Suckling Pig Dinner @ Republic Norwood

Republic Norwood, Adelaide’s semi-newest pub/hotel/casual dinning restaurant, has launched their newest campaign – suckling pigs. Republic has been around for about 8 months now and has become a social hot spot among locals near the venue as well as other parts of Adelaide. When an invitation found its way to my inbox, there was definitely no reason to refuse. Many people, including myself, love suckling pigs. I have tried many venues around Adelaide but the qualities of their pigs are up and down all the time. Hence, finding a great suckling pig has been on my radar to for ages and Republic, here we come.

Based in the popular suburb of Norwood, Republic has just won the AHA award for the Best Outdoor Venue. The unique styling of the interior decor of the pub has definitely attracted many people but more diners were attracted by their meat-focused rustic cuisine. The theme of the dinners for the night was suckling pig and people from traditional media, TV, radio and social media were invited to attend. Some of my fellow bloggers such as McFuzzleButt’s Manchen and Eating Adelaide were at the dinner too.

Started with a couple of ciders from Sidewood, the group were directed to the table. Sidewood sponsored their ciders and wines for the night. I do want to mention that the cider we had were really impressive – it was neither dry or bitter at all nor very sweet. All fruit flavours were maintained in the cider with good fermentation flavours and some creaminess on the back of the tongue while some fresh fruitiness at the front part of the tongue. Low level of astringency was experienced.

 At the official start of the dinner, we were treated with Republic’s dip selections and warm marinated olives.

 

Dip Selection, $14

The dip selection consisted of 3 dips.

At the front was the smashed avocado and jalapeno – this was my most preferred dip among the three. The smashed avocado gave a great mouthfeel as well as providing heaps of flavours and some moderate level of spiciness. Great to enjoy with the crusty bread.

The middle was the roast tomato, capsicum and hazelnut – a nice dip to have after the first one as the slight sourness of the dip neutralised the previous spicy flavour a bit. It was a nice all rounder.

The back was the homemade hummus with caramelized red onion.

The other small plate I liked was the warm marinated olive. Certainly, warm and cold olives taste different. The warm olives were delicious! They were more of a soft texture with the marinated flavours being well promoted. Well done!

The main course of the night came quickly after the dips and the wine has already gone for another round. To accompany the suckling pig, Sidewood introduced their 2014 Sauvignon Blanc (first release in SA) and Shiraz, both of which were very nice on the palate. Basically, I used the Sauv. Blanc to complement the meat of the suckling pig and used the Shiraz to accompany the pork crackling.

Here you go! The lovely suckling pig 😀 The official name of the dish is “Pork fork cork”, one of Repblic’s signature dishes in the menu.

 

Pork Fork Cork, $32 per person

From Wednesday July 30, Republic will serve the famous suckling pig every Wednesday. The dish is priced at$32 for one person, $59 for two people and $99 for four people, all including sides, which will be shown later on. The suckling pigs were delivered to Republic fresh and were hung for 48 hrs before roasting on Republic’s famous charcoal grill. Actually, one can easily tastes the distinctive characteristics of charcoal roasted pork.

 

The meat part of the dish showed enough flavour-master kind of things and I admit that the restaurant has done a great job. The pork meat sublimed in the mouth and especially with the fatty bits, the meat was very easy to be digested. The pork was very tender and was flavoursome while all juices of the meat was well maintained within the meat, so that for every bite I had, the meat was doing its job to show me how pork meat can be after roasting on the charcoal spit. The pork meat exhibited some level of smokiness, pork meat fragrances and good seasoning because all I needed was a small pinch of salt to lift up the tastes.

 

The most fancy part of the dish was actually the crackling. They were so crispy and so delicious that we just could not stop eating and biting. The skin has been roasted to perfection  and no grease was detected on the tongue. What left over were all the goodies and essence from the pork with strong fragrance and beautiful texture on the palate! Amazingly well done!

Also coming with the “Pork Fork Cork” were some sides which complemented the pork very well.

We ended the night well with more wines and a cheese platter.

With the introduction of the suckling pig, the often highly priced restaurant provides an unique opportunity for diners to experience the affordable side of their hospitality every Wednesday. If you are sweet teeth, you will find some great dessert too – from Belgian dark chocolate mousse with raspberries and biscotti to a selection of sorbets served with almond tuille and fresh fruit. Well done Republic Norwood!

[Disclaimer] Adelaidefoodies were invited for dinner at Republic for a menu-launch event but all opinions are our own as always.

Republic Norwood

120 Magill Road

Norwood, SA 5067

P 08 7362 4657