A Wonderful, Magical Animal

I don't each much pork. Two reasons... firstly, I've never learnt how to cook it in any tasty dishes (I focused on chicken, beef and lamb in my early days away from home). Secondly, since J-Star doesn't eat it, it's a bit difficult to cook in our current household. Doesn't matter, because I don't really miss it. Well, not much until recently.

In the last 2 months, I have tasted 3 of the greatest pork dishes that I have ever had. Each time, I felt like my heart was going to give out on me, and I could almost feel my belt stretching as I consumed each tasty morsel.

Round 1:
Confit of Western Plains Pork Belly with Pea Custard and Apple Balsamic Dressing @ Becco

Becco is one of my all-time favourite restaurants, so maybe I'm biased, but this dish was divine. The small-ish confit of pork belly was rich, yet beautifully delicate. The apple balsamic cut through the richness perfectly. If Becco didn't do so many other delicious entrees to entice me, I could eat this dish every time I went there.

Round 2:
Pork Hock @ Lamaro's

Tempted by the memory of the pork belly at Becco, I chose the pork hock as main course for lunch. The pork literally fell to pieces as I cut, sliced and stabbed with knife and fork. Tender, succulent, rich and fatty. Mmmmmmm.

Round 3
Crispy Pork Belly @ North Fitzroy Star

Inspired by my last two pork choices, I went the crispy pork belly for entree. Oh my god. An entree size, with 4 main course sized chunks of pork belly. Crispy, crunchy and very Sunday-afternoon-extravagant.

No real point to this entry, apart from the memory of taste sensations. Not sure if I'll try pork again in the near future though... I don't think any other dish I could try would do justice to these three culinary wonders. Even the essential ham on a capricciosa pizza just won't be the same...