Inspiring Conversations with Eric Ong of Humble Potato

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Ong.

Hi Eric, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey to get here has never been a straight line. It has been shaped by constant movement, hard choices, long nights, and more than a few moments where walking away would have been easier. Every challenge, immigration, career shifts, risk, and reinvention, has quietly informed how I operate and lead, how I visually conceptualize creating neighborhood eatery where people feel at home.

I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. My mother is Taiwanese, my father Chinese-Indonesian, and from a young age I learned to navigate the world in three languages (Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese Mandarin and English). My parents were college sweethearts who met at Keio University in Tokyo, and their journey set the tone for our family life, one rooted in curiosity, travel, and deep respect for tradition.

Growing up, I lived and traveled across Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and many other Asian countries, absorbing the rhythms of everyday life and the kind of homestyle cooking that stays with you forever. These were not restaurant meals, but food made with care, dishes that brought comfort, memory, and identity. Those flavors became my emotional anchor, long before I ever thought about becoming a restaurateur.

I came to the United States as an international student and graduated from Cal State Northridge in 2002. Like many immigrants, I took the practical path first. I built a career in corporate America as a tech engineer, working long hours, pushing myself forward, and eventually rising to Senior Manager of Engineering. On paper, I had made it, but something was missing. I wanted to build something that felt personal, something rooted in meaning rather than metrics.

In 2012, I took a leap of faith and opened Humble Potato in Westchester, a down-home eatery inspired by American comfort food layered with Japanese warmth. The success of that first location led to a second in Culver City, but more importantly, it affirmed that food could serve as a bridge, between cultures, memories, and communities.

That understanding pulled me back to my roots. In Palms, I opened Mee & Greet, a Pan-Asian concept inspired by my Southeast Asian upbringing, the street foods, family meals, and bold, unapologetic flavors that raised me. I later launched a Taiwanese concept, The Most Valuable Playa, continuing to explore identity through food.

Today, I’m preparing for the next chapter of Mee & Greet as we take over the legendary Overland Cafe location in Palms. It will be a completely new build with an outdoor patio, both a reinvention and a homecoming. Every restaurant I open carries the weight of where I’ve been and the resilience it took to get here, and this next space stands as a reflection of perseverance, gratitude, and the belief that the hardest roads often lead to the most meaningful journey.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Like many small business owners, I’ve navigated immigration challenges, career pivots, financial risk, and the steep learning curve of moving from corporate structure into entrepreneurship. Building restaurants meant long hours, personal sacrifices, and moments of real uncertainty—especially during economic downturns and industry-wide disruptions that tested both resilience and resolve. There were times when margins were tight, decisions carried real consequences for my team and family, and quitting would have been the easier option. But each challenge sharpened my perspective, strengthened my leadership, and reaffirmed why I chose this path: to build something meaningful, community-driven, and rooted in authenticity rather than comfort.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My businesses are rooted in storytelling through food and hospitality. I create neighborhood restaurant concepts that blend cultural heritage with approachability, spaces where comfort, memory, and community come together. Across my brands, including Humble Potato, Mee & Greet, I emphasize on bringing nostalgic home flavors into dishes that feel familiar yet distinctive, whether it’s American comfort food with Japanese influence or Southeast Asian and Taiwanese classics reimagined for a modern audience. What sets us apart is authenticity: these are not trend-driven concepts, but personal narratives shaped by my upbringing across Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore, paired with disciplined operations built from my corporate engineering background. Brand-wise, I’m most proud of creating restaurants that resonate emotionally—places people return to because the food feels honest and the experience feels human. What I want readers to know is that every dish, space, and decision is intentional, grounded in respect for tradition, consistency in execution, and a genuine desire to create welcoming environments where people can slow down, connect, and feel at home.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ve learned that mentorship doesn’t always come from formal programs or scheduled coffee meetings—especially when time is limited. For me, the greatest teachers have been real-life experiences, failures, and hard-earned mistakes. Running businesses, making decisions under pressure, getting things wrong, and having to course-correct quickly taught me far more than any single mentor ever could. That said, the most meaningful guidance I’ve received came organically—through working alongside people I respected, asking direct questions in the moment, and being open about what I didn’t know. Networking, in the traditional sense, was rarely about events or exchanging cards; it happened naturally through showing up consistently, doing good work, and building trust over time. My advice is to stay curious, stay humble, and pay attention—because often your toughest challenges will end up becoming your most honest and impactful mentors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://humblepotato.com and meeandgreet.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/humblepotato and instagram.com/meeandgreet