Pasir Putih's popularity proves a mystery

Popularity. We all crave it and if we get it we usually strain every sinew to retain it. With some people and places the key to success is easy to spot; beauty, charm, charisma and quality ooze from every pore. With others it is a different story.

Identifying this elusive X-factor at Pasir Putih, on Jl. Bangka XI in South Jakarta, is no easy task. The fish market, grill and bar are undoubtedly popular -- the 30-space car park could be filled several times over most nights -- but the big question is why.

The quality of the food is certainly not the answer. While the starters, such as spring rolls filled with crab and a mild chili sauce, fried squid with an oriental taste and steamed marinated scallops were adequate if unexciting, all that oozed from the main courses was bland mediocrity.

Pasir Putih prides itself on customers being able to choose their own fish from a selection, some dead, some alive, on show. The still-bloody gills proved the dead offerings were fresh but the sunken eyes and slightly disconcerting smell made us wonder just how recently they had been caught.

The person who tried the tuna was the only one in our party who had no complaints about the quality (we all grumbled about the quantity -- or rather lack of it). The mackerel was described as "nothing exceptional", the salmon as "remarkably average" and the prawns as "tired". The dishes cost in the region of Rp 20,000 (US$5.88 -- excluding service and tax) each.

For the sake of variety I plumped for a steak. Not the wisest decision I've made in my life, as it turned out. What arrived would not have looked out of place on an economy-class airplane tray.

The thin slab of meat was not cooked as I'd ordered, proved rather chewy and certainly left me feeling hungry. The accompanying baked potato made up for the meat by being underdone. That'll teach me to order meat in a fish restaurant.

I can't comment on the side order of french fries as, despite ordering a portion, it never appeared.

As for the dessert, well, that was just five different types of ice cream described so uninvitingly on the menu we all passed. Instead we plumped for Bercinta di udara (Love is in the air), a cocktail advertised between episodes of Mr. Bean on the numerous televisions.

The red drink, which our waiter was not aware was available, was as much of an aphrodisiac as a trip to the dentist. The gin, vodka, grenadine and cherry juice concoction was sickly sweet and tasted like cough-medicine-with-a-kick. Research pharmacists in search of a new formula should contact the restaurant.

Having decided the source of Pasir Putih's magnetism did not lie in its food and drinks, we looked elsewhere.

The answer was not to be found in the outdoor facilities either. While the half basketball court, boxing ring and swimming pool were certainly novel attractions, one would have had to have used an awful lot of imagination to see the patrons -- extremely smartly dressed and delicately made up twentysomethings interspersed with a few single, middle-aged expat men accompanied by their Indonesian appendages -- slamdunking, punching each other's lights out or cavorting in the water.

So the answer to the popularity-source question was the music. Or maybe not. When Gloria Gaynor is followed by the likes of Boyzone at a volume that precludes conversation with someone sitting less than a meter away one has to wonder who the target audience is.

Pasir Putih's live music policy has to be commended however. The bands, a different one each night, are generally highly rated unknowns who have yet to secure recording contracts. They play from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Unfortunately by the time we had finished our meal there was still half an hour to wait and there was nothing to hold us to the place so we left.

Perhaps I'll go back another night to see the band. Or perhaps not and I'll just let the source of the place's popularity remain one of life's little mysteries.

-- Epicurus