Toilet-themed restaurant opens in Los Angeles

Menu has foul-sounding names; decor includes urinals.

A STRANGE but popular dining trend from Taiwan has been imported to the US where Angelenos will be seated on toilets and dig into piping hot bowls of brown curry from toilet-shaped bowls.

It’s called the Magic Restroom Café and marks America’s inaugural introduction to a bizarre dining concept that started as a lark in 2004 and now boasts dozens of outlets across Taiwan: toilet-themed restaurants.

Modelled after the restaurant chain Modern Toilet, the US outlet will likewise serve dishes in varying shades of brown and varying degrees of consistency out of toilet-shaped crockery.

Menu items are given unapologetically crude and foul-sounding names like “golden poop rice” (curry), “black poop” (a chocolate sundae), “smells like poop” (braised pork over rice) and “bloody number two” (vanilla-strawberry sundae), reports local food blog EaterLA .

Nor do restaurant designers skimp out on the concept of dining in a giant bathroom. Walls are lined with bathroom tiles, urinals and showerheads.

After a soft launch earlier this week, the restaurant will host its grand opening on Oct 18.

Before you “poo poo” the idea, note that Modern Toilet in Taipei has become itself a tourist attraction for locals and visitors alike for its novelty factor. Instantly identifiable by the gigantic porcelain throne hanging on the outside wall, the flagship restaurant in Taipei boasts three stories and 260sqm. – AFP Relaxnews