G-37, Ground Floor,
Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7722 1680
Lot 2-3, Block A2, Level G2,
Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-6205 3048
Business hours: Daily, 10.00am-10.00pm.
IT IS all about a meatless dining experience with a contemporary approach at Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie — the latest venture by Secret Recipe Cakes and Cafe.
The dining concept takes its inspiration from the fresh and natural products such as tofu, soy beans and bean curd that form the key ingredients for its menu.
“Unlike conventional vegetarian restaurants, Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie takes on a more contemporary presentation and feel, and offers a wider variety of western and Asian choices,” said Secret Recipe marketing division senior brand manager Jamie Fong.
“The tofu is prepared in-house kitchen and 60% of the ingredients are organic based. The meat substitute (also known as mock meat) is made from a blend of tofu, mushrooms and bean curd.”
The restaurant’s menu features appetisers such as Fried Mushroom Salad, Nutty Mix Salad, Mushroom Satay, Rainbow Veggie Roll, and Top Hat “Pie Tee”.
The Fried Mushroom Salad is a tasty dish comprising deep fried oyster mushroom with fresh salad topped with roasted sesame sauce, while the Rainbow Veggie Roll, which looks similar to Vietnamese Spring Rolls, has shredded carrots, cabbage, red cabbage, lettuce and pumpkin floss served with roasted sesame sauce and honey mustard.
There are also Asian a la carte dishes such as Assam Laksa, Red Yeast Fried Rice, Tom Yum Soup Noodle, Ginger Mee Sua Soup and Special Sambal Petai Fried Rice, as well as Western favourites — Sesame Spaghetti with Bean curd Roll Cutlet, Aglio Olio with Olives and Sun dried Tomatoes, Napoli Bianco Pizza, and Pesto and Mushroom Pizza.
Made without eggs: Pistachio Cake (front) and Ube Yam Cake.
The Village Kitchen section offers more traditional dishes, with bestsellers such as the Stir Fried Lion’s Mane Mushroom (golden lion’s mane mushroom marinated with special vegetarian seasoning and cooked in spicy Portugese sauce), Oyster Mushroom in Mango Sauce (deep fried mushroom topped with crispy strips of young mango and served with a fruity sauce), and Mahogany Tofu (tofu with diced ginger, chillies, mushroom and vegetarians served in a fragrant mahogany sauce).
Other dishes included Assam Curd Cutlets with Assorted Beans and Eggplant, Asian Petai Sambal Fried Curd Cutlets, Tempe Sambal Petai, Bitter Gourd in Black Bean Sauce, and Stir Fried Greens of the Day.
Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie’s recommended beverages are its nutritious fruit teas and fresh fruit juices touting benefits such as detoxing, fatigue fighting and energising.
Riding on Secret Recipe’s popular association with cakes, the restaurant offers a range of cheese and cream cakes, most of which are made without eggs.
The fresh cream cake range offers Azuki Green Tea, Ube Yam, Pistachio Cream Cake, Hazel Choc Rush and Chocolate Mocha, while the cheesecake has flavours such as Blueberry Cheese, Chilled Chocolate Cheese and Winter Berries.
Fong said the Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie’s menu was developed by a team headed by Chef Lau Tuck Yuh.
Tasty appetiser: Fried Mushroom Salad.
“Lau is very in tune with the vegetarian palate as he himself has been a vegetarian since age 19,” she said.
“Lau and his team worked hard to ensure that the taste and association of the dishes resemble the familiar non-vegetarian versions, and also enhanced the flavours.”
According to Fong, Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie has been well-received as both vegetarians and non-vegetarians are intrigued with its meatless dining concept.
“It appeals to the growing vegetarian trend and drive towards a more healthy lifestyle, particularly among young urbanites.
“The tasty and appealing dishes also tricks the children into eating vegetables!” she said.
The first Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie is located at Tropicana City Mall, while another recently opened at Publika, Solaris Dutamas.
Fong said there are plans to open two to three more outlets within the Klang Valley by the first quarter of next year.
Secret Recipe Beyond Veggie is presently offering a tea-time promotion whereby diners can enjoy a slice of cake and a cup of gourmet coffee or tea for RM8.80 between 3pm and 6pm.
This is the writer’s observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
