We spent the whole first day at Gurney Plaza, walking around and doing a bit of shopping while waiting for Melissa’s friend from Sungai Petani. When the friend arrived, we went for lunch at the Secret Recipe outlet there. I had the spaghetti meatballs (RM14.50)…
…while my daughter had the stewed beef (RM16.50)…
and her friend had the seafood curry laksa (RM16.80)…
…and my missus had the tom yum prawn noodles (RM16.00)…
While we were there, I noticed a difference in the prices on the menu…
The drinks are RM1.00 more expensive in Sibu as you can see if you compare these prices to those that I had mentioned in an earlier post. I wonder why the double standard. The free drink with every meal ordered is not valid during school holidays and public holidays, it seems…so we had to pay for what we had. My daughter liked their apple kasturi (RM7.00)…
The overall total on the bill, inclusive of drinks, came up to RM98.65 which I would consider expensive as the food, like at all franchise places, is nothing really great…and we certainly can have something a lot better elsewhere with that kind of money.
After lunch, Melissa and her friend went for a movie while my missus and I continued roaming around…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
That’s the problem with progress, all these franchises springing up all over the place. Most of them, I’ve noticed, serve precooked food, which explains the usual bland and generic flavor.
That’s what I hear people say. In Sibu, everything’s brought in from dunno-where…and they just heat and serve – like airline food. I guess it’s the same at all outlets – all from the same kitchen/factory.
😦 And Philip… sometimes all these franchises lacks quality control.
Even the international ones! Pizza Hut at SP, for instance – only the pizzas are ok. The bread sticks look like yew tiao!
And sometimes they just lack quality.
Somehow they just can’t seem to get a simple thing right. Like the outlet at SP… When we went with my daughter, everything was nice but later when she went with her friends on another occasion, some of the same things that we had earlier were disastrous. She never went back to that outlet again…
Hmmm… my place here the pizza hut is still ok…I dun like the bread stick from pizza hut either. Taste like those garlic flavoured you tiao you get from tepi jalan. Give me the garlic bread any day, thank you.
Never mind what they have and what they’re like – I don’t go to such franchise places…if I can avoid it. Not really great and expensive.
OMG… no QC at all! Better makan pasar malam food la… at least it’s prepared fresh and from scratch!
NCAA nah…no class at all. I wouldn’t go…except maybe once in a blue moon…as hot, crowded and doesn’t look too clean…
I tink I can make better spaghetti sauce. LOL!
You can? Come, cook for me and I’ll be the judge of that. But frankly, I think anybody can do better… What my daughter cooked for the X’mas party last year was a whole lot better.
Wow cleffairy you make ho ho ho liao spaghetti sauce than SC and what is your secret to be better than secret recipe haha.
Seeing…or in this case, eating is believing. She will have to cook and let us eat… After all, as they say, the test of the pudding is in the eating. 😉
Cis…I definitely can cook a simple thing or two. LOL… but hor…. tummy pain after eat dun come find me ah!
Actually… anyone can cook better than the Secret Recipe… I mean, the pasta…their pasta sauce… damn… so sour… and I think the sauce come straight from the bottles… Eyewww!
Bananaz, one look at her…and you wouldn’t wanna eat what she cooks liao – so skinny like Somalian famine victim.
LOL… sure… see when u come again? LOL… do potluck, can cook this. I posted it https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/its-no-secret-2/#comments … yes… anybody can do it better… the only reason why I tarak cook spaghetti for my weekly dates with Kat and the rest is becoz Kat tarak makan spaghetti… she typical Chinese hantu, tak makan pasta… so never include this on the menu. LOL.
Hmm… Cyn’s spaghetti sauce also taste very nice… slightly sweeter than mine… 😀 Definitely beat the ones in Secret Recipe flat. LOL!
Own home-cooked the best – extra ingredients, only the best…definitely a lot nicer. Hmmmm…talk is cheap- anybody who thinks hers is better, cook for me to try and then I will give my verdict. After all, everybody thinks theirs is better! Muahahahahaha!!!!
P.S. What link is that? Are you sober? LOL!!! 😉
Alamak… *Pengsan* how come I put ur link there… I better go sleep liao. huihuhuhuhuhu!
ROTFLMAO!!!! 😀
Prices would not be standardized just like Kopi Pekan Lama in LCCT is selling higher than the outlets in Klang Valley. For that kind of money you could get 8 plates of Or Chian or 7 plates of Lobak kakaka..
Everything at KLIA or LCCT is a whole lot more expensive than outside. Maybe Malaysia Airports charge VERY high rental…to fill the pockets of certain people. Yalor…I could have eaten some much nicer things to my heart’s content…but the funny thing is the SR outlet was packed!!! I guess people do not mind paying for the comfort and trendiness…never mind the price or the taste…
Haihh… I used to go to SR for the cakes… no longer. I got better cakes to eat now… Cyn’s cakes beat SR cakes flat! LOL! Oooo… Cyn… u out there? I wan eat choc moist cakeeeee!
Like to eat so much, learn to make your own… Eeeeeee!!!! Always ask others. Tsk! Tsk! Btw, I have Cyn’s choc chip cookies – ALL flavours for X’mas, Mandy bought them for me, so very nice…this Mandy…and she took us to Cameron and we ate…and ate…and ate…all the way there and back! Hehehehehehe!!!
Can learn to cook anything but cake and cookies. Takut liao… never turn out well… cookies… always burn… cakes… always keras and ‘tak naik’. I’ll just leave it to the pro! LOL!
Can always register for lessons like Cyn….
the apple kasturi is simply cool..
My daughter’s favourite. She would order that most of the time…
War…everything here is expensive o. :p
VERY!!! 😦
maybe the rental there is more expensive thats why the price is slightly on the high side. the food not that great at SR….just d name. cheers!
The drinks are more expensive in SIBU…not in Penang. The prices for the cakes are the same, it seems – dunno about the food.
how was the taste?
What to expect from franchise shops? Good, edible…but not something I would be dying to go back again for…
Not only comes to food, WM things seem to be more expensive than EM. 🙂
But the drinks at SR are more expensive in Sibu… 😦
I had a good laugh as I read the today´s conclusion….I continued roaming around…. cari makan, kah?!! hahaha!! lol!!! nice to be back again…
Ya, long time no see. Stick around. Lots of food posts coming up…
You are undoubtedly a die hard fan of Secret Recipe, they should really pay you for constantly advertise for them! ^-^
so far we only dine in once for their set lunch, other time we prefer their cakes and free drinks. Well… simply because the meals were rather expensive.=_=
Not really. I do like their tall cakes…, not so much the rest of the stuff that they serve. My daughter had been wanting to have their curry mee since that time when we dropped by their outlet in Sibu…so we decided to go there that day but in the end, she decided to have something else… 😦
Aiyo you were at Gurney Plaza and you chose Secret Recipe of all places? I’ve stayed in Penang for 5 years and I’ve never gone to Secret Recipe! Too many other nicer choices around! hehe..
For one thing, we were on our own – no transport to go elsewhere…and also, we were standing there for my daughter’s friend…so we just decided to go in and have lunch there. Was really bothered about where or what to eat at the time…
Yes, Secret REcipe is quite expensive, in fact most of the franchise outlets are… since you are there in Gurney, you should try out Chilli, Swenson, Fish Manhattan… hahaha… all these are not available in Ipoh so normally my kids like to go there…
Ya…it did not cross our minds at that point in time. Just wanted to go some place, any place for lunch. Should have gone some place that we do not have in Sibu…
hahahahhaha…i agree with “beautiful witch”, all the way to Penang and dine in Secret Recipe? I think there are some food outlet in Gurney Plaza? It will a lot better than SR.
I don’t have enough time in Penang, otherwise i want to go to the food court outside the Plaza Gurney, our friend said, there night time serve very good grill fish. In Penang, i still prefer hawker food. 🙂
We were standing there, waiting for my daughter’s friend and when the friend came, it was lunch time, so we just decided to go in and eat – didn’t think of looking for some other place to eat instead…
Not crazy about any franchise outlets in Malaysia be it Secret Recipe, Fish Manhattan, Pizza Hut, Swensen, Chillis,Tony Roma and the like. It’s just a waste of good money as often the standards are just terrible and I always believe if you are going to get fat,might as well get fat eating delicious food! Most of these outlets are robbing us blind and most of us are quite ignorant as to what real good food tastes like. People often associate eating at a franchise as a luxury or high class meal. Little do they realise that these foods are often of the lowest standard. I hope my comment won’t be considered as though I am arrogant but just stating my beliefs.
Have a pleasant holiday!
No problem, I share the same sentiments. It seems that these places attract the younger set – they seem to love the place…a place to see and be seen, and they do not think it is expensive at all. I wouldn’t mind if the food is good…or dropping by once in a while for one reason or other but if I had a choice, I would go some place else that’s cheap and nice. Guess I’m such a cheapskate…
for nearly rm100 , you can get lot of better food outside! i only go there for cake and nothing else. try their laksa singapore before but i can get better at hawker place. huhuhuh
sibu got secret recipe and u go there again. should try others. hehehe
Didn’t think about it at the time…all that was in our heads was it was lunchtime – let’s go and eat and all ok with SR, we just went in.
urgh dnt like SRs foods! tak sedap! except for the cakes! lol went to one outlet in Warisan Square with Eric n both us ended up like forcing ourselve to finish it!
Oh? So he went to KK kah? Ooooo…any invitation coming my way soon? Sorry, have not been blog-hopping, so little time here… Will do that soon as I get home.
i like their apple kasturi drink too! More often than not, that’s what i order whenever i go there (very rarely). I like their chicken cordon bleu.
Haiya…Melissa kept asking me to order the chicken cordon bleu but I did not want. But my spaghetti meatballs not bad also – I like the meatballs…
Sure is expensive!
Yalor…but once in a while, ok lah. Young people like such places.
long time didnt eat at secret recipe already..i think ever since i left uni
Now spending your own money, feeling the pinch? 😉