When Chelsea Natalia Tjia first prepared her crispy pork recipe for a family Christmas gathering in 2023, opening a restaurant was never the plan. After winning over relatives, she and her husband, Jong Dicky Lesmana, began selling the dish from a small table outside their home. Word gradually spread beyond the neighbourhood, eventually leading to the opening of Porco Porco in Grand Wijaya. Today, Chelsea leads the kitchen while Dicky oversees the dining room, continuing to build the menu around one simple idea: serving pork in as many satisfying forms as possible.
The Crispy Pork Bellies offer the clearest introduction to the restaurant. Marinated for 24 hours before spending another four in the oven, the pork emerges with tender meat beneath a layer of crackling that shatters with every bite. For an alternative option, the signature Crispy Pork Rice, served over rice with a sunny-side-up egg, invites diners to alternate between sambal matah, sambal bawang, and mustard sauce. For something more aromatic, the Thai Basil Chilli Rice adds fragrant basil and gentle heat to the same satisfying foundation.
Elsewhere, familiar Indonesian comfort dishes are reimagined through pork. The Pork Taichan replaces the customary chicken with juicy grilled pork, while the Green Chilli Rib Soup offers slow-cooked ribs that fall effortlessly from the bone, accompanied by a broth carrying just enough warmth to complement rather than overpower the meat.
While pork remains the restaurant’s focus, the Nagoya-style Chicken Wings offer a worthwhile detour. Unlike the saucy wings commonly found elsewhere, they arrive with a crisp, dry exterior and a pepper-forward seasoning that lets the skin take centre stage. The lighter seasoning provides a welcome contrast to the richer pork dishes, making them an easy addition to the table, especially when shared alongside the restaurant’s signature mustard sauce.
Located within Grand Wijaya Centre, Porco Porco draws nearby office workers during lunchtime on weekdays, while weekends bring groups of friends sharing plates of crispy pork before continuing the afternoon around the surrounding cafés.
At Porco Porco, the appeal lies less in novelty than in consistency. Whether served crisp, grilled, simmered, or stir-fried, every dish returns to the same ingredient with quiet confidence, proving just how many satisfying forms pork can take. Perhaps that is why the restaurant continues to draw a loyal following. What began as a family recipe has gradually become one of the neighbourhood’s favourite reasons to gather around the table.