Taking inspiration from pork-related street food in Germany, Hungary and Poland, the new restaurant will also focus on cold cuts and craft beer
Porkcentric, which is located several steps away from its sister restaurant Ask for Alonzo in Tai Hang, takes over the space that was once the neighbourhood's beloved gastropub Second Draft. The new Central European eatery, unsurprisingly, makes pork the star of the show with a substantial selection of cold cuts and grilled meats on the menu. There are, however, also non-pork options including poultry, seafood and vegetarian dishes alongside craft beers to wash it all down.
Honing in on one of Asia's most popular proteins, Porkcentric's founders Bart Szyniec and Giuliano Dacasto did their own homework by researching—and tasting—pork cuts from different breeds of pig before settling on five that are considered the best: American Duroc, English Hampshire, Japanese Kurobuta, Italian Cinta Senese, and Hungarian Mangalica. The pair also make the most of their European roots, whereby Dacasto's work experience at a wild pig farm in Umbria, Italy, comes in handy for pork preparation, and Szyniec's background from Western Poland and exploration of Berlin, Prague, and Vienna has given him an affinity for the pork and beer experience.
Inside, the restaurant has three main areas including the dining room, beer bar, and salumeria which is where the cured meats hang. Decked out in dove grey walls, bare brick, Italian marble tables and soft moss furnishings, Porkcentric looks modern and certainly feels European, though photos of old Tai Hang don the walls, paying tribute to the local neighbourhood.
