Kuching Makan Places Episode 4: Secret Recipe

Seems like the buzz around town lately has been, “Have you been to Secret Recipe yet?”. Such is the size of Kuching that the opening of such a place would garner so much hype. Everytime I pass by the place, it’s so packed. So much so that I’m surprised I managed to go at last on Wednesday. Well, it wasn’t a planned thing and I’m glad I decided to bring my camera out afterall, or else this would be a photo-less post. After parking the car, my family and I thought we would just take a look at the menu and prices. One thing led to another, we went in to have a look at the cakes. And then we got lucky, a table of people just left, so we somehow found ourselves sitting and ordering food. Heh.

I must admit, we had a hard time deciding what cake to order. There were just so many kinds there! Most of them were priced at RM6 per piece, excluding taxes. Which isn’t too bad compared to the prices you get at Coffee Bean or other places like that. Okay, off the top of my head I remember there was Marble Cheese Cake, Baked Cheesecake, Oreo Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, various kinds of cheesecakes, Banana Chocolate Cake, Rich Chocolate Cake, White Chocolate Macadamia Cake and brownies, carrot slice and so many other kinds of desserts I can’t remember them all. Bad judgement on my part to not take a photo of the menu which listed all the cakes they had.

Here’s a photo of the aforementioned cakes. Mmmm…

Took a look at the counter area and there’s this big sign saying that Secret Recipe was named the Homegrown Franchisor of the Year in Malaysia, which year I’m not sure. And apparently, they have branches overseas too. Got Best Restaurant Award in Indonesia. And Excellent Food Award in Singapore. Not bad for a local franchise..

Anyway, what I ordered is as follows.

First came the White Chocolate Macadamia cake, RM6.30. Excuse the slightly ruined cake in this photo, my brother just couldn’t wait to have a taste of it. And I had to take this photo in a jiffy, it could have been better I know. Well, this cake is just unlike anything I have ever tasted before. The white chocolate is creamily soft, and sandwiched between layers of cake, with nutty bits of Macadamia in it.

Next up came my brother’s serving of kid’s size Spaghetti Bolognese, RM11. Nothing really that fabulous about it.

Later came the Carrot Slice, RM4.40. This was warmed up, and had cream cheese on top, sweet raisins at the bottom. Not bad, but I think I preferred the other cake.

Then came the Chicken Mushroom with Rice, RM13, that I failed to take a photo of because was too hungry by that time. It’s basically a hefty portion of chicken topped with mushroom sauce and served with buttered, herb rice and salad.

Finally came the Chicken Kebab, RM13. This was also served with rice and salad. It had pieces of yellow pepper and mushroom skewered with chunky pieces of chicken.

Well, took a look at the receipt later and realised something. Secret Recipe’s tagline is: “Great Cakes, Good Food, the Place to Be” And it’s no wonder. The food itself is not much to rave about, or perhaps I didn’t get to order their specialty Irish Lamb Stew or their better dishes. However, the cakes are really quite something. So, anybody want to join me for more cake sampling?

Note: All prices quoted are excluding 5% GST and 10% service tax.