A Taste of Sweden: IKEA – Rhodes, Sydney
(Photo from Live From Sweden)
When I hear Sweden, I think of meatballs, Kent, meatballs, Volvo and of course IKEA!
Dave of IKEA kindly organized a Foodblogger Meetup to tastefully introduce us to a new range of cookware and homeware for the kitchen! How excitement! My fellow party-goers were Atablefortwo, Chocolatesuze, Grabyourfork, Citrusandcandy, The<3offood, Tummyrumble and 2x ESandT.
The IKEA Restaurant and Cafe has a causal and relaxed atmosphere which is perfect for taking a load off after all the shopping and carrying of goods around. This is very evidently a child-friendly environment with a huge play area downstairs (which looks funnnn XD) and a mini play pen in the cafe area.
Dave the jolly, friendly IKEA man ^^!
Pre-dinner drinks
We started off the night with some drinks of some tasty Elderflower & Lingonberry squash and Pear Cider.
Pear Cider in a can…? BRILLIANT!
Pear Cider has lots of bubbly goodness
The Pear Cider was sweet, tingly and very refreshing indeed but then I was struck with a brainwave.
I know this may be sacrilegious for the Swedish folk and they are probably shaking their heads at thought of mixing pear cider and lingonberry but I found it to combine very nicely ^^! The flavours work together because they are both fruity and sweet. It also created a wonderful blush pink colour yumm. As we were sipped on our drinks, feeling classy and discussing high culture 
the staff brought over trays of entrees which immediately drew our attention.
Petra a.k.a. “Fountain of knowledge of all things Fish” as dubbed by a fellow blogger
Before we could tuck into the food we had some very interesting and informative talks about the produce and typical Swedish dishes by Petra. Her extensive knowledge of all things fish really amazed us and I seriously believe that she could have gone on for hours about Herring, Salmon and Cod if time permitted.
But we were all kind of hungry and the food looked too appetizing so Here Comes the Food
Entrees: Caviar Roll (left), Herring & Egg (on round Swedish bread), Swedish Caviar & Egg (on pie/pizza sliced Swedish bread), Egg, Prawn & Mayo and Gravlax (raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill)
To be honest, I could had eaten the whole tray myself but sharing is caring XP
Caviar Roll – I normally don’t like caviar but when it is only a subtle flavour, as in this case, it was really good. I loved the combination of the soft thin-bread reall and the creme fraiche and the slight sting of the onion really brought this little bite-sized morsel together
Herring & Egg – The herring had a beautiful tang to it and I liked the soft texture versus the crunchier Swedish bread. The egg could have been left out as I didn’t think it contributed much.
Swedish Caviar & Egg – Hee hee something out of a tube must be good XD The creamed smoked roe was very salty by itself but with the egg and bread buffer it was a very pleasant taste sensation.
Egg, Prawn & Mayo – Nothing special about this one. I would had preferred if they had another more Swedish entree but it was still fairly tasty.
Gravlax – I really, really enjoyed this one because the creamy mayonnaise and salmon combination with a tinge of dill is genius
Billy-Kun’s Angry Smashfest with a FAVORIT frying pan RAARRR!
Next came the introduction of the new frying pan range. I did not get any good shots of the frying pans but check out the other bloggers as I am sure they did ^^! The new range was decent and at affordable prices. My weapon of choice would have had to be the IKEA 365+ frying pan!
Knowing full well that we would still be a bit peckish after the frying pan introduction, the staff brought out extra Herring and Swedish bread for us to try
I liked all 3 of them but I think the tangy dill would have to be my favourtie with the honey mustard a very close second
For Mains we got a choice from the Cafeteria but I had meatballs on the brain…
Cakes, desserts and drinks – I spy only 3 Daim cakes left!
Mmmmm Swedish meatballs
The Meatball man doing his thang, I thought he would be smiling eccentrically since he dishes out happiness in meatball form
Che’fs Recommended – Salmon Pytti Panna with Basil & Mustard Sauce
I assure you the salmon is there, it is just hiding underneath the veges.
Simon’s broken Chicken breast Schnitzel </3
My Swedish meatballs ^^!
Another brain wave struck me and a meatball-orgy photo was decided!
Mmmm 6 plates of meatballs…
+1
The Swedish meatballs at IKEA with the gräddsås cream sauce really hits the spot. Each bite of the juicy and soft meatballs smothered in cream sauce with a dash of lingonberry jam makes you crave it more and more. The mash is also light and fluffy and tastes even better with the gräddsås cream sauce. A must-order for every trip to IKEA!
Princess cake – I feel pretty, oh so pretty, so pretty and witty and.. gayyy!
The Princess Cake has a soft and spongy layer with a good spread of sweet jam and cream and a green marzipan coating which represent the lush green hills of Sweden. Although this cake is really good, I still prefer the Daim cake.
Punch Rolls aka “vacuum cleaners” (centre) and Delicato Ball (rim)
Billy the super happy winner of the bonus prize ^^!
After we were all fed and content, the staff then gave out Party Packs! Thanks soo muuchh 
! We were then told to check inside the bags to see who had 2 sheets of prize paper and it turned out that Billy was the lucky boy of the night!
I was already happy enough with my cookie-cutter set whheeeee! This means I have to get back into baking haha!
No visit to IKEA is complete without a stop at the food store!
OOohhh *boop*
Yayyy frozen meatballs and mash!
Hee hee snack stop so can browse the store while munching on a hot dog yum!
Mother’s Day pink heart pralines
Daim candy – these are daim good 
More chocolate and Daim chocolate bars and $1.50 chocolate bars!
Godis Gula Snoren (Candy Laces Toffee flavour)
Billy spotted this product and we both wondered what it could have been but after reading the back and found out that it was candy laces toffee flavour I squealed and rushed to buy a packet myself haha.
They are long and lacey and they smell sweet and gorgeous. It was a pity that they do not taste as strong as they smell but they are sort of chewy and good snackage.
Sorry for the photo-intense post but there is too much to capture at a megastore like IKEA. The food there is simple, homey and tasty and the sweets and candy come in exciting and fun packages, flavours and shapes! A big THANKS to Dave and all the staff at IKEA who helped us ^^! And it was awesome to see fellow bloggers again and meet some new ones wheee XD
FFichiban
May 5th, 2009 at 1:06 am
First to post! You win! Oh the orgy of meatballs! You got some great pics of the store layout too.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:56 am
i love ikea! i could spend days in there… the little store at the end of the checkout is awesome – so many treats and so cheap! looks like you all enjoyed those meatballs
May 5th, 2009 at 10:03 am
oh! how cute are the cookie cutters!
(and i totally bought some pear cider on Saturday when i popped by the store. its my favourite, second only to glogg).
May 5th, 2009 at 10:55 am
the first picture sums it all!! I am sure we could have replicate that image with 7 plates of meatballs. Love the Billy-kun! LOL…
i almost finished all my Daim candies… they are pretty Daim good too!!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I hadn’t seen that meatball picture before – wow! Thanks for covering the meetup: glad you enjoyed it.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Oo, looks like a fun night. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with your cookie cutters.
How did you like the lingonberry? Is it like cranberry? My Finnish friend said it’s good as a sauce for reindeer, and I still can’t tell if she was kidding.
May 5th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
YAY meatballs! I love their meatballs. What a fun-looking night! My friends think i’m a weirdo because I go out of my way to visit Ikea for the food, not the furniture. And I can never resist the princess cake, it looks so pretty in that photo!
May 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
awesome event and well covered. makes me hungry for something swedish now.
s
May 5th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee…the Swedish Meatballssss…yummy !! All time favorites !! Sometimes I always thought of grabbing something else…but I just couldn’t resist the meatballs….
May 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
LOL! The billy-kun is an absolutely classic! Bring me to tears laughing at that.
Oh, my sides hurt! LOL!
I could so see you do a reenactment of the meatball mountain shot
May 5th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
LOL Billy-kun! Aww poor Helen lol. Yummm meatballs…..so when are we going for a meatball round 2?
May 5th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Seeing that stack of Daim….oh yum! They are the best candy bar ever. And your funny comments make me wish I could have attended.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
did anyone have a fight? Its IKEA, someone HAD to have a fight and walk out of the store crying. Maybe with the addition of food there is no need to fight anymore
May 5th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Ikea Meatballs are great, but not half as good as the ones you can experience in Stockholm.
Comparison pics here…
http://jamesobrien.id.au/2009/04/05/sunday-in-stockholm/
I love food, and I love Sweden. How did I miss out on this?
May 5th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
gotta, gotta, gotta go to Ikea….SOON!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
LOL at the Billy kun pic! it’s so cute in a menacing way given what he’s doing! The sandwiches remind me of my trip overseas-I always buy up big in the food section. Rollmops and Daim chocolates are a favourite!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Sounds like a fun day! Sooo many meatballs! I just recently made some Swedish meatballs, not sure how authentic they are… but they were yum! Love the cookie cutters too!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Helen – Haha I think everybody won (but Billy x2)^^! Thhxx and yay for meatball orgy!
Betty – Yeah it is huuuggeee! That store is like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow haha
Shez – Hee hee did you buy a whole slab? Hee hee glogg.. you alcomoholic!
Billy – Daim right! Domo-kun SMASH! I want more meatballs now…
Dave – Thx for a great and fun night ^^!
Arwen – Yeah, the lingonberry was so similar to cranberry I typed that first and changed it. Ohhh, what does reindeer taste like?
Steph – Haha I go IKEA for the food too and the funiture is a bonus haha. Try the Daim cake ^^!
Simon Food Fav – Hee hee thx ^^! Yes go get some meatballs… or buy a volvo
Leony – Haha yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup XD I was thinking aobut the schnitzel but the meatballs always win!
Simon – Hee hee glad you like it ^^! and yes I would so eat a moutain of meatballs mmmm
Karen – Hee hee poor Helen didn’t even know, right? Whenever is good
Belle – Hee hee yeah we missed you!
Maria – Oh? I guess food is the best peacemaker ^^!
James – Ahh it is hard to compare food with the original country!! Lucky you have got to experience it hee hee
Moya – Hee hee hee yes you do XD
Lorraine – (”’)(;..;)(”’) Raaarrr! Hee hee buying up big is the only way to go!
Anita – Yuuummm, I bet they were awesome ^^!
May 6th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Now I have another reason to go IKEA – Foood! I wonder if the frozen meatballs come with the sauce.
May 6th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
mmm meatballs i think i will be returning this weekend for some more heh heh
May 7th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Domo made his appearance. Finally!
May 7th, 2009 at 12:14 am
lol what on earth are pear cider and lingonberry! i’ve never even heard of these two and already you’re mixing them to create another even BIZARRERER drink baha well i’m glad it tasted nice
and hahaha! *discussing high culture*
since when are bananas and cars high culture
May 7th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Yas – Haha, shouldn’t food be the reason you go anywhere in the first place
Chocolatesuze – Hee hee can you deliver me some pllleeeaaaaaaaasseee XD
Lyf – Haha yeah.. domo-kun will start appearing here and there hopefully haha
Grace – Hee hee the drinks are very good and sweet
you should try! and omg I actually LOLed XD! Bananas and cars were always high culture 