Swedish Meatballs for Lunch

A lot of my friends and relatives from all over the world have been raving about the delicious taste of the Swedish Meatballs served in the restaurant of IKEA stores. One Sunday afternoon, I decided to give this a try. 

There are two IKEA outlets here in Singapore; there is one in Tampines, more than an hour away from my apartment, and the store in Alexandra Road, which was just approximately less than 10 minutes away by bus. I decided to go to the outlet in Alexandra for obvious reasons as it was more convenient for me.

IKEA Store in Alexandra Road, Singapore

It was already lunchtime when I woke up that Sunday; I initially thought that my timing would be perfect, I would be arriving there at around 2 in the afternoon and the lunch crowd would have dispersed by then. Damn, I was wrong!! When we arrived, this is what I saw…

in Singapore, long queue means good food...

I decided to queue with the crowd, as we were already very hungry at that time. It took me 20 minutes before I was able to get my orders and another 5 minutes before I was able to pay for it. The set-up in this restaurant is like a cafeteria; you queue up, get your food and pay for it.

ordering food, cafeteria style...

The waiting was comparable to that time I tried eating Tian Tian Chicken Rice some weeks back. We ordered the 15-pcs Swedish Meatball (SGD 8.00) , 6-pcs Chicken Wings (SGD 7.50), a cup of Java Rice (SGD 2.00) and a refillable cup of cold drinks (SGD 1.50).

The meatballs were topped with gravy and were paired with French fries. It was supposed to be mashed potatoes but I asked the person serving if I can have fries instead as we are not fond of mashed potatoes. The dish also came with a small serving of lingonberry jam (honestly though, I don’t know how this would compliment with meatballs and mashed potatoes). It was a simple meal but it was a good one especially when paired with the java rice I ordered.

the world famous Swedish Meatballs

The chicken wings were still as good as how I have tasted it last year when I was still visiting as a tourist here in Singapore. Actually it tasted more or less the same as the ones they sell in Lau Pa Sat but the clincher for this dish is the size of the chicken wing – it was really Scandinavian size I should say. Despite its size, the chicken wing still remains juicy and tender. I paired this with ketchup mixed with Tabasco sauce.

big crispy chicken wings

We were very full when we finished our food. As a result, in order to melt down what we have just eaten, we decided to stroll around and look at the wonderful displays inside IKEA.

sarap (delicious) to the bones!

An hour later, we decided to head out and go back to the city. I got a surprise that day when I saw that there was still a long queue in the restaurant counter, this time it was much longer than the one I queued in 90 minutes earlier. It probably just goes to show that the people here in Singapore do really love the food in IKEA.

IKEA Alexandra

317 Alexandra Road

Singapore 159965