Hundreds snap up ten-cent IKEA meatballs

SINGAPORE - There was no horsing around this time. IKEA meatballs, which were temporarily pulled off the shelves in Singapore in the wake of the European horsemeat scare, went back on sale today after being cleared by DNA tests. To mark this, the Swedish furniture giant decided to sell the meatballs at the special price of S$0.10 apiece for one day only. The usual price of the meatballs is S$5.50 for 10 pieces, S$8 for 15 and S$9.50 for 20. Despite the offer, there were no long lines ahead of opening time at IKEA's Tampines branch. Project engineer Damian Tan, 34, attributed the lack of a early crowd to the timing. "It's a Friday, a weekday, and its still very early in the day. I think more people will head down during lunch time," he said. He added that he intended to buy around 100 meatballs for his family and himself. The crowd showed up once the doors opened at 9.30am. By 10.30am, the 700-capacity restaurant was nearly full. However, customers did not have to wait long to get their hands on the meatballs - which are not usually served during breakfast - and most were satisfied by the food quality. Housewife Josephine Gan, who was dining with her 5-year-old daughter, said: "There was a pretty long queue when I arrived but I managed to get my food within 20 minutes. "Thankfully, the meatballs still taste as good as before," she added. NTU student Muhammad Farhan, was glad to see the back of the horsemeat scandal. "I was quite shocked when I heard that Ikea's meatballs might have contained horsemeat," said the 23-year-old, who ordered 20 meatballs for himself. "But IKEA worked quickly to solve the problem and I'm glad I can still enjoy my favourite meatballs." IKEA's Tampine branch said that it planned to sell 20,000 plates of meatballs in the morning. By 10.45am, they estimated that 14,000 to 16,000 plates had been sold.