While buying for Tin's gift for her birthday at Shangrila, Chiqui had been bugging me to accompany her and Berenice to try Secret Recipe. This is a newly opened branch located in the 5th floor of Shangrila Mall.

Secret Recipe is well known around Asia with over 150 branches located in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Shanghai - China, Auckland - New Zealand, and of course, Philippines.

They have been awarded several times for serving the most scrumptious range of cheesecakes. Below is the list of their awards.

Best Cheesecake Award 1998
Most Original Chocolate Award 1999
Best Cheesecake Award 2000
Best Lamb Stew Award 2001
Excellent Food Award 2004 by Asian Trade Press Pte Ltd, Singapore
Indonesian Best Restaurants 2006 by Yayasan Penahargaan Prestasi Indones
Best Brand Food & Beverage Cafe 2007
Best Casual Dining Restaurant of The Year 2007/2008
Philippine Tattler's Best Restaurant 2008

Ok. So I gave in to Chiqui's insistent request. And I had to try their food after checking their website that afternoon.

I had Tom Yum Spaghetti - spaghetti in stir-fried "tom yum" minced chicken, chilies and spices. Y'all know how I LOOOVE tomyum and Thai food right? So I really had to taste this.

Tom Yum Spaghetti (Php 180/ USD 4.5)

Verdict: 4 Stars out of 5

It was oh so yummy but it was not spicy enough. I still had to put tabasco.

Chiqui ordered Grilled Black Pepper Chicken - grilled chicken smothered with black pepper sauce served with herb rice and fresh garden salad.I tried a bite of the chicken.

Grilled Black Pepper Chicken (Php 240 / USD 5.5)

Verdict: 4 stars out of 5. The chicken was so tender and the kick of the black pepper is ok.

Berenice had Pumpkin Soup and Black Pepper Lamb Pie. I was not able to taste these though.

Pumpkin Soup (Php 90 / USD 2)

Black Pepper Lamb Pie (Php 135/ USD 3)

We would not leave Secret Recipe without trying their cheesecake. So we ordered one.

Marble Cheesecake (Php 140 / USD 3.5 )

Verdict: 5 STARS out of 6

. It was one of the best cheesecakes I've ever tasted. It was just plain and simple but it was so good. Mapapapikit ka sa sarap.

Go and visit Secret Recipe. They're everywhere