六十三：Secret Recipe Cakes

When I went for a vacation in Singapore and Malaysia, this particular restaurant caught my attention because it has numerous branches that I saw about six of their branches in both countries and I actually thought it was the Jollibee or McDonald's of Singapore and Malaysia. Turns out, it's actually a real restaurant with a bakeshop and not a fast food restaurant.

I also remembered that they have a branch in the Philippines in SM Megamall Atrium but I have never tried eating there until I went to Malaysia.

Mango Delight

Sponge layers with mango slices covered with cream and topped with mango puree and sesame seeds.

Their logo is no secret recipe (pun intended) because it's super simple, it's just the words Secret Recipe in Mistral font face and white font color on a red background. They have no other designs added to it, just the words.

Oddly enough, it's an effective logo because everywhere I go in Singapore and Malaysia, it catches my attention.

The first time I heard about Secret Recipe is when my friends working in Malaysia uploaded pictures of cakes. I asked them where they bought it and they said it's from Secret Recipe.

I then learned that Secret Recipe is actually famous there for their cakes. They have numerous cake flavors and they have stalls that sell only cakes.

Chocolate Fudge

Secret Recipe actually reminds me of our very own Red Ribbon because both are famous for their cakes and both have a red and white themed logo. the difference is that Red Ribbon is mostly cakes and their menu is limited to a few Filipino dishes while Secret Recipe's menu ranges from Singaporean, Malaysian, Indian and Western dishes.

thin layer of fudge and chocolate cream in layers of chocolate cake

I've only tried Secret Recipe's pasta and it was really good. I forgot what type of pasta it was but it's cream based and it was really cheesey with mushrooms and shrimps sort of like a seafood fettuccine carbonara.

The only thing I don't like about Secret Recipe is their prices and serving. A dish is around 200Php and their 9 inch cream cakes are 900Php to 1200Php. I find those prices very steep especially if compared to let's say Red Ribbon or Goldilock's bakeshops where you can buy a whole 9 inch cake for less than 500Php.

Coffee/Mocha cake

I was not able to try their cakes when I was in Singapore and Malaysia but when I came back to the Philippines, I was checking some group buying sites and I saw a promo for Secret Recipe's cakes.

The promos was 50% off for the 9 inch cream cakes but it's limited to only a few flavors. The original price for a cake is 900Php and so it's being sold for only 450Php. I bought 4 flavors so I can try a lot of flavors.

coffee infused cake with coffee flavored cream and chocolate chips

Buyers will have to choose which branch to pick up the cakes and I chose SM Megamall Atrium and I scheduled my pick ups 1 cake a week in 4 weeks since I bought 4 and since it was November that time, I started the pickup mid November and the last around December which is my birthday month so I treated it like a Birthday Cake month. ^_^

The 4 flavors that I bought were: Mango Delight, Chocolate Fudge, Mocha Cake, and Chocolate Indulgence.

By the way, they call their cakes Cream Cakes maybe because it's covered with cream. You'll understand later as you read my description of the cakes.

Chocolate Indulgence

chocolate and lots of chocolate!

I first picked up Mango Delight because I like mangoes and it's a chiffon cake covered with cream and layered with ripe mango slices and more cream. On top it has a mango puree and some black sesame seeds.

The cake is soft and not too sweet and the mangoes were sweet too.

The next cake that I picked up was the Chocolate Fudge because I bought 2 chocolate cakes and I thought the Chocolate Indulgence one is better so I saved it for the last. The Chocolate Fudge cake is again covered with cream but this time it's chocolate cream and then in between the layers it has a thin layer of fudge and then on its sides, some chocolate vermicelli.

The 3rd cake that I picked up was the Mocha cake. The cake was a chiffon cake that seemed like it was soaked in coffee, kind of reminded me of the Tiramisu dessert where you soak the lady fingers in espresso. Again it's covered and filled with coffee flavored cream and then topped with a few chocolate chips. It's the simplest cake among the four that I bought.

The last cake and the most delicious cake among the four is the Chocolate Indulgence cake. It's a chocolate chiffon cake with layers of plain and chocolate flavored cream and then covered with chocolate cream and then covered again with chocolate ganache. It was delicious, soft, moist and not too sweet and the cake didn't even last a day because me and my family liked it a lot.

Will I buy cakes from Secret Recipe again? Maybe if they have another promo. ^_^

I still like the cakes from Red Ribbon more and it's way cheaper.

For the Secret Recipe Cake Flavors:

http://www.secretrecipe.com.my/page-3552.html

六十二：Figaro Coffee Company, Frappes and Cakes

I became a regular of Figaro Cafe because my friend would usually stay there for hours for her reviews and most of the time I join her to just chat with her.

I heard it's Filipino owned and most probably explains why they have a lot of Filipino dishes on their menu.

We usually go at their branch in Brickroad beside Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta, Rizal.

It's quite hard to find since they are located at the back of Brickroad but it still gets crowded especially at night because those who live near the place are already frequent customers like us.

Cozy interiors and comfy wooden chairs

The place is very cozy. The walls have wooden panels and rock patterns. Most of the interiors are actually made of wood and wall lamps lit the whole place.

Their chairs and tables are also wooden but comfy enough. The tables have marble top and they also have some couches available.

They also provide magazines and wi-fi for a minimum fee so staying for hours is no problem especially when you're waiting for someone.

The only thing I don't like at their Brickroad branch is the toilet because it doesn't look that clean and it's cramped, not enough lighting and they they usually run out of toilet paper.

Figaro got famous for their latte art where the foam is designed to look like a leaf or a flower etc.

Besides coffee they offer pasta, sandwiches, burgers, rice meals and of course lots of pastries and cakes.

Other drinks that they serve are Twining's tea, milk, hot chocolate and iced tea.

If you don't like warm drinks, they also serve iced coffee and recently milk teas.

They aren't like Starbucks who's famous for frappes but just a few months ago, they started adding it to their menu.

Devil's Mocha Cake

The following are the flavors and prices of their frappes:

Figaroccino Caramel Chips

White Chocolate Mocha

Choco Chips Java

Figaroccino Cookie Crumble

Php135 16oz

Php150 20oz

Rich dark chocolate cake with mocha buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache weave

Their frappes are delicious, very creamy and not too sweet. For the non coffee drinkers, the Oreo frappe has no coffee in it and you may also ask the barista to remove the coffee for the other flavors.

 I would also like to add that their frappes are cheaper compared to, let's say Starbucks or CBTL which ranges from 150 - 200Php, to think that the food at Figaro is quite expensive, e.g pasta dish for 200Php.

White chocolate mocha (front) and Figaroccino Cookie Crumble Oreo (foreground)

Besides coffee, I've tried some of their dishes like the pasta, salad and some rice meals especially at breakfast where they serve Tapsilog and other silog dishes.

Like what I've said, it's quite pricey. I think a dish starts at 150Php up to 300Php.

So if you plan on eating there prepare about 200-500Php for a full meal with coffee or any drinks.

Figaroccino Cookie Crumble Oreo and Caramel Chips

Though it's quite expensive, the food is good and of course, when I eat at a place that serve dessert, I make sure I try them.

Figaro serves an assortment of desserts from cakes, brownies, bars, muffins, cupcakes etc.

The cakes are around 100Php per slice and the pastries are around 50Php.

The desserts are good and I've tried some chocolate cakes from them and so far I liked them all.

I was told that their Red Velvet is their best seller and so one time I tried a slice.

Their Red Velvet, like any other red velvet cake is a but dry but still good. the cream cheese frosting helps in moistening the cake, still I'm yet to find the best red velvet cake.

Besides the Red Velvet, they also have a Blue Velvet which I think is made of blueberry.

Red Velvet Cake

For those looking for a coffee shop in Rizal, besides Starbucks, you may opt to try Figaro in Brickroad.

They also have a branch inside the Sta. Lucia mall just between Cinema 9 and 10 but the one in Brickroad is open until 11PM.

Make sure you try their cakes and enjoy their coffee.