I missed having cheap meals at IKEA so when we found a chance to have a short stopover at their Rhodes branch last Saturday, we woke up early and decided to have breakfast there.
We arrived a few minutes after 9:30AM and the IKEA food hall were becoming busier as early birds like us wanted to have breakfast first before shopping.
The Husband and I each had a plate of their Swedish Meatball Breakfast (AUD$4.95) which had 2 round hash browns, bacon, meatballs, a sausage and egg. This is the perfect cheap breakfast. I think this is the cheapest breakfast one can find in Sydney Metro.
And of course, a glass of long black coffee for me. It was my first time to try their coffee and it was so-so. I found it smooth and not as strong and rich as other coffee.
I find it appalling when people leave their plates and leftovers on the table. IKEA has a designated area where you can place your trays after eating and they have big signs for people to see. People here are supposed to look after themselves--and this is not just an IKEA thing. Just a tip if you're travelling in Australia: never assume that someone will clean up after you eat. Have a look around if there are people cleaning tables and if you don't see one, that's a sign that you should clean up after eating.
Anyway, we enjoyed our IKEA brekky and yes, we were very full from all the meat we had that morning. With the little time we had (we had a lunch party to attend), we made an almost swift pass inside the store. There was no urgency to buy anything but we looked at some stuff closely such as bookshelves, bed sheets and kitchen equipments.
We're about 25 minutes away from an IKEA store so we always have this blue IKEA bag inside the car so we're always ready to shop!
My favourite space in store would have to be the kitchen area, particularly the storage solutions sections. We don't buy everything but I like looking at their products because it gives me ideas on proper storage in the home.
We bought a few items: A red container storage box for our vanity area, a small cutlery organizer (for my chopsticks and Korean cutlery), spice jars, clothes pin dryer, a small lamp (for our photography) and scented candles (which I always buy whenever I'm there).
I also bought a new cream-coloured throw. We already have one but in preparation for winter, we needed a thicker throw. We were very happy to find this dotted black and white pillow cases on sale for only AUD$2.00 each. I've been on the lookout for pillow cases that can match a set of bed sheets I found in Myer years ago (they were on sale too!). The bed sheets and quilt cover are in shades of grey and midnight blue. When we got home, I put them side by side and it matched!
The one thing that amused us was finding a glass tea kettle. We recently bought a glass kettle (will share later) and when we saw this, we just can't let it go. It matched our glass kettle and double wall glasses too.
A 30-minute brekky and an hour of shopping at IKEA surely made the start of Saturday a happy one.
IKEA Homebush Bay Drive
Entry via Rhodes Shopping Centre
1 Oulton Avenue
off Homebush Bay Drive
RHODES NSW 2138
Store:
Mon - Fri 10am - 9pm
Sat - Sun 9am - 7pm
Restaurant:
Mon - Fri 9:30am - 8:30pm
Sat - Sun 8:30am - 6:30pm
Now Open: IKEA Tempe
634-726 Princes Highway
Tempe NSW 2044
Store:
Monday to Friday:
10am - 9pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9am - 7pm
Restaurant:
Monday to Friday:
9:30am - 8:30pm
Saturday & Sunday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
