Home | Directory | Contact | FAQ | Recipes | Restaurants | Vietnamese Recipes | 100 Vietnamese Foods | Subscribe

Thursday, August 22, 2013

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 1

The first time I heard about IKEA's Swedish Crayfish Party, I was going out of town to Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado. The subsequent years, it's either been sold out or I forgot about it entirely. I was determined to go at least once!

C'mon, $9.99 (with my IKEA family member discount) for all-you-can-eat crawfish? I'm sooo there!

Now, y'all know I love my crayfish, but what exactly is a Swedish crayfish party? According to the official Sweden site, crayfish were eaten in Sweden since the 1500s by the aristocracy. In the mid-1800s, it became more widespread, but it wasn't until the 1900s that the tradition, as it is now, started. Because of concerns about overfishing, catching crayfish was limited to a few months from August onward. Therefore, a Swedish crayfish celebration heralds the end of summer. Decorations might include paper lanterns depicting the man in the moon, bibs, and paper hats.

Unlike the overly spiced Cajun version, Swedish crayfish are simply boiled with salt and crown dill. No matter, I love crawfish in any form!

I ended up inviting one of my long-time students, who was pretty excited about all-you-can-eat crayfish. You have to go with someone who loves these little mudbugs too, otherwise, you're just eating boiled seafood and Swedish cafeteria food and that's no fun.

The line when we arrived already meandered outside of the restaurant area to the kids section.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 2

The woman in line behind us snagged the very last ticket. Her husband drove down from Santa Clarita to buy the ticket for her, but couldn't get another for himself. They asked if he could sit with her and not eat (since he doesn't even like seafood), but IKEA wouldn't let him. Sold out! Only as many tickets as there are seats! No non-eating guests! This was serious stuff! So she asked if she could sit with us, and her husband left to wander around the store.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 3

Look! The man in the moon and crayfish streamers decorations just like the Swedish website said!

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 4

After dropping stuff off at our assigned table, we were ready to check out the food.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 5

The Swedish crayfish party isn't just about the crayfish. IKEA also brought out their other offerings such as cucumber salad and ham.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 6

Smoked salmon.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 7

Pickled herring.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 8

Deviled eggs with shrimp and faux caviar toppings. Remember when IKEA used to sell real caviar? Not necessarily high quality, but at least not seaweed and salmon molecular gastronomy granules.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 9

Cheese.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 10

Paj Ost (Swedish cheddar cheese and leek pie). These were pretty good. Sold at their frozen food market downstairs.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 11

Of course, no trip to IKEA is complete without their meatballs! And unlike in Europe, the American meatballs do not contain any horsemeat. Not that I'm opposed to it, since I've eaten horsemeat before.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 12

Boiled shrimp, lemons, and cocktail sauce. I was fine with eating plain boiled crawfish, but even better with lemons and cocktail sauce!

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 13

The crawfish!

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 14

Had to snag a few desserts just in case they ran out later.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 15

My tray of crayfish, cocktail sauce, meatballs, mashed potatoes, cheese leek pie, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, desserts, and lingonberry juice.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 16

Dig in!

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 17

The mashed potato-looking lump in front was Gratang Jansson (Swedish potato gratin with marinated herring). Also available in their food market. Tasted like a smoked fish gratin.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 18

My favorite was the chocolate torte.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 19

In case you don't know how to eat crayfish and needed instructions. It's easy! Pull off head. Eat claw meat only if they're big and meaty. Otherwise, crack top of tail lengthwise, then pull out tail and eat.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 20

I went back for a second full plate of crayfish.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 21

So did my student. Actually, a really big second helping!

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 22

Our mounds of crayfish shells look pretty crazy next to that tiny mound the woman behind us had. There was actually a plastic trash can at the end of each table to dump the shells, but we wanted to save ours for the aftermath picture.

IKEA (Swedish Crayfish Party) - Burbank 23

We counted as we tossed the shells away.

Exactly 100 crawfish consumed between the two of us.

Fun times!

The crayfish were imported from China, frozen, and then reheated. They were refilled several times so there was plenty, as well as the other food offerings. There was some Swedish singing and a raffle. No dancing like I saw at other IKEA parties. And we got a coupon to use in the food market.

The Swedish Crayfish Party at IKEA is usually held in mid-August and sells out every year so make sure you buy your tickets early! It's $12.99 without the family member discount, so sign up if you want to save money. And definitely go with someone who likes crayfish too.

Other places to get crayfish:
The Boiling Crab - Alhambra (Main St.)
The Boiling Crab - Alhambra (Valley Blvd.)
Rockin' Crawfish - Westminster (Little Saigon)

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today,
3 years ago today,
4 years ago today, Tres Generaciones Tequila Tasting (W Hotel) - Los Angeles (Westwood).
5 years ago today, Tallinn - Estonia: A Two-Night Cruise and One Day.
6 years ago today, my jungle red hibiscus repaired itself.

13 comments:

  1. Oh my God that was a lot of food! I didn't know about this event. I love Burbank Ikea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WC -

    I keep begging to go to the Ikea crayfish party, my husband keeps saying he doesn't see how that could be any fun.

    Thanks to your fab post, now all I have to do is show him the buffet and, the mass quantities of shells, and he'll be in for next year. Yay! Thank you!

    Maybe we can even share a table : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nadege,
    Ha! I hate Burbank IKEA! Parking is too far, especially if I buy anything substantial. And it's just such a madhouse!

    Oddlyme,
    Well, if your husband won't join you, then we should meet up next year. Especially if you love crayfish too!

    It was fun, but not as fun as I saw pictures of other IKEA crayfish parties. There dancing at other ones!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I live in Manhattan Beach and the IKEA closest to me in Carson is much smaller than the one in Burbank. I love to walk so parking is never a problem for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WC -

    I've never had it but I love shrimp and langoustine, so I'm guessing I will be a happy girl, and this is a fab way to try it.

    Showed the post to the hubster and he's still not interested. But I am. Let's get in touch next year and plan a Ikea Crayfish meet up : )

    Still impressed by the shell count, btw…

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is some serious shellfish eating! I've never heard of this IKEA event.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nadege,
    Ah. That makes sense now. I hope the new IKEA they're building in Burbank will be even better!

    Oddlyme,
    It's a date then! Although, I can't understand why he doesn't want to go after seeing these pictures! Maybe Boiling Crab is more his speed?

    BTW, went to Lunasia recently and all the innovative dim sum seems to be removed from their menu. Just the regular stuff and kinda pricey! I just tried Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village and it was so fancy, and way cheaper! My new fave dim sum.

    Nikki,
    Well, when it's all you can eat, we kinda went a little crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WC -

    Don't really get why he won't go, he's normally a VERY adventurous eater, more so than me. I think he's totally losing out, but it will be great to finally meet you and, to try crayfish!

    So sorry to hear about the changes at Lunasia but very happy to hear of your new place. We need to meet up with the friends we took to King Hua soon, so I'll try to swing the next lunch to Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village. It sounds like a must try. Thanks for that info! See you in 11 months!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wish us luck, WC. Unless it's horrifically molten, we are going to try your new dim sum place tomorrow!

      Delete
  9. Oddlyme,
    I'm a little sad you've switched to commenting on my Facebook page. Not sad that you comment, of course, but we've had the back and forth conversations on the blog for so many years!

    Anyway, I need to revisit Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village because I didn't get to try nearly as much of the menu as I'd like. Glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. WC,

    The shame is on me - I was having such fun on your Facebook page, I neglected the blog!

    This is where we first "met" so it still gets first place : )

    Did you see that Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village made Tony C's list of top 10 dim sum in Los Angeles?

    ReplyDelete
  11. KK8 provides an immersive and secure gaming environment, inviting players into a realm where entertainment knows no bounds. Explore kk8 for an exhilarating journey through a world of gaming excitement and endless possibilities.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Using reliable payment processing companies simplifies financial operations by providing tailored solutions.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I try to respond in a timely manner, but am not always able to do so. If you're awaiting a response, check the post in which the comment is made or click the "Notify me" option.

If you're not a blogger and you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so using your Google/Gmail account.

I welcome questions, discussions, and feedback, but please be mindful that this is my home online. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is anonymous or unknown, rude, promotional, or has a link.

Thank you for reading!