WS #24: Ikea Restaurant & Cafe (Again!)
Last Saturday, after coming from a children’s party, Hubby, Abby and I headed to Ikea to check out their Labor Day Sale. We decided to have lunch there, too. This time, except for Abby, Hubby and I both ordered something we haven’t ordered before.
Hubby went for the day’s special promo meal of 1/2 Baby Back Ribs served with a side of fries and corn bread.
1/2 Baby Back Ribs with Corn Bread and Fries
From the photo of the ribs, would you be able to guess if Hubby enjoyed his meal? I don’t know if Hubby just got unlucky but the ribs he was served looked like it came from a malnourished pig. It was all ribs and no meat. It tasted ok, according to Hubby, but he wished there was more to taste. Hee hee.
As for me, I ordered the Pasta Marinara and Side Salad combo.
Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Side Salad
I wasn’t very happy with my food as well. The sauce was too bland for me. I added a dash of salt (a couple of times at that!) but that didn’t quite work for me. I grew more interested on the car insurance comparison conversation on the next table (which was a little too loud!) than on the food before me. I was only able to finish half of my pasta. :( Next time, I’ll stick to the Salmon Rice Pilaf.
Redemption came in the form of dessert, our usual chocolate cake. That, I enjoyed.
I hope y’all had better meals this weekend. 
Check out Shamu’s Happy Harbor, my other WS entry. Visit more Weekend Snapshot participants here.
Have a great new week ahead!
Food Adventures, Restaurants, Weekend Snapshot | Comments (12)
Rorberto’s Burrito Grande
When we went up to Mammoth in California last month, we had dinner at Roberto’s Cafe, a typical Mexican restaurant. Hubby and I love Mexican food. But we were not prepared for the size of Roberto’s Burrito Grande (or was it called Grande Burrito? Whatever!)…
To say that it was huge is an understatement! We haven’t seen a burrito this size in Tex-Mex food rich Texas (or we just don’t go out that much!). :D It was my aunt who ordered it and even she was overwhelemed by the size. When you are served food this size, you suddenly lose whatever feeling of hunger you might have before. Seeing it alone fills you up already. My aunt ate only about a quarter of the gigantic burrito. The rest, we ate over breakfast. This is easily good for a family of four. Hee hee. That, of course, is an exageration! 
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WS #16: Free Jetty Punch Smoothie
Did you know that last Saturday, 21 June, officially the first day of Summer, was National Flip Flop Day. :D We didn’t. It’s a Tropical Smoothie Cafe imposed holiday, I think. Coming from my daughter’s dance recital, we decided to get some rest at home before we did anymore weekend activities. We noticed a few people at the main street corner going into our subdivision carrying signages. I couldn’t make out what they said exactly except for a few random words…free…smoothie…flip flops. Hubby got it though, thank goodness! Apparently, the signs say that everyone wearing flipflops will get a free smoothie at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Woohoo!
The Cafe is just a very short walk away from our house. We, of course, went home first to change into flip flops. Hee hee. Yes, all three of us. Instead of resting at home, we decided to rest at the Cafe instead. :D When we got to Tropical Smoothie, we were each handed a coupon for a, get this, 24 oz. Jetty Punch Smoothie. It’s not just a regular-sized smoothie…it was a large one at that! A Jetty Punch smoothie is a low fat strawberry-banana smoothie. We love strawberries. We love bananas. We love smoothies. We love freebies! Hee hee. How lucky can anyone get?!
June 21st, National Flip Flop Day at Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Three cheers for free smoothies! Hee hee!
Anyone is welcome to claim a free smoothie without any obligation to buy anything else. But because we are much too shy to be able to pull an act like that, hubby and I decided to split a salad while Abby had a ham and cheese sandwich. Coming from the recital, Abby was hungry. So it was a good decision on our part to take something.
Chicken Caesar Salad
We missed last year’s National Flip Flop Day. We’re glad that this year, we didn’t. I’ll make sure to add this to my list of important holidays. Hee hee.
I did mention it was also my daughter’s dance recital last saturday. I posted a few photos HERE, my other Weekend Snapshot entry. Visit other WS participants here.
Have a wonderful week!
Beverages, Food Adventures, Weekend Snapshot | Comments (10)
Ostrich Meat, Anyone?
Since I stopped eating pork and beef in the middle of January this year, I have been eating a lot of chicken and ground turkey. During an idle moment a few days ago, I thought, “how about ostrich meat”? Is that too crazy? :) Have you ever tried eating ostrich meat?
My lack of knowledge about ostrich meat and recipes where it is used led me to google the subject matter away. :) I’m glad I did because I found out very interesting facts about ostrich meat. Seriously! Here are some that I got from About.com in an article by Derrick Riches with the no-nonsense title “Ostrich”:
- The ancient Egyptians hunted the ostrich for food.
- These large flightless birds can weigh in at up to 250 pounds and stand 7 feet tall.
- Instead of being similar to poultry, ostrich is much more like beef in taste and texture.
- It has a great versatility and can be bought ground, cut into steaks, as sausage and even hot dogs.
- Ostrich can be substituted for most any meat and grills very much like lean beef.
- It is leaner and lower in cholesterol than most any other meat, which is why ostrich is frequently found in health food stores.
- Because it is so lean, you will see a lot less shrinkage during cooking.
- Ostrich is higher in iron than beef so it has a very red color to it, even when it is properly cooked.
- It is a great way to reduce your fat and cholesterol intake, while still giving you a meaty meal.
- Ostrich has a great flavor of its own and is generally well liked by the pickiest of eaters.
What do you think? You know what else? You can use ostrich feathers for other things, too, like turning them into center pieces! Now that’s making full use of the bird! Hahaha!
Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
Food Adventures, Kitchen/Food Etcetera, Milk & Honey | Comment (1)
Revisiting Seasons
Seasons is the premiere buffet restaurant of The Manila Pavilion Hotel. We had the chance to dine there in February last year a few days before Hubby left for the US. I wrote all about it HERE. However, I didn’t post photos within the entry. It’s been a while since we’ve had a decent buffet…buffet as we know it from back home. So join me as I torture myself with photos of what I look forward to having when we come home for a vacation…
Seasons doesn’t have a very extensive selection of fresh seafood. But as long as there are shrimps, I won’t really complain. 
This is Oscar. :) He was in charge of all the cooking at the seafood station. He made us very yummy tempura and if I remember correctly, he also made me some shrimps in garlic and butter.
Kebabs overload! Oh why did I ever stop eating beef and pork?
Cookies and assorted chocolate goodies to tickle the kids’ tastebuds…and those of the kids at heart, too! ;) You bet I was tickled silly. Hee hee!
This is the part of any buffet spread which I will most likely skip so I can have room for the “dessert heavy weights”…heavy in sugar and heavy in calories.
The Halo-halo station. That time, I skipped this one, too.
This is Melvin. He made me my favorite buffet dessert of banana caramel crepe topped with vanilla ice cream. *sigh*
The next two photos are of terrible quality but I just wish to show you how dessert was so beautifully presented…
Isn’t that the prettiest flan ever?
And here are more uniquely plated desserts . I can no longer recall what these are exactly but I’m guessing sans rival, chocolate mousse and strawberry cheesecake.
By looking at these pics alone, I think I’ve gained a few pounds already! It looks like I’ll have to invite hubby to join me hit the treadmills at the gym tomorrow. *cross fingers*
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My Little Sushi Princess
I don’t know how old Japanese kids start eating sashimi. I was 9 when I did. And on Mother’s Day, my daughter, who will be 4 in August, had her first taste of sashimi…salmon first, then tuna. When asked how she liked it, she said, “Yum! I like it!” She doesn’t like wasabi…yet. One small step at a time, ei? Being a self-confessed sushi junkie, I have to say I’m very pleased. Hahaha!
It was hubby who ordered the sushi platter for himself but shared it with Abby when the little girl wouldn’t stop asking to taste it.
For now, Abby uses kiddie chopsticks, which are simply chopsticks held together by a clip. Hopefully, she’ll soon learn how to use it without the clip. :) I was 8 or 9 when I learned to use the chopsticks..the real slippery ones and not the wooden kind used in restaurants. I practiced a lot on instant noodles. Hee hee.
Do you like sushi? When did you first taste sushi? And when did you learn to use the chopsticks? Just wondering.
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WW #1: Truluck’s Chocolate Sack
My other entry is here. And there’s more Wordless Wednesday here.
Desserts/Sweets/Baked Goodies, Food Adventures, Restaurants, Wordless Wednesday | Comments (14)
