There's Another Secret.. Recipe

I had a movie date last Sunday with no other than... MYSELF. Pathetic isn't it? But honestly, I enjoyed that day with myself. Sometimes its also refreshing to go out on your own. You get to choose your own venue, own time.. you're free to do whatever it is that you wish to do. Two weeks ago, my friend and I planned to watch a movie, Inception. But it so happened that my friend has been suffering from a bad tummy. So I ended up being alone, all by myself, so eager to watch the movie.

The first screening was set at 1PM that Sunday afternoon but rain was pouring quite heavily that until noon and so I thought I will not be able to go to the movie anymore. It was a little past 12 when the rain finally stopped and i decided to prepare and go to RP. Yeah, I know, RP again. Well, it is my favorite mall. Anyway, it was already past 1PM when I got there so I was not able to catch the first screening. And I do not wish to enter the dark cinema and not able to watch the movie right from its very beginning. I find that disturbing. It makes me feel that the intensity and the excitement has already subsided.

The next screening is at 3:50PM so I have an almost 3-hr vacancy on my hand. I bought a cup of my favorite Starbucks drink, which is Caramel Macchiato and strolled around. As I walk around the Midtown area, I spotted Secret Recipe again and decided to spend a fraction of my excess time there. As what usually happens, I was overwhelmed with their wide selection of cream-based cakes and cheesecakes. When I've finally made up my mind, I took a seat and ordered their "Chocolate Indulgence" cream-based cake. A slice only costs Php95, quite reasonable if you ask me. Unlike with my previous Secret Recipe experience, nobody gave me something to read, not even an old magazine was handed out. But I also noticed that no other diners were reading anything also, so I thought maybe if the place is quite busy, they do not bother to offer you any reading materials anymore. As to the reason behind it, I do not know.

I was seated in a table fit for three persons, and beside my table is a man who I think is in his late twenties, with newspapers and other papers strewn all over his table, and a laptop. Whatever it is that he is eating, I did not bother to look at. It was well over 5 minutes already and the slice of cake has yet to arrive. I did not bother to make a follow-up because I want to know how much longer will I have to wait before they serve me my cake. Turned out, when a waiter passed by me, the guy beside me signaled to him and whisper something to his ear. After that whisper, the waiter approached me and asked if I already have ordered. I said yes, and he said he will make a follow-up for me. I knew that the guy is not an ordinary customer. I heard a waitress asking him about what I think is the inventory of one of their ingredients. I have already thought that he may be the franchiser, in his plain clothes.

The cake was served to me exactly 8 minutes after I placed my order. Quite a long wait for just a piece of ready-made cake. Anyway, the slice was quite big, maybe because of the 8 layers that the cake was made of. The first layer is a thin layer of chocolate mousse, followed by the sponge chocolate cake, which is very soft and moist. The third layer is the vanilla cream, then another layer of cake. The same stack of these goodies is then repeated for another set that completes the 8 layers of heavenly goodness. The cake as a whole is not too sweet and yet very decadent. It looks very delicate, and soft. It is a perfect cake actually, especially for chocoholics out there. But the best part of the cake will be the chocolate icing. If you see the the cake in whole, you will be amazed of the shiny, dark, perfect "blanket" covering the cake layers. That is my most favorite part of the cake. That "blanket" is fudgy, chocolatey, and yet not too sweet. Perfect 10 in my opinion.

Ssshhh... its Secret Recipe

I was in RP this morning to do some official tasks and when all these tasks are not yet done when the clock struck 12, I decided to take my lunch there. I was torn between Mexicali and TGIF when I thought of Secret Recipe. I have tried their fruit cake and their shepherd's pie but I have yet to try their other offers. So I went to the upper most floor of the Midtown wing browsed Secret Recipe's menu. I was approached by one of their attendants and I asked about their specialty when it comes to their pasta offerings. She told me that Carbonara is their best-seller and followed by the Meatballs Spaghetti. But these two are, well, priced a little over what I prefer and I was afraid that I might not be able to finish it. She then recommended their Mushroom Chicken main dish but I don't feel like eating rice, and is craving for pasta instead so I ordered their Spaghetti Bolognese. Then, as I thought it won't be "wise" for me to leave the place without trying their infamous cheesecakes, I ordered a slice of Marble Cheesecake, which is according to their menu, is the awardee of the Best Cheesecake award. Then, just to have something to go with it, I ordered a cup of Cappuccino.

When I sat down to one of their plush sofa chairs, I was introduced to their menu. After ordering, my glass of warm water was served to me with a little caution of its temperature. I was looking at this glass of water that do not come to me as warm and decided to try it. It was indeed just a little bit warm. But at least its not cold. A few seconds after, the attendant approached me and gave me a copy of today's papers and a couple of magazines. I appreciated that since I do not have any book with me today and I figured that my food will be cooked as ordered. One thing that I noticed is that their water glass is not that squeaky clean, at least the bottom outside part of it. The inside is clean, and I do not see any dirt so I figured it will be okay.

Now let's start with the Spaghetti Bolognese. When it was served to me, the first thing that I noticed is that it is piping hot. And I mean, piping hot. So I let it cool down a little bit while I read the papers. When I noticed that the smoke has already subsided a little, I put down the papers and turned my attention to my food. I wouldn't want it to turn cold so I started to dig in. At the first look, its as if the meat sauce is not enough. But the melted cheese on top of it is just of the right amount. When I tried to stir in the meat sauce to the pasta, I noticed water-like sauce at the bottom of the plate. I thought the sauce was a little bit watery for my taste. When I took my first bite, I appreciated that the pasta was perfectly cooked. The sauce is real meaty. It has ground meat in there, and slices of button mushrooms. As I eat, I noticed that the watery sauce was replaced by a thicker consistency. I think its because the meat of the sauce was suspended on top of the pasta when it was poured on it so when you stir everything, the meat and mushrooms finally join the liquid portion of the sauce in union. One thing that didn't sit well with my tastebuds is that it was a little bland. I think it needed a little bit more salt. Also, the sauce was leaning towards the Asian side, which is very natural since Secret Recipe is a Malaysian origin. But I prefer my pasta sauce prepared with a little creaminess. I think a splash of milk or cream on the Bolognese sauce will make the dish taste better, not to mention aromatic.

When the Marble Cheesecake was served, I thought, there's nothing special on it. How come it won the Best Cheesecake award? The Cheesecake has marbles on top of it and the rest is visually of no extraordinary eye candy. Curious, I took a small bite. That Cheesecake is the lightest cheesecake I have ever tasted. It literally melts in your mouth. And there's no "sawa" factor the way cheesecakes are supposed to possess. The marbles on top of the cheesecake, I do not know how it was supposed to serve it's purpose because I can barely taste it. If there's something to taste. The crust is different though. They use oat-based crusts. So the cheesecake is not sweet at all. Although, I would want the oats on the crust to give a slight crunch because this one is chewy and is not crunchy at all. I think a crunchy oat crust will give this cake a pleasant texture all in all.

The Cappuccino on the other hand has nothing special, its just a plain cup of Cappuccino although the serving is slightly bigger than others'. So yeah, if you were to ask me if I will go back to Secret Recipe, you bet, I definitely will. No questions asked.