#Club100 | #BurnSteem25 | The Diary Game Season 3 (08-14-2022) | Dinner at IKEA Swedish Restaurant with My Friends and Boyfriend

Last Sunday, Antoni and I went to SM Mall of Asia to meet our classmate in college, who is also my fellow co-dancer in the dance group. He was in Manila since the group joined Dance Supremacy held at Tanghalang Pasigueño in Pasig City last Saturday. I wasn't able to watch them perform because I was not feeling well at that time. Nonetheless, regardless of being able to watch the competition or not, they all have my full support. Always.

I woke up at noon and immediately called him. He didn't answer. I checked the Instagram stories of the other members and saw that they had an after-party at one of the finest bars in BGC. I concluded that he was still sleeping, so I messaged him to call me if he woke up.

Since it was already almost 2:00 PM, I cooked a pancake for my late lunch. I've been cooking pancakes lately because Anthony's Aunt gave me a few boxes of cream cheese and strawberry jam. While I was happily eating my lunch and watching Netflix, my friend called me. He just woke up and asked me if it is okay to bring along another friend - it was Levin @levinvillas. I responded yes and told him I will prepare already and be in SM MoA at approximately 4:30 PM.

I hurriedly prepared and told Antoni that we will meet Uriel together with Levin in SM MoA. It was already 2:30 PM when I finished preparing myself and around 2:45 PM when we rode a bus going to SM.

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I always sleep when traveling. We were still in Bacoor City when Antoni woke me up and said it was too hot. That was when I noticed I was sweating even though the bus was airconditioned. I placed my hand near the aircon, and it was in fan mode. Then, the other passengers started complaining. A lot of us wanted to stop in the city and ride another bus, but the driver and the conductor didn't let us. Instead, they just opened the door and drove fast. But even with the open door, it was still hot - the babies were crying already. I was afraid that Antoni might hyperventilate and collapse. Then a teenager started crying. From the back, her mom shouted already to stop the bus immediately. I am guessing the girl is asthmatic because she was gasping for air. I am thankful that I was able to control my breathing amid the hot and less oxygen space.

Antoni no longer waited for another 20-minute worth of travel time to arrive in Pasay, near SM MoA. So we stepped out of the bus the moment the bus stopped. I expected a 2-hour travel time because of possible heavy traffic. But because of the incident, the travel time was extended to 3 hours. Antoni and I had to walk for several minutes to arrive at the PITX. Before we headed and lined up for the beep going to SM MoA, we bought a shirt first since Antoni's shirt was semi-wet already caused by sweating.

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It was already 5:00 PM when we arrived. The mall was big, so it was another set of walking sessions for us to find Uriel and Levin. We met them in Fila Store, near the Sports Central. They had already bought something, so we decided to have dinner right away. Antoni and I decided to eat in the IKEA Swedish restaurant since they hadn't been there. The queuing time lasted for 20 minutes. When it was our turn, we immediately looked for a table for five. Uriel, Levin, and Antoni went with me to order our food while Earl waited at the table. We grabbed two push carts and took six trays. They were planning to have a Samgyup with the other members, so we just ordered a few.

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The drinks and coffee are bottomless. We took five goblets and one cup ( for the coffee). Drinks are worth 50 PHP (approx. 3.3 STEEM), and the coffee is 40 PHP (approx. 3 STEEM). Some of the food is self-service, and one of them is the cake. I took two almond cakes worth 90 PHP each (approximately 6 STEEM). At the center, the staff asked for our order, and they hurriedly prepared it. I ordered 20 pieces of Swedish meatballs for 310 PHP (approx. 21 STEEM), spaghetti with meatballs for 140 PHP (approx. 10 STEEM), and baked salmon for 375 PHP (approx. 25 STEEM). Uriel suggested ordering two baked salmon, but I insisted on only one since it's expensive. Then I grabbed three cups of rice while Uriel took two bowls of mushroom soup. I forgot to tell him that I don't like their soup. He also ordered two pieces of chicken (40 PHP each, approx. 3 STEEM), vegetable spring rolls (40 PHP good for two, approx. 3 STEEM), and two pieces of pork barbeque (55 PHP each, approx. 4 STEEM).

Unfortunately, the garlic bread and the buttered croissant were out of stock. I was not in the mood to eat cinnamon bread. I headed to the cashier to pay for our orders and had paid a total of 1,705 PHP or 112 STEEM.

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After we placed the food at the table, Levin, Earl, and I headed to the drinks section. While Earl was busy preparing his coffee, Levin and I filled the goblets with drinks. There were eight different drinks to choose from, and you can choose any drink - it's bottomless! My favorite is the sparkling lemon. It is also Anthony's favorite. Since Uriel and Levin didn't order a bowl of rice, so it was just me, Anthony, and Earl who ate the meatballs with rice. Uriel and Earl loved the mushroom soup, while the three of us didn't like it. But the common denominator was we all loved the meatballs and the almond cake and didn't like the spaghetti. Well, maybe because we are used to sweet-style (Filipino-style) spaghetti.

_{From left to right: Levin, Earl, Uriel, and Anthony}

We spent more than an hour eating while talking. Then we decided to go out already since the others were waiting for them. They invited us but declined the offer. I wanted them to explore the showroom, but unfortunately, we were running out of time. IKEA Manila is the largest IKEA in the world. The restaurant is on the 4th floor, and the exit is on the third floor, after the cashier. We had to walk the whole area before we reached the first exit.

After that, we bid goodbyes and separated our ways. They headed to the nearest Samgyupsalamat, while Antoni and I went to the department store. Then, we had a free ride from SM MoA going to PITX. Since it is a free-ride bus, the queue was very long. Thankfully, we were able to ride one before the rain poured heavily.

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