Ikea UAE to bring back Filipino food menu this month

Chicken menudo and bistek Tagalog will be available at the store's restaurants around the UAE

The dishes will be available at Ikea restaurants around the UAE until July 24. Photo: Ikea

Filipino food fans will want to make a beeline to Ikea this month, as the Swedish furniture store is bringing back a menu of dishes from the Philippines.

From Tuesday to to July 24, dishes including chicken menudo, Filipino-style barbecue chicken and bistek Tagalog will be on the menu.

For those with a sweet tooth, the Ikea restaurant will offer buko pandan and leche flan.

Known for serving affordable food, the Ikea Filipino menu's main dishes start at Dh25 and the desserts are from Dh9.

The special menu was first launched for three days in May. The dishes will be available at Ikea restaurants around the UAE, including Dubai Festival City Mall and Jebel Ali Festival Plaza in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi's Yas Mall.

Ikea's Swedish meatballs are undoubtedly the homeware store's most famous culinary highlight. In 2020, the global chain launched a vegan version of the dish.

Ikea's plant balls are made using plant-based ingredients. Photo: Ikea

The plant balls are available in stores around the UAE and are made using yellow pea protein, oats, apples, onions and potatoes.

The plant balls follow a plant-based hot dog launched by Ikea in 2018, which has become a firm favourite with shoppers around the world.

“We sell more than one billion meatballs every year. If we were to convert about 20 per cent of our meatball sales to plant balls, that would mean around an eight per cent reduction of our climate footprint for the food business at Ikea,” said Sharla Halvorson, health and sustainability manager for Ikea's global food business.

“In the development phase of the plant ball, our key objective has been to recreate the meat-like taste and texture, only using plant-based ingredients," said Alexander Magnusson, chef and project leader at Ikea food. "We have tried and tested different ingredients and methods and we are very pleased with the final results.”

Have a look inside Ikea stores in the UAE:

Inside the Ikea store at Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

The store opened to the public in November 2020. Victor Besa / The National

The biggest Ikea store in Abu Dhabi is located on Yas Island. Ravindranath K / The National

At 35,500 square metres, the Ikea store at Festival Plaza, Jebel Ali is the biggest in the UAE. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Swedish furniture store opened in November 2019. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The Swedish chain is popular for its flat-pack and ready-to-build furniture. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Ikea sells furniture, appliances and household essentials. Chris Whiteoak / The National

There is also an Ikea store at Dubai Festival City mall. Paulo Vecina / The National