IKEA Taichung Store — Attraction in Taichung

the non-food section of IKEA needs no review for those who know what IKEA is. this review is focused on the food.

sampled a number of food items. beware that the food provider on the first floor is cash only.

hotdog (TWD 25): hot dog bun was not toasted and hot dog was not grilled, so what can you expect? 2.5/5

coffee: they had a hotdog plus coffee combo (TWD 35). obviously not gourmet, cold brew, drip, etc. but nonetheless quite decent especially considering price point. 3.5/5

5 piece Swedish chicken meatball (TWD 40): very chewy and springy. smaller than the non-chicken version. taste was ok. 3.5/5

fried baked chicken (TWD 45): this was pretty bad. was expecting crispy exterior and juicy interior. instead the exterior batter was not crispy and almost soggy. only plus was meat was juicy and not dry. would not recommend. 2/5

mango soft serve ice cream cone (TWD 20): double the price of the vanilla which was only TWD 10. portion size is the same. it tastes like mango but not particularly so. prefer vanilla. 3/5

vanilla soft serve ice cream cone (TWD 10): tasted different from soft serves elsewhere, such as McDonald's, KFC, I-Mei, etc. good balance of richness and creaminess. so good had another one on the way out. 4.5/5

cheese tart (TWD 65): it's a very good tart but somewhat pricey and nothing to push it to 5 stars. 4.5/5

apple crumble/cake with vanilla sauce (TWD 55): portion size was far too small for this price. tasty but again no wow factor. 3.5/5

cinnamon bun/roll (TWD 30): not sweet enough, cinnamon flavor was lacking, and was rather dry. in some parts of the world, the cinnamon buns come with cream cheese topping which would have added a lot. 2.5/5

BBQ pork ribs (TWD 320): tried this to see if we would be surprised but were sadly disappointed. came with some baked/fried mini potato balls and steamed (excessively so) broccoli. small for a half rack. surprisingly, meat was not dry (but neither was it tender and succulent) and fell somewhat off the bone. taste was nothing to write home about. will not order again. 2/5

smoked salmon platter (TWD 109): reasonable portion size. slices of smoked salmon that has one side coated with coarsely grounded pepper and dill. delicious! 5/5

spicy crayfish (TWD 329): those who ate this from our group commented the crayfish were too small, a lot of effort was needed to extract the meat, the taste was only, and there were only 12 crayfish when the menu clearly stated 13 crayfish. came with fries. 2/5

15 piece Swedish meatballs (TWD 160). came with potato mash, gravy, and lingonberry jam. being made from frozen meatballs, they tasted as they would at any other IKEA location. 3.5/5

overall, quite a few misses but also some great hits. will likely try the beef wellington and grilled salmon next...

今天提早到還沒開門先去吃東西再逛 結果我的肌肉沒熟!!! Stopped by ikea this morning was a bit early they don’t open until 10AM but their restaurant opens at 9AM so I decided to grab a bite and wait to they open.. I got the New Chicken and Pancakes (3 chicken bites & 3 pancakes) and half way thru, my Chicken was RAW!!! Cashier was polite and professional but the handling of the situation was a bit disappointing cause he offered to just refund the chicken.. my whole purchase was 1 meal 1 drink 2 orders of wings. I didn’t get to finish my meal. ate few bites on the pancake & 1 chicken. I was Basically FOOD POISIONED! God knows how many people didn’t realized… Super disappointed and now worried bout eating raw chicken.. Basically wish they would show a little more consideration and concerned bout serving...

Blatant false advertising. Ordered the mulled wine and the picture clearly shows a full to the brim cup. Reality is the picture on the right. Barely 20ml. It's an absolute joke. When I asked for them to add more so that it better represents the picture the staff member named Betty Chang ignored me and spoke in Chinese saying "the foreigner is complaining". My girlfriend (who speaks Chinese) heard them and said "If you understand him then please speak back to him in English, since you understand." They just had a sour look on their face that made me feel like I had tried talking to a wall. The staff seem to genuinely hate people.

Ikea would never get away with this back in Europe. But in Taiwan they think it's ok to cut corners, raise prices but offer...