Inspirational, authentic and exceedingly delicious, Kaum dishes up a trip around Indonesia to your table.
—
Located in the heart of Seminyak, Bali’s hippest resort town, Potato Head Beach Club is one of the island’s most iconic venues, synonymous with innovative cocktails, cool music and laidback vibes. What visitors might be less familiar with is Potato Head’s excellent and authentic Indonesian cuisine in its concept-driven Indonesian restaurant, Kaum.
The word Kaum means tribe or clan and the name hints at both the conceptual design and the excellent food served. Prior to opening, the Kaum culinary collective, including PTT Family CEO Ronald Akili, Kaum Brand Director Lisa Virgiano and Executive Chef Antoine Audran, travelled almost the entire length of the vast archipelago to discover the ingredients, flavours, textures and often unique traditional cooking methods they could replicate and present in the restaurant. The team established direct sustainable sourcing arrangements that not only contribute to the food’s authenticity, but often help impoverished local communities to develop.
Open for lunch and dinner and overlooking the pool and beach, Kaum’s design is contemporary, with wall panels using Torajan wood carving motifs, while bespoke ceramic tableware by Gaya complements the traditional serving bowls perfectly. As well as comfortable indoor and outdoor seating, there’s a long communal table running down the centre to encourage guests to eat in the traditional family-style of Indonesia’s tribes.
Some of the signature dishes created by Chef Antoine and his team might be familiar, like the nasi goreng and rawon, but they often utilise overlooked ingredients, such as moringa leaves, considered by many Indonesians as a weed, but recently hailed as a super food. The resulting Indonesian menu includes a superb range of sambal (chilli condiments) so guests can tailor the spiciness and flavours to suit.
Like most tribal food, it’s made for communal eating, so we highly recommend ordering a mixed bag of dishes so you can graze.
The Small Plates section has dishes such as Gulai Udang Aceh – prawn slowly cooked in a spicy Acehnese curry sauce, Urutan Babi Sambal Bawang – traditional Balinese pork sausage served with a spicy shallot and chilli relish, and the highly recommended Kalio Daging Sapi – tender beef braised in the West Sumatran style.
Larger servings are found in the Sharing section, with Balinese specialities including the famous Ayam Betutu Klungkung – juicy and aromatic roasted free range baby chicken stuffed with mixed Balinese spices and wrapped in banana leaf, as well as the succulent Sate Babi Kecap – pork belly satay. From Manado, chef offers Ikan Barramundi Bakar with Dabu-Dabu – grilled fillet of barramundi marinated with tamarind and turmeric paste, served with Manado’s famous spicy fruit and vegetable salsa.
Our must-try vegetable dish is the Bobor Daun Kelor – moringa leaves and snake gourd cooked in fresh coconut milk and served in a young coconut; thick and creamy, it’s perfect with a portion of Jatiluwih rice.
No matter what you order, backed by Kaum’s knowledge, the cuisine won’t disappoint. With welcoming staff, a fabulous cocktail list and views over Seminyak Beach, what’s not to like?
www.kaum.com
—
Kaum Does Cocktails
Creative cocktails have long been the trademark at PTT Family venues, and Kaum is no exception. Here’s a few from the serious selection of classic and Indonesian-inspired cocktails that might just tickle your taste buds. Indo-75, a blend of lemongrass-infused gin, lemon juice, mint syrup and sparkling wine. Presented in a champagne flute, it’s cool and refreshing, a little tangy yet sweet, making it a very good choice with some of the more spicy dishes. Tiki-inspired cocktails are really making a comeback. Taking the concept and adding a Bali theme, Kaum offers the Barong Zombie. The concoction sees rum, pineapple arak, orange curaçao, cherry liqueur and absinthe blended with pineapple juice and passion fruit syrup served in a bamboo Barong highball – outstanding, but very potent. Fancy a Potato Head classic? Why not go for the Rosella Margarita with rosella-infused Cimarron tequila shaken with orange curacao, vanilla and lime. There’s also a selection of sharing cocktails – perfect for groups.
