I set out on a culinary journey to experiment and create the best roast pork belly right here at home, which we affectionately called Restaurant 2706.
How old were you when you started cooking? 9-10 year-old
Personal wish related to cooking:
To open my own restaurant and that my recipes will be enjoyed and passed down to my children and their children.
Alvin See , Banker by day, Chef and Sommelier by night
Ok…. now the story behind the roast pork belly dish.
Pork is my children’s favourite meat and that is clearly reflected in the number of pork-related recipes on my blog compared to other meat.
Out of all the pork recipes, they love roast pork belly the most. Although generally we could get nice crispy crackling from Chinese restaurants and roast meat stalls, the meat is usually cold and tough. My ideal roast pork has to have that layer of crispy crunchy crackling on top and the meat below has to be juicy, warm and tender. I could not find this anywhere.
As such, I set out on a culinary journey to experiment and create the best roast pork belly right here at home, which we affectionately called Restaurant 2706. After much research and a few failed (not-so-perfect) attempts, I managed to achieve what I believe is the gold standard of roast pork belly. The kids love it, my whole family loves it, my friends love it and all my guests, who had tried it, love it! For years now, it has been the most popular dish with my family and a must-have dish whenever we host a party. It has become one of my signature dishes.
To me this dish is not just about having good taste, smell or texture. I wish that the wonderful experience that my children and loves ones have had with this roast dish, and all the other recipes that I have created and documented, would be evocative enough to trigger deeper memories of feelings and emotions about me when I am not physically with them anymore.