Restaurant review: Secret Recipe

I don't know about you girls but when it comes to desserts, I just totally go crazy! It's S and I's favorite pasttime and I guess also a way to unwind from our piles of schoolwork. We love visiting restaurants and checking out their food especially those that offer desserts! Don't you just love seeing those little pieces of heaven displayed on shop windows? It's so very cinematic! It's like you're in one of those foreign flicks where you actually eat in specialty shops and buy pastries from those cute little bakery stores. Ooooh, very posh!

Well, where did our cute little feet take us this time? To Secret Recipe!

Secret recipe is a quaint little dessert shop famous for their wide menu of cheesecakes, lovely moist cakes and brownies. With their really tempting menu and colorful display, it's no wonder S and I found ourselves sitted comfortably in one of their red cushioned sofas munching on their glorious cakes. So, before anything else, let me give you a low down on the desserts they offer:

Cheesecakes
Secret Recipe is famous for their cheesecake line. It's actually these that tempted us in the first place. They have really extraordinary flavors like cappucino cheese, lemon cheese, raspberry cheese, espresso cheese, marble cheese, yogurt cheese, chocolate cheese, oreo cheese plus a lot more! Now, doesn't those just sound delicious?

Chocolate cakes and fresh cream
Aside from the delectable cheesecakes, Secret recipe also offer moist chocolate cakes and fresh creams. Some of their rather unique cakes include: chocolate chip walnut, white chocolate macadamia, and chocolate indulgence. Yuhummy!

The real test!
So, after drooling over their menu, S and I got down to business of actually picking our desserts from the long list. So, here are our picks!

1. Caramel Cheese Cake

Honestly, this wasn't our first pick. It just so happened that the other choices we had (expresso cheese and cappuccino cheese) were not available. (We're such huge coffee addicts!)

Well, how was it? Surprisingly, it was very, very good! It tasted of yema but with a really soft and smooth texture. It was sweet but not too sweet. The crust was especially good too! It was tasty and had almonds in it which made it crunchy, adding to the overall texture of the cake!

Eating it is like eating sweet treats from our youth. Its sweetness reminds me so much of being a girl of seven and lying down in bed with a cadbury crunchie in tow. haha :) A word of caution though girls, because of its sweetness and texture perhaps, this treat is best shared with a friend and recommendedly, eaten with another kind of cake as its simple taste may become boring after some time.

2. Chocolate Indulgence

I am not a big fan of chocolate so pleasing me with chocolate is a task. I don't like my chocolates too sweet and I want them more on the bitter chocolate-y side rather than its milky sweet counterpart. Well, I still gave this treat a chance to prove itself in case, the chocoholic in me would finally emerge. lol! :)

Well, well, well, I'm starting to be a convert!-- err, well not really. I guess what I'm saying is that, this cake is one of the very few chocolate cakes I actually enjoyed!

It's actually a combination of moist cake and cream. It had Creamy and rich Belgian coverture chocolate and white chocolate filling. Surprisingly, it was very light and not sweet. The Caramel cheesecake was even sweeter! I really liked this one and S agrees too. We even finished it faster than the others because of its light taste. Somehow, because the flavor is subtle, you would want to eat a lot at one time.

3. White Chocolate Macadamia

The first time I saw this on the menu, I was drawn to it already! I mean, doesn't it sound so delicious? Well, it does especially since its description reads, "an incredible combination of fresh roasted macadamia nuts and creamy vanilla filling coated with white chocolate". oh, yum!

Well, our order came and mahn was I... disappointed. Yes, it did have all that it boasted of but somehow the combination didn't work for me. I felt like it was too rich and too "white". I was looking for some kind of contrast to the flavor. I cannot even distinguish anymore which part was the vanilla and which the white chocolate. It all tasted like one huge mound of cream to me. I think it would have worked better if it had some kind of fruit in it. The whole time I was searching for something a little tangy, bitter or fresh just to off set the dull, boring taste of the all the "white".

Others: Secret Recipe also offer lunch and dinner food aside from their cakes. We've tried their fish and chips and so far, we're lovin' it! It's great too that they let you order kids' meals even if they can see you're no longer that young. The price of the food is a bit high ranging from 150-300php per meal. The meals however are shareable because portions are big. The cakes on the other hand are a little pricey with each slice from 90-110php. It is however very worth it so you know your money's not wasted :)

Best for: Personally, I think Secret recipes is best for occasions where you're meeting with someone really special like your long lost relatives, old classmates, school teachers, clients, or those who need special attention. It's one of those places where you can dine and not be afraid that the one you're with will not enjoy the food.

So go on girls! Try out Secret Recipes and tell us what you think :)

PK rating: 8/10

FORT BONIFACIO
Ground Level, 32nd Street Corner Fifth Avenue,
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
Tel: +632-856 2953

ROBINSONS MIDTOWN
Level 4, Robinsons Place Midtown Wing,
Pedro Gil Corner Adriatico Street,
Ermita, Manila City
Tel : +632-567 2042

SHANGRILA PLAZA MALL
Level 5, Shangrila Plaza Mall,
Epifanio De Los Santo Avenue (EDSA),
Corner Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City
Tel : +632-637 0367