Pictures at : http://mrupupup.blogspot.sg/2013/01/secret-recipes-irish-lamb-stew.html  

I was shopping at Vivo and decided to try the Secret Recipe which is so famous for its cakes. When we went into the shop, there were not many people and it was approaching their closing time. Our first impression was the sloppy attitude of the staff, including the captain. Firstly, the staffs seemed annoyed we came into the shop just before closing. They were obviously sporting black faces. Ok, we got the signal and at a piece of the award winning cheesecake before quickly leaving for the next bite. Cake was nice but tasted bad in the bad service attitude.



I went back again to the same shop on another shopping trip. Similar experience! Ordered cheesecake and green tea cake, and some drinks. We asked for iced water. But it came only after several reminders. The staffs are more interested in clustering together and talking amongst themselves then to pay attention to the guests. We have to wave our hands to try to catch their attention. Then we waited for the cakes. Same! I have to go to the counter and ask whether the cakes are ready. Then the captain said ok, and continued doing other things before cutting my cakes. Hey, its not that you need to bake the cakes on the spot. It's just a 2-min affair of serving the cakes.



So it's confirmed. The working culture is bad, discipline is bad, attitude is bad. Good food will taste bad too.



Not going back anymore.

Problem with going to Vivo so very often, we end up scratching our heads when deciding what to eat. So last night, we decided to be adventurous and eat at Secret Recipe despite the poor reviews on HGW.

We had:

1) Chicken Cordon Bleu - hubby had this and it's actually quite good. A generous slab of chicken, ham & cheese wrap, deep fried till nice & crispy.

2) Seafood Aglio Olio - I'm a pasta girl so its a no-brainer to order this. It turned out to be a pretty spicy version with big pink prawns and not overdone sotong rings. It also had crayfish but the crayfish was seriously a joke. I have never seen such a small crayfish and it was very fishy tasting. The only spoiler of the dish. Otherwise, it's really very Yumz. Oh! They could use less oil too. :P

3) Mushroom soup - for a $5 top-up, we could add a starter and a drink. So I chose mushroom soup with was decent. Possibly from can but at least they added chunks of mushrooms lah.

4) Caesar salad - hubby chose salad so we could share our starters. Someone was too generous with the lemon and the salad was way too tangy. A small bowl but ok if you like your Caesar tangy.

5) Ice lemon tea & Camomile - we ordered these as drinks. Normal, decent.

I might return if we are in Vivo and crave super spicy Aglio Olio.