A Unique Planet Called Potato Head

Potato Head's strive to be a planet of its own makes us reconsider our childhood dreams to be an astronaut. by Stallone Tjia / December 30, 2009

It's new, it's hip, it's the talk of the town, it's…

Potato Head?

Oh, don’t blame me, blame those 3-D cartoons. I don’t have any control over the mustached, bowler-hat-donning character that came to my mind. The name itself has minimum positive traits anyway. You don’t call your Daddy-in-law Potato head unless you’re the Don and he has a son you rescued from a fruitless acting career.

But I was intrigued by the fact that a place actually chooses that name over some cosmopolitan, Oh-I-am-so-this-decade one. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to pay a visit to Potato Head, which is located in the Pacific Place building on Jl Sudirman.

The place lived up to its name – in a sense that it is unpretentious, that is. I instantly fell in love with its crazy decor, which included many whimsical objects that seem to poke you every now and then, saying "Hey man, wanna hear my story? It was during World War II…"

I will give you a few insights on that. Potato Head’s panel lighting is made up of lamps from the streets of Paris. The particular lamp above its bar came from an airplane, and the barstools were mercilessly extracted from a tractor in Germany.

All this, and more, is combined with unique paintings by Yogyakarta artist Eko Nugroho and playful ambience from the colorful windows, as well as the place’s pop-art logo. Delightful.

So what does one eat in this planet, cadet? Here comes another surprise: Australian food.

Before you hop on a rocket away from Vegemite Galaxy, you might want to peek into the menu first because what Potato Head offers, namely 120 fine choices of breakfast items, appetizers, mains and desserts, would have you canceling your tickets.

I kickstarted my meal with the Chicken and Prawn Dumpling. Contrary to my presumptions, the appetizer did not leave me full and only served to turn my appetite one notch higher. It was the mild, well-measured usage of spices that seeped well into the filling, I suspect.

The Five Spiced Crispy Roast Duck, one of the ‘over rice items’ I chose as my main dish, was an adventure of textures and mouthwatering scents, with green asparagus and delicate basmati rice pilaf, topped with aromatic roast duck juice.

For dessert, I surrendered to the Caramalized Rum Banana Tarte Tartin- I had the chance to make an excuse for allowing myself its warm, sinful richness: at least it contains a fruit. Tiramisu lovers could delight in Potato Head’s espresso, kahlua and dark chocolate version.

Of course, the place is also known for its unique, slightly quirky, cocktails, and I wasn’t going to pass on that. I flirted with the Pistaschio Rockmelon Martini, which came with the bonus of a scoop of ice cream, for a while, and then moved on to the PH Mule- a concoction of ginger and lime with made me all warm and nostalgic.

If those did not seem one-of-a-kind enough for you, Potato Head also offers items such as the-brace yourself-Coffee Martini, and Frozen Martini made the way it is by using liquid nitro- Now that’s a lab experiment high school students would want to stay after class for.

All right, this place’s décor, food and drinks might have successfully caused it to meet the ‘create-your-own-planet’ standard, I thought as I munched on my dessert contentedly. Now, if those scientists could only consider Potato Head to be an option during inter-planet migration… (SG/ST)

Potato Head
Pacific Place Mall G 51A SCBD
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53 Jakarta Selatan 12190
Indonesia.
Tel: (62-21) 5797 3322
Cuisine: European, Wine Bar

To know more about the restaurant, click here