culinary concepts to fill up the hungry stomachs of customers.

The store manager Sasha Yang told the Taipei Times last Saturday that the new menu is designed to preserve the natural, original flavors of the ingredients. Since opening, the store has attracted a steady stream of customers, most of whom have given positive feedback to the new meals. Unfortunately, everything on the menu at the moment contains meat, so some customers have suggested that the store should follow the recent popularity in healthy vegetarian food and provide a vegetarian-friendly menu. The store will continue to gather customers’ opinions and create recipes that cater to a Taiwanese palate, said Yang.

Following the introduction of “Cafe & Dining” stores in Hong Kong and Singapore, Taiwan has become the third Asian nation with one. The store serves a menu of five new dishes during lunch hours (from 11am to 2pm) and dinner hours (from 5pm to 8pm). These include “chicken salad with pesto sauce,” “Tuscan tomato and vegetable soup,” and “French potato and bacon quiche,” with two entrees of “penne rigate with Sicilian meat sauce” and “bacon lasagna with basil pesto sauce.” In addition, the store offers freshly baked “rye and mixed grain bread” during breakfast hours before 11am and a dessert, “creme brulee,” all day long. Everything can be ordered a la carte or as an entree, and the prices range from NT$50 to NT$370.

As part of the store’s sales promotion, people can get a free tall-size coffee with a set meal during the lunch and dinner hours prior to the 15th of this month, so that gives you four more days. There will be other promotions starting from next week. Although the new menu only serves a few selections and is based on Italian cuisine, people have been generally satisfied. As the store manager was speaking, the line of customers waiting to place their orders at the counter was stretching nearly to the door. The store’s popularity is a testament to the fact that customers are embracing Starbucks’ new food concept.

Set in a contemporary art style decor, the laid-back two-story “Cafe & Dining” store is separated into as many as 10 different unique seating areas with tables that can fit anywhere from one person to 12 people. Its wooden interior design creates a warm and cozy dining atmosphere. Now, eating steaming-hot main course meals at Starbucks is no longer a dream.

(Lin Ya-ti, Taipei Times)

愛泡「星巴克」的民眾有福了。全國首創提供正餐的星巴克「好食光」門市，上週一正式在捷運內湖站附近開幕。導入食品實驗概念，讓早餐、午餐與晚餐都有現場調理美食，祭五臟廟。

該門市店經理楊翔富上週六向《台北時報》表示，該店提供新菜單以呈現食品自然原味為訴求，自開幕以來，人潮不斷湧現，顧客對於新餐食的評價皆以正面居多。不過，由於菜單目前以肉食為主，有人建議店內應順應蔬食潮流，推出素食菜單。楊翔富也表示，未來會繼續整合顧客意見，研發更多新菜色，迎合台灣人的口味。

繼香港與新加坡之後，台灣成為第三個有「好食光」門市的亞洲國家。該門市午餐（上午十一點到下午兩點）與晚餐（下午五點到八點）首推五款新餐點，包括「青醬雞肉沙拉」、「托斯卡尼番茄蔬菜湯」、「法式洋芋培根鹹派」，以及兩款主菜「西西里肉醬筆管麵」與「羅勒青醬培根千層麵」。另外，十一點以前的早餐時段，提供該門市獨賣的「黑麥雜糧吐司」，以及全天候供應的甜品「焦糖烤布蕾」。可單點或搭配套餐或全餐，價格從新台幣五十元到三百七十元不等。

本月十五日前，也就是再四天，只要在午晚餐時段點套餐，即送中杯咖啡飲品一杯；下週還會有其他促銷活動。雖然新推出的餐點選擇不多，且以義式料理為主，民眾普遍還是對新餐點反應熱烈。當店經理一邊受訪，人潮也不斷湧現，排隊點餐的人龍幾乎快排到門外。新門市的高人氣證明其供應主餐的概念符合市場期待。