We're on a roll here! After Akujiki took us from 18th century Yangzhou, China via his Le Creuset pork belly in California to noodle shop in a Shanghai alley, I got into a frenzy over the mere talk of pork belly. We had lunch at Delicious 好清香, a Fukien style restaurant in Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto. It is usually my destination for Hainan chicken. But as we were finishing, I noticed the table beside us packing up one of the signature dishes of chef Patrick Chuang - braised pork trotters 红烧元蹄. It was too late to order one to take home for dinner - Patrick said it would take an hour to make another one but he offered me his own 肉夾包 (Pork belly bun) which would only take a few minutes. What a treat it was!
The melt in your mouth pork belly was topped with orange day lily and cilantro in between a mildly sweet bun. What a wonderful contrast in textures and taste! It's authentic Fukienese flavour - and you don't have to go all the way to downtown Toronto to Momofuku (or pay the much steeper price) to taste the now trendy pork belly bun.
After lunch, I found an unbelievably lean piece of pork belly at the butcher's. Guess what's for dinner tonight! I plan to try Akijiki's Le Creuset pork belly without the Le Creuset pot. Sacrilegious, I know, but worth a try...
Addendum