Ikea Restaurant

Hej! We were going through quite a hectic day when we decided to make a casual foodie trip to Sweden. It wasn't the most authentic of its kind, but not bad.

We visited the Ikea restaurant in Richmond located on 3200 Sweden Way. People who attended the grand opening had raved about it and Michael was really keen on it too, so I thought why not. The cafe itself had a very open space located upstairs of the store. There were dozens of people dining when we arrived, but the open space made it feel not so busy, no one was pushing or shoving.

The line up was simple and self-explanatory, you pick up a little cart that holds food trays, bring it along the railing at the serving counters where attentive staff serve food in a cafeteria-like manner. How smart and convenient. The best part was the food's so cheap it's nearly unbelieveable.

Michael and I both ordered the Swedish meatball combo, which came with 10 meatballs and a serving of mashed potatoes, topped with gravy for $5.99, with a salad on the side. The meatballs were decent quality, not the greatest but definitely satisfactory for what we paid. The mashed potatoes were delicious and really went well with the creamy gravy. We also both ordered garlic bread for 50 cents a slice. What a deal. The bread wasn't hard at all, it was nice, soft and flavourful, you could really taste the buttery goodness infused with garlic.

Next, we noticed they had a pasta dish with veggies and tomato sauce for $1.99. I was curious to try it, but the penne was sadly a little rough tasting and the sauce was very bland. But we couldn't expect much for less than two bucks.

To wash down this big meal we each got a can of Ikea-brand apple cider for $1. In total, the bill came to $20. What a bargain! We both felt full and satisfied. Coming to Ikea for linner (lunch / dinner) was really unusual since we don't usually go to places for express services. We even took a little after dinner stroll around the place to walk off the calories.

Overall, I would say it was a fun and enjoyable experience,  I would love to come back. Lyckligt ata alla! (happy eating everyone!)

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Posh Hot Pot

Michael and I had a short day Saturday and were looking for a place to eat after we paid a visit to one my friends graduation events. We stumbled upon Posh a Japanese style hot pot restaurant located at 1123-3779 Sexsmith Rd., right beside the popular Pearl Castle bubble tea cafe.

A little different from Chinese hot pots, it's much thicker

I am not a fan of hot pot and I could probably fill a phone book with my reasons. But we've both heard so many good things about Posh from our friends, and Michael seemed like he was really keen on trying it. It was also $17 per person for the all you can eat dinner menu. So I thought I would take a chance with him. The restaurant is very small and has only a few tables, seating at most two dozen or so, but the environment was  simple and modern.

Bok choi, enoki mushrooms and baby corn

Michael and I sat at the bar area, it was a little squishy but it made the dining experience seem more cozy. Another thing I liked about this hot pot restaurant is that it is very different from other hot pot places we've seen before. Where many of them are dirty, loud, and lack customer service. But Posh has none of that. The waitress was nice enough to explain to us the process and the how-tos, considered a rarity at Asian restaurants. There was water and soy sauce for us to pour in the pot when it gets dry, and when we eat our meats, dip the cooked meats in to the a sauce of raw egg, giving it a nice creamy texture.

The cooking element, adjust temperature as needed

The "pot" arrives with cabbage and broth inside, under a cooking element. In goes the vegetables that we had ordered, such as enoki and shitaki mushrooms, radish, potatoes, radish,and bok choi, combining their tastes nicely with the broth. What I thought was unique from this broth was that it there was a creamy and buttery taste along with the soy sauce, which I found very tasty. What can be wrong with butter?

All you can eat pork and beef!

For meats, Michael and I ordered pork and beef, both meats were very tasty, they were thinly sliced and soft to chew. It was weird dipping in to a raw egg though, at first it just felt it was meat going in to a raw egg but after I did taste the creaminess of the egg going along with the meat.

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Joeys Restaurant

Restaurant franchises are something Michael and I try to avoid, but we've always had a soft spot for Joeys. This weekend we made a short shopping trip to Burnaby and decided to get dinner at Joeys Burnaby located on 1899 Rosser Ave. The restaurant's location was nearby where my aunt lives, so I'd like to give a shout out to her!

The decoration is like any other Joeys located throughout the Vancouver area, although Michael and I thought it was really hard to find the place since it was located adjacent to a main road and tucked upstairs in a building. When we finally found the parking lot there were quite a few additional turns through corridors and a few stairs to climb inside to make it to the actual restaurant. As I said, it's quite hidden.

Joeys Restaurant - beautifully presented Pesto Shrimp Flatbread $14

We started with the Pesto Shrimp Flatbread for $14, which featured mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes, chipotle aioli , and basil. From the sounds of it, I thought there were going to be actual pieces of mozzarella, but when it arrived, I was quite disappointed to see there was just a slight smear of it. Other then my mozzarella catastrophe, the flatbread tasted really good. Filled with flavours, the shrimp was fresh and the chipotle aioli gave it the right amount of heat. I also loved that the flatbread was soft and fluffy.

The delicious taste of Joey's Blackened Basa is always consistent

For entrees, Michael had one of his favourites at Joeys, which is the Blackened Basa, served with a tomato pickled salsa with rice and vegetables for $19.50. Michael said that his fish was very soft and fluffy, crunchy on the outside but melting apart like butter on the inside. It came in two separate fillets, large portions that promise to fill even the hungriest of diners. A bed of rice is laid under the fish to complete the plate. Delicious.

Butter chicken and salad, no thanks on the naan bread

For myself, I chose the Bombay Butter Chicken for $17. One of the reasons I love Joeys is that they offer their menu to diners who are non-meat eaters. Since I was a little sick today and wasn't feeling really meaty, I substituted my chicken for its soy variety. The classic butter chicken dish is usually served with rice, but I also decided to change things up, vying for a tossed salad instead. The butter faux-chicken arrived mixed in with bell peppers which added some colour to the broth; there was a little heat to it but my cold tossed salad really balanced it out. The naan that was served on the side wasn't your familiar soft and fluffy naan though, it came in like nacho texture and it appeared to have chutney baked into it. Why mess with good naan?

Overall the experience in the restaurant I felt was alright, I would give it a fair "meh" for the dining experience. Michael thought the service wasn't that great which I have to agree, but other then that he really liked his food

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