Secret Recipe

Secret Recipe
Website: http://www.secretrecipe.com.sg/Default.asp

Secret Recipe has cheesecake, cheesecake and more cheesecakes. They have outlets at Holland Grove Road, Plaza Singapura, East Coast, Suntec City, Vivo City, etc. (check their website for more details).

I like their cheesecake for not having that heavy cheese taste (unlike some places which I shall not name). It’s light and yet cheesy enough so that I can take 2 slices at any one time. A slice of cheesecake will cost you around S$5 per slice and a whole cake goes for S$45.

Personally, I only ate once at a Secret Recipe at Marina Square here. I always get my fix in the City Square (City Square, MB-02, Level B1, JB City Square, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru, tel: 07-2248110, Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily) coz it’ll cost me RM5.50 per slice there. Instant 50% discount.

Oh, did I mention that you must try their chicken cornish (RM6.80) too? The spicy one tastes a bit like our curry puff but with more chicken bits. To fill yourself up, you can have a chicken cornish and a slice of cheesecake for a grand price of RM12.30 (excluding taxes and service charges)!

Secret Recipe is well known for their cheesecake and cakes, which means you should never try their main courses, e.g. western food or something. I did try once and well, I’ll stick to their cheesecake.

Sakura, International Buffet Restaurant

Opening Hours: 12 Noon to 2.30pm (lunch) & 6pm to 9.30pm (Dinner), Daily
Website: http://www.sukigroup.com.sg/sakura.htm

They have 4 outlets over in Pasir Ris, Clementi Road, Orchard Road & Jurong West. Check their website for details (look under the heading “Subsidiary”).

Buffet prices are:-

• Lunch (Weekdays): S$21.40
• Dinner (Weekdays): S$25.68
• Kids (Weekdays): S$11.66
• Lunch (Weekdays - Orchard Outlet Only): S$23.54
• Dinner (Weekdays - Orchard Outlet Only): S$27.82
• Kids (Weekdays - Orchard Outlet Only): S$12.73
• Add additional S$2.14 for weekends, eve and public holidays

For the prices you pay above, you will get up to 100 different varieties of Japanese, Western and Oriental foodfare everyday. To briefly entice you, appetizers include baked oysters, lobster salad, mussels, cold prawns and sashimi. The main entrees encompass an assortment of dim sum, Teppanyaki (including lamb chop, salmon and beef, etc.), tempura and grilled items. A wide selection of mouth-watering sushi will also be prepared for all consummate sushi fans. Last but not least, deserts such as cheesecakes, fruits, ice cream and beverages complete the buffet with a satisfying touch.

• For holders of Diners Club credit card, spend a min. of S$80 and get a S$5 voucher for your next visit; spend a min. of S$150 and get a S$10 voucher for your next visit. This promotion is valid from 15 Aug 2007 to 15 Sep 2007. The voucher is valid until 15 Oct 2007.

Coca Steamboat

• #04-22 Ngee Ann City, Tel: 6734-7887
• #02-05 International Building, Tel: 6738-2588
• #02-28/30 The Concourse, Tel: 6295-3611

All outlets open between 11am and 11pm daily. Price $16 - $18 per person for buffet lunch; $26 - $30 for buffet dinner, depending on which outlet.

First set up in 1987 in Chinatown, this franchise chain from a Thai restaurant group is most famous for its chilli sauce. It is made from a highly guarded secret recipe from Bangkok, which includes sesame seeds, coriander and a little soya sauce. This chain is also famous for being the first here to introduce “fish glue” – fish paste that turns delightfully chewy when cooked. Its meatballs, made from fish, prawn, beef and chicken, are also hand-made every morning at the outlets to ensure freshness. It offers two types of soup: chicken stock and tom yam.

• If you pay using DBS Amex Card, you get 15% discount on total bill (lunch/dinner). Available only at International Building.

Note: This review was taken from ST Foodies Club.

Anatolia Turkish Restaurant

#02-58/59 Far East Plaza
Tel: 6836 3352
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily

Many people are familiar with the antics of the Turkish Ice-Cream man from Anatolia Turkish Restaurant. With his pretense to be dropping the ice-cream and hitting the bells, the Turkish Ice-Cream man has gotten nothing but laughs from his patrons. Anatolia Turkish Restaurant, which is located on the second floor of the popular youth hangout in Far East Plaza , has been dishing out popular Turkish delights, like kebabs, for over 10 years now.

Unlike Indian food or local dishes that can get pretty spicy, Turkish food is not very spicy as they use tomato bases for their gravy. Iskender ($8) which is quite a popular dish at Anatolia , consists of slices of shredded beef and pieces of Pide bread, drenched in a tomato based sauce. When served with scoops of yoghurt, this dish can taste too sourish for the majority’s preferences. In addition, the shredded beef was a little tough to chew. Diners have the option of chicken or beef for this dish, though according to the owner, Mr Ur, in Turkey , they only serve beef Iskender.

The Lahmacun ($3), which looks like a fusion between a pizza and naan bread, is a crispy bread which is topped with chicken and some vegetables. It tasted slightly salty so do dip it into the different salad mixtures that is available or squeeze a little lime over it. However, this dish on its own is pretty filling as the portion is quite generous. However, Mr Ur pointed out that in Turkey , one piece is never enough and people can eat five pieces of Lahmacun in one sitting.

For those looking for a full meal, opt for the Mix Kebab Special ($16). Served with butter rice, this dish comes with a mixture of chicken, beef and lamb kebabs. The chicken and lamb kebabs are much tenderer compared to the lamb. The butter rice also brings out the taste of the kebabs and affords it more flavour. The downside was that the Mix Kebabs were dry because of the way it was cooked, so do consider adding on some sauces or salads when eating this.

If you are going to have Turkish food, then you cannot miss the dessert. Your best bet would be the Dmado Ice-Cream but of course, you have got to be patient and let the ice-cream man amuse you with his antics.

Dining area at this restaurant is small, so be prepared to wait and wait. The portions are also quite big so make sure you check how many the portion serves before ordering.
Note: The above review was extracted from StreetDirectory.

Yuki Yaki

• #03-2110 Marina Square
  Tel: 6737 9680
  Opening Hours: 12 noon to 9pm daily


• #02-11 Orchard Cineleisure
  Tel: 6737 9680
  Opening Hours: 12 Noon to 10.30pm, Sun to Thu; 12 Noon to 2am, Fri, Sat & Public Holidays


• Website: http://www.sukigroup.com.sg/yuki-yaki.htm

Yuki Yaki introduces the first Do-It-Yourself steamboat, Teppanyaki & Ice Cream Buffet, bringing you into a era of new age dining.

Each table in Yuki Yaki is equipped with two in-built stoves for steamboat and teppanyaki. Diners can enjoy a wide selection of more than 90 mouth watering food items. Seafood items like half shell scallops, mussels, sea cucumber, salmon, prawns, cuttlefish etc. Meat items like beef, chicken, lamb, pork etc. Yong Tau Foo items and fresh vegetables and many more.

After one enjoys its main course, its’ time for deserts! The Teppanyaki Pan is thoroughly cleansed by the service staff and the thermostat adjusted to a cold temperature, ready for ice cream making. Choose from a generous variety of ice cream flavours and your can start enjoying your ice cream. Truly a revolutionized experience.

It sounds fun but the one thing I don’t like about this restaurant is that they impose on me a time frame. 2.5 hours if I order a buffet with ice cream and 2 hours if it’s without ice cream.

• For holders of Diners Club credit card, spend a min. of S$80 and get a S$5 voucher for your next visit; spend a min. of S$150 and get a S$10 voucher for your next visit. This promotion is valid from 15 Aug 2007 to 15 Sep 2007. The voucher is valid until 15 Oct 2007.

Riverside Indonesian Restaurant

#01-04 Riverside Point
Tel: 6535 0383/6735 7544
Website: http://www.riverside.com.sg/
Opening Hours: Noon to 3pm, 5.30pm to 11pm

For S$10 (excluding all taxes) per pax, you can have 6 dishes served with free flow of white rice. Some sample dishes are charcoal grilled snapper fish/cuttlefish/chicken (restaurant specialities), kangkong belacan, etc. For the full list of items, please click here. Please note that you can get this super value meal if you have a minimum of 4 persons or you pay the price for 4 persons even if 2 are eating.

But if you don’t like sweet stuff, ask the restaurant not to dip the food into the sweet black gravy.

They also have an outlet @ Plaza Singapura’s Kopitiam (Level 6, Stall 10) (see my other entry on this).

Riverside Indonesian BBQ

Kopitiam @ Plaza Singapura
Level 6, Stall 10

From only S$4.30, you can get a grilled chicken drumstick (ayam panggang) OR cuttlefish OR fish. After the marinated chicken leg/cuttlefish/fish are cooked, the grill cook dipped the chicken/cuttlefish/fish into a pot of sweet, black gravy, and plonked it beside the rice (smothered with some coconut curry gravy) AND a slice of plain omelette (as shown in the picture) AND a bowl of plain cabbage soup (I like the plain soup as it is a sharp contrast to the sweetness of the main dish). For another 50 cents, you can add stir-fried cabbage and carrots.

If you’re not keen on chicken or cuttlefish or fish, you can also opt for satay (4 sticks) or fried chicken or curry chicken.

Help yourself to the sambal outside the stall. I love this sambal because it comes with fried ikan bilis and is not that spicy, a bit sweet though.

I’ve eaten at similar stalls at food courts in Raffles City & Tiong Bahru Plaza. Not sure if they belong to the same branch as this, but they’re all equally good.