Miss Potato Heart

On our trip to Europe in 2024, we were surprised to see how the humble potato, which we often boil and have with butter and rice at home (a staple in Bengali homes, my parents say), could turn into an extravagant dish, whether it be dumplings, pudding, pancakes, zeppelins or even simple fries.

Potato Dumplings in Warsaw

We were sitting in a cosy little restaurant called Zapiecek. We had just finished a free walking tour of Warsaw Old Town, and I was starving. The Zapiecek menu was filled with all these foods that I’d never seen or heard of before. But one that stood out was Golasy, potato dumplings topped with crumbled cottage cheese and pieces of bacon. The picture said it all and we had to try it! We ordered it along with our separate mains.

The Golasy came in a small metal wok that was still hot. The potatoes were small and looked like they’d been steamed and then fried. The sides of each potato were a golden brown whilst the rest seemed more of a dark yellow. There were clumps of cottage cheese spread over the potatoes along with small bits of bacon. I picked up a potato and put it straight in my mouth. The outside felt like any normal steamed potato, and I wondered why my parents had been so eager to try this. I understood why as soon as I bit into it. The potato was soft and warm yet parts of the outside had the slightest crispiness from being fried. Though it sounded simple, it tasted amazing, each bite making me love it more and more. Then I took another potato, this time scooping some cottage cheese along with it. It tasted even better with the soft and creamy cottage cheese. Indeed, it was so good that my dad turned Master Chef and began analysing the different components of the ‘dish’ and spoke like an expert about what made it taste so special. My mum and I, on the other hand, showed how much we liked it by simply having another one.

Potato Pudding in Vilnius

We were at the Etno Dvaras in Pilies Street, sitting at a corner table in a dimly lit, cave-like room with interesting and colourful paintings on its walls.

We were flipping through the menu. There were soups and salads, and dishes made with fish, chicken, pork, beef and even potatoes. My mum went straight to the potato dishes, while my dad and I continued through the menu, carefully considering all the options.

Soon I caught up to my mum in the potato section and was blown away by the choices. There were potato sausages, pancakes, zeppelins and even pudding. I was torn between potato sausages and potato pudding and ended up choosing the latter.

When the food arrived, we were amazed. My mum had ordered potato pancakes, which looked pretty good. My dad had ordered a mushroom soup that came in a bowl made of rye bread and didn’t look too bad either. And then there was the star of the show, my main, the potato pudding!

The pudding came in a brown glazed clay pot with a lid, and a metal pot with handles filled with sour cream and minced bacon. I lifted the lid and steam wafted out before revealing what hid beneath it. The top of it was dark yellow with brown spots, and the edges looked crispy. Before I even knew it, I had picked up my spoon. What was under the crispy layer? I needed to know. I took a spoonful, the crust on the outside easily breaking away to show the soft mashed potato underneath. It was piping hot! I felt my tongue burn immediately and swallowed the entire first bite before it could do any more damage. Then I waited; I’d learnt not to make the same mistake again. When I took my second bite, it had cooled down a little, and I could really taste the crusty top layer and the gooey goodness underneath. I poured some of the sour cream and minced bacon over it before taking my next bite. It tasted even better, the bacon pairing perfectly with the smooth and soft potato.

I finished both the pudding and the condiment, only giving my parents a small spoonful each to try some. 

Potato Pancakes in Vilnius

We were back at Etno Dvaras for more potato dishes, but this restaurant was in A. Vartų Street. I was back for potato pancakes! I had a couple of bites from my mum last time and I loved them so much that I was ready to have a plate of my own.

My dad first chose potato pancakes with pig's ears, but after I found a picture of it online, he rushed to the girl who took our order and changed it to the regular potato pancakes! Before long, our food arrived and my dad breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of pig's ears beside the potato pancakes.

There were three thick, golden-brown pancakes, and next to them was a small porcelain beaker filled with a deep red cowberry jam. They tasted just as good as they looked, if not even better. The outside was crispy and the inside soft and warm. They tasted even more delicious with the cowberry jam, which had a nice sweet and tangy taste. Everything went so well together that I understood why my mum was drawn to them last time.

I was surprised that none of the travel videos we'd watched before coming to Vilnius mentioned potato pancakes!

Potato Zeppelins in Vilnius

The one food that ALL travel videos did mention was Potato Zeppelins! It was definitely on our wishlist! Even though we encountered it on our first venture to Etno Dvaras, it was outshined and eventually abandoned in order for us to try the potato pancakes and potato pudding. But now we had returned to Etno Dvaras - this time certain that no other delicious foods could sway us from choosing the potato zeppelin.

There were well over ten types, each with its own fillings and sauces. My dad and I let my mum choose as she was keen on having them for her meal but promised to share some! My dad and I ordered pork ribs and potato pancakes - the latter you've already read about.

In the end, my mum ordered meat-filled potato zeppelins that were cut in half and pan-fried and served with sour cream and crackling sauce with pieces of bacon. The zeppelins were like little boats on an ocean made from porcelain with oily pieces of bacon as their passengers. They tasted fantastic! There were crispy bits of crackling and bacon, and the potato melted in your mouth with each bite you took.

We were glad we visited the potato heaven that is Vilnius and saved the best potato dish for last!

Potato Fries at Lido, Riga

Lido is a restaurant chain in Riga. I’d never heard of it, and I didn’t think it’d be that good. If anything, I may have been a little biased against the place as it was the reason for us to walk 1.3 kilometres right after heaving our bags from the bus station and only having a minuscule break at our Riga Airbnb.

By the time we reached the place though, my bias had already faded and instead been replaced with a newfound excitement to try as many foods as I could. If it’s hard to believe how my attitude changed so suddenly, it's important to know one thing! IKEA food is heaven! IKEA is, in my opinion at least, the home of all that is good! One of my friends even went so far as to name it the ideal holiday destination! Yet somehow there it was, this place in Riga, this Lido, that made IKEA seem like a milk bar next to a Micheline Star restaurant!

We joined the queue for food, grabbing our trays, placing them onto the railing, and picking up the desserts before moving on to the main courses. The place was busy, and the line was long, but not enough to make me grow impatient, and as I looked around, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu, because I’d been in this exact situation numerous times at IKEA! We kept moving along the line, picking up slabs of sweet chilli chicken and roast potatoes, beef with gravy, sultanas and some more roast potatoes. [My dad and I have an odd habit of accidentally getting the same things; this time it was roast potatoes.] My mum got chicken kebab with potato fries, but the fries were not the sort you’d expect at Macca's or KFC, or the frozen ones you'd buy from the supermarket. The fries were thinly sliced and pan-fried, shining from all the oil and with no specific shape or size - some stuck in clumps and some had no such clingy companions. I had eaten such fries countless times at home but never thought they existed beyond a Bengali household. My parents liked them a lot, and so did I!

We went to Lido four times during our four-day stay in Riga and every single time we went, there was a plate of potato fries in the middle of the table.

This was certainly our 'spuddiest' holiday ever!

PS. Even though I may have called the food at Lido better, I still love IKEA.