Secret RecipeFood Connection at Melbourne Central

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Secret Recipe/Food Connection at Melbourne Central

* GPS robotic voice*: I could not understand your response, please repeat, I think you meant this ______.

1. Enter Melbourne Central
2. Go to the second floor
3. Find Secret Recipe
4. The last one will be eliminated

Melbourne Central has a busy food court .

Melbourne Central has a busy meeting place.

Melbourne Central also curiously has quieter places too.

An impromptu gathering always calls for a new setting otherwise all shared experiences merge into one never-ending memory; devoid of time markers. Note all your frustrations at remembering details when S always orders the same thing!



As told by one of the waiters, the stores in the Secret Recipe chain in Australia have apparently been sold to different companies. The Secret Recipe at Melbourne Central is now under the management of Food Connection. The sign is still the same, however everywhere else you would expect to find the name of an establishment you will find Food Connection instead. I consider this interesting situation perfect for playing the Amazing Race. Watch as your friends try to figure out where Secret Recipe is located. You'll have them thinking its a Harry Potter platform 9 and 3/4s situation where you have to step into a hidden door instead of running through wall.

There are a few things you can do such as role play a GPS when giving your friends the directions. The '4. The last one will be eliminated' instruction is suited when playing the Amazing Race. This is also where you can change it up with 'the last one shouts drinks' or 'the last one foots the bill'. However you might not need a fourth instruction at all, especially if they've previously fallen victim to your hijinks with the menu reading test . On the other hand, you could just make a bet with an early arrived friend over who is the first to ask directions, when you know some of your friends don't like asking for directions.

The setting is perfect for catching up with friends as you don't have to talk over the noise of other diners, it is a quiet atmosphere. There is a mix of couch and chair seating on long mahogany looking tables. The counter interestingly reminds you of a cake store counter instead of a cafe one. The menu is a combination of pastas, schnitzels and Asian dishes.

I had the mushroom soup and pumpkin almond agnolotti:





The mushroom soup contained what I believe to be white mushrooms as commonly found in other mushroom soups. However I wanted to try it because the menu said it had shiitake mushrooms as well. As anyone who has tasted the deep flavour of shiitake mushrooms in Asian dishes, I wondered how it would work with white mushrooms. The soup was like any other mushroom soup, it was nice however the shiitake mushrooms just did not quite work. They were just watery.

The pumpkin and almond agnolotti was not quite what I expected either. The creamy sauce was very rich, however I didn't expect the almonds to be floating in sauce. It was an interesting sauce as every now and again the crunch of the pepper and almonds reminded you they were there. The agnolotti contained soft pumpkin. These were pleasant but were not as rich in spices as I would expect.

Secret Recipe/Food Connection is a hideaway in bustling Melbourne Central. A nice patch to catch up with friends without the need for talking over the noise of other diners.

**Experience Summary:

Service – 3 stars; average, as expected

Atmosphere – 3.5 stars; calm, more suited to a long awaited catch up with friends

Food – 3 stars; nothing too radically different, nothing that will distract from the conversation

Uniqueness factor – have fun using the name confusion at your friends' expense **

#brunch
#food_wine
#lunch
#city
%wnmelbourne