Dish: Four legs good

Sharing the reservations of a rabbi and the fears of a caliph, I have always been suspicious of pigs. Perhaps it was from reading Animal Farm at a tender young age, when the concepts of metaphor and political analogy were still too complex to grasp. Instead, taking Orwell’s tale literally, I nurtured a secret fear that the swine down the bottom of the yard would break out of their sty, head up to the house and start mouthing things about the ‘rights of animals’, ‘four legs good’, while taking great chunks out of my father’s legs. Later, in my (un)gentleman farmer days, I had a Jack And The Beanstalk moment and inadvisably purchased two Captain Cooker pigs from a guy I met on the side of the road. Now these denizens of the porcine world are descendant from animals that the good Captain brought to the shores of Kiwi-land in the 1700s. Not enamoured with the whole 150-day boat voyage thing and despite the good Mr Cook releasing a few of them into the wild, they’ve held a grudge ever since, randomly coming out of the bush to maul hapless grannies putting out the morning washing. Now, my Captain Cookers never seemed to calm down from the ride in the back of the Hilux, stuck in a sack, and reiterated their displeasure through an ongoing campaign of escape and leg biting. They also refused to put on any weight, which meant they were never in a condition to be turned into something more wholesome. I eventually sold the ‘Terrible Twins’ to a polite and gentile couple from Utah who seemed pleased to be purchasing a genuine heritage breed, which was kind of true. So what this back story says is that I have sound grounds for my doubt about pigs, bacon, pork and ham. Unfortunately, however, I’m also a sucker for a name, so it was impossible to pass up an eating establishment named Taiwan Overload Pig Restaurant, which I recently discovered on Street 225. Advisorites, please note: this is my second review for a restaurant along this short stretch of road; I suggest you check this colourful street out soon before it’s discovered by hipsters (RIP, St. 240½). Nominally described as ‘Taiwanese Cuisine’, the Overload Pig Restaurant leans towards one central ingredient for its inspiration. It also seldom attracts native English-speakers: the entire menu is in Cantonese. Still, the pictures kind of approximated with what eventually arrived, so it was no trial to order and the staff seemed delighted to see us. We then sat back and were entertained by an energetic four-year-old who, at one point, needed convincing to not de-robe in the main restaurant (Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, you have a lot to answer for!). As for the food, despite my pig reservations, the dishes were excellent: a highlight being the braised pork with tofu and a steamed ensemble of leafy greens. The pork ‘cake’ from the menu, meanwhile, turned out to be schnitzel, which was more than OK by me. The spring onion pancakes and fried pumpkin croquettes ran a close third on the scrumptious-o-meter, although in a serious case of over reach, we proved unable to finish them all. The only let down was the accompanying rice, which my Japanese partner was sure wouldn’t pass muster back in Tokyo; still, the complimentary soup largely compensated for this disappointment. Bill time: $15 covered the lot for three of us, which was a bargain by my humble estimations. And so, duly overloaded, we stumbled out into the street, but I think it will only be a short time before I return again. As for the whole pig thing, perhaps I might get over that after all. Taiwan Overload Pig Restaurant, Street 225 & 122.