So it starts, or rather, ends with this… After a full tour around IKEA @ Mutiara Damansara, we were led to the staff makan area where they get to rest… and eat… and play…. and even read!

The first thing that was out of ordinary is the fact that they have a washing basin at the entrance! Talk about super accessibility to being hygiene eh?

The next thing we noticed was a foosball table! How super cool is that?!

The resting area, featuring a carom board, plushy sofas (from IKEA of course :P) and waaaaaait, is that a black guitar I see? LOL!

Nearer to the makan area, we found a couple of microwaves! One says halal, the other, non-halal – super thoughtful if you ask me!

And here comes the food area… lemme tell you a secret – IKEA staff pay for the food at cost price, and you WOULDN’T believe how cheap it is over here! Ah, clear benefits working in IKEA hehe. Yummy and healthy too!

And so… we shall tuck in to our much awaited dinner! (funny how you keep looking forward to eat at IKEA, a FURNITURE shop, eh? That’s cause they don’t aim to JUST be a furniture shop

[flickr id=”6392858777″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”medium_640″ group=”ikea3″ align=”none”]Open Face Sandwich RM5.90 – Another way to enjoy Greenland’s shrimps, in a hearty sandwich with lettuce, eggs and mayonnaise.

First we had the lovely Open Prawn Sandwich. If you tried it, you’d know how succulent and springy the prawns are, embedded on fluffy mayo on top of wheat grain bread. Yums.

Don’t know if this is in the menu but it certainly is a type of Swedish delicacy!

Even their garnishing has style. Kudos to the chef!

[flickr id=”6392859221″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”medium_640″ group=”ikea3″ align=”none”]Cold Water Prawns RM8.90 – Caught from Greenland’s deep waters, served chilled with lemon & dill to enjoy the subtleties of their delicate flavour.

Ah. Shrimp Galore. Best

eaten as is *drools*

Ah. The discontinued Daim Cake at this time of writing. So sad. Yet so happy that I got to have so much to myself like a greedy pig that I am. Be envious. Hehe.

Oh, just another cute garnishing that I ate. Yes, I did. It’s tomato what!

Swedish Apple Pie and this other Swedish dessert, can’t remember what it’s called!

And of course the other mains… all for us to hantam!

[flickr id=”6392860371″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”medium_640″ group=”ikea3″ align=”none”]Swedish Meatballs RM10/10pcs – The all-time favourite Swedish dish that has captured the stomachs of many Malaysians.

Try it and you’ll find out why. That is, if you haven’t already. I know a certain company called Wago who often visits there cos the boss @ZainHD loves them!

Sooooooo with so many food there, and not many are as greedy as me, having multiple rounds (won’t tell you how many) , there were obviously plenty of leftovers. That’s where Pin2 and I hatched a devious plan, and before anybody could say or do anything, we quickly slid to a particular section (just behind the counters) and got this JUST before the store closed (made possible

cos I used my IKEA card – quick and efficient LOL)

At RM15, it was quite a steal! Don’t look down on the packaging of this thing because what I am about to show you is MAGIC! (though if you read the description, it ain’t magic

anymore lol)

Here we go fitting in the prawns, balls and sauces.

Yes I know putting both the meatballs and the Daim cake is disgusting.. but heck with it, my family’s going to love me forever!

Fast forward... this is how much food 17 freaking containers can hold. DAMN!

Tock is a happy (and greedy) man! But seriously though, food wastage is no good and I’m doing them a favour by tapaoing them back to my family! Right? Righttt??

Thanks to these beautiful ladies for giving such an awesome time at IKEA. You guys really do know how to throw a party Here’s a last look at how we packed it all in, not even letting the sauces and salad go. Hehe.

Just like McDonalds, IKEA promises that their food, wherever you have them, tastes exactly as good, thus giving you a sense of comfort. At least that’s how I felt about it, the way I experienced them in UK when I was a student, and now here in Malaysia, as a working professional. It’s amazing how they can put a smile on your face no matter what you do there.

How I wish that the two companies I’m currently growing now will adopt a similar messaging to our clients and beneficiaries. That, I think, is the secret to IKEA’s global success

The post What goes on behind IKEA’s showroom and cafe Part 3 appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.

Through platforms like IKEA, countless of people could contribute back to the society all over the world, with just a small (but significant) initiative like this. Meet the few toys who have all met their new owners – Mr Carrot, Miss Strawberry and Dr Broccoli! I like the fact that they represent good vegetables that one should eat for a healthy diet. Well thought of, guys at IKEA!

They are countless of other toys available too. While it may seem “useless”, I suspect that some of us may have taken for granted things that we’ve always had – try to remember if you’ve

ever played with some sort of toy. Chances are, you have. A lot of these kids in orphanages crave for love in this form, but never did get it.

Of course some of the toys cost a little more, and are more beautiful then others – but to maximize what Aliaa donated, we preferred to select the vegetable toys that was just about RM25 ish – which means we could buy about 9 of them = 9 happy kids! (besides, getting them vegetable & fruit characters are just too cute, and has better intentions, kan?)

So this is Mr Carrot! Say hi to Mr Carrot One of the criteria that @Missy_a_n gave me was that she wanted a toy that wasn’t too small that they could swallow it, rather, a large one where they could hug it to sleep. When I saw Mr Carrot here, I melted. You’d feel the same, kan?

And this is Miss Strawberry. How

can you not love her? The girl (or boy!) who ended up getting this will grow up rosy thanks to the sweet colour it has. I swear to you, the material is so soft and the touch is smooth to hold, so much so that I couldn’t resist hugging her myself!

Last but not least, Dr Broccoli. Don’t know why I gave him the title Dr, but he looks smart doesn’t he? Looks like the type of food that if you eat it, you will get smarter. I think it’s a great way to get these kids to eat veggies, though it does sound a little weird – to eat a replica of your toy! (Ps – I think he’s a Scottish, with that skirt he has on!)

And so we (Melvin, my very good friend) went ahead and bought all 9 of them. We had so much fun taking it to the counter getting stares from everyone else haha. Two professional-looking guys, holding nothing but toys – TOO ADORABLE!

However for some reason, this photo that we got a random friend I bumped into (I think she thinks I’ve turned cuckoo lol) looks a little sick… and I have absolutely no comments on this!

Finally it came to the point where we had to part with our beloved Mr Carrot, Miss Strawberry and Dr Broccoli. Even Melvin here looks sad. Doesn’t he suit well carrying those toys? Sigh. But hey, at least it’ll make some nine, love-needed kids happy, no? It’s all good

So here we are, this is the lady who will be sending the toy over to an orphanage – seeing as I was a little too busy running quite a number of things this year. Thank you so much for helping out Carmen, and I really hope the kids who receive this would have a big smile plastered all over their faces, if only for the short moment the toy lives with them. Every second counts, and every little thing makes a difference.

Before I went back home, I enjoyed a piece of nasi lemak and asked myself, I must have made quite an effort going this far just to make 9 little kids happy, and the money that @missy_a_n gave us should have been part of her hard-earned money, so why bother doing something like this again? Within those moments, I then realized that it is because companies like IKEA has reminded us how efforts like this can be done so easily, thanks to the kind of resources they have, added with our little kindess, and with that we can impact the world globally, as this initiative runs throughout all their stores all around the world in God know how many countries.

Yes it is the same @missy_a_n who sponsored my heels at the Global Walk-A-Mile-In-Her-Shoes Day

So we were wrong to think that we’d be the only ones involved in this effort; there’s probably countless of people who participated in this initiative, which means that the impact is probably bigger than we realized – hence it really was worth every single second, and I really hope to participate in any sort of initiatives like this next time. If you do, too, follow IKEA Malaysia on Facebook, or myself on Twitter (@spinzer) and stay tuned to our updates till the next time this happens! Thanks for reading, and thanks, @missy_a_n, for this realization

The post Meet Mr Carrot, Miss Strawberry and Dr Broccoli from IKEA! appeared first on Spinzer - Blogger, Entrepreneur, Celebrity Manager.