OMG! Wagyu Japanese Beef Restaurant

Another hole in the wall restaurant that specializes in Wagyu beef. 

We were here to try the famed Omi beef which is a rarity outside of Japan. 

Beef Tataki

While this was a nice dish it paled in comparison to the next two courses. The dish was light & fresh, a good way to start a meal.

Steamed Wagyu 

Thin slices of Omi beef were steamed on top of  vegetables in a dim sum basket. The result was  a very  buttery beef which was surprisingly light, the vegetables were delicately cooked and deliciously coated with the juice from the meat.  The dish came with a sesame sauce with the right amount of acidity to balance off the fattiness of the beef. This was their signature dish and was well worth it. 

Ishiyaki-Stone Grill

Omi Chateaubriand

The Omi Chateaubriand had the perfect balance between fat and meat. We did not get the "foie gras" feeling.  I suspect that this is what makes Omi unique, you get the best of Wagyu fattiness but still get to taste a great piece of beef. The dish was served with three types of salts to dip the cooked pieces of meat in.(plum, lime and salt & pepper) I chose to stick to salt & pepper because it best kept the integrity of the dish so you could still taste the beef.

The Skinny: budget a total of about 100 grams of beef per person. You can always order more. Save up because it's not cheap. 

Wagyu Japanese Beef

Sunvar Plaza, Amorsolo Street legaspi Village, Makati City Philippines

Phone: +632 808 9508

Open 10AM to 10PM

Here is a more detailed explanation of Omi:

Omi is produced in Lake Biwa in Shiga, & is being hailed for health in being lean despite its tender texture. Farmers of Omi strictly adhere to natural methods of raising their livestock & do not interfere with the development of the cows. The calves are fed by their mothers & the cows are only given home-grown rice & wheat to eat. No antibiotics or supplements are given to the cows, either. The downside of their delicate meat is that Omi actually melts in warmer temperatures & thus presents a preparation method foreign to most chefs. The beef has to be cut quickly into slender slices for serving of sashimi, shabu-shabu or sukiyaki, which is an art form in Japan & can take years to master. .

source: http://foodists.ca/2009/08/29/omi-beef.html

Sweet Ecstasy Burger : Jupiter Street, Bel Air, Makati, Philippines

The BAD- there is no Air-Conditioning, which may seem acceptable on a cool evening, but on the day that I visited, the forecast was for over 40˚C so it was sweltering HOT! 

The Good - the burgers are made to order here so be prepared to wait! Read the posters, take a selfie or have a milkshake because it will take time. 

 
The Anatomy of the SWEET ECSTASY Burger!

X-marks the spot!

I ordered a Cheeseburger with caramelised onions and about 20 minutes later this is what I got. She ain't pretty but what I got was pure ecstasy. The brioche bun was toasted perfectly, soft on the outside and crusty on the inside, with a thin layer of butter or beef lard? Then a layer of classic American cheddar slightly melted, a crisp lettuce leaf, the patty was all beef and only seasoned with salt & pepper. It has a great crust and they must keep a higher than usual fat to beef ratio because it was oh so juicy. Followed by their special ecstasy sauce. 

The Skinny: Get your ecstasy fix now! It's cheap and it's hot! Currently the best value for money burger in the metropolis. 




Missed out on the Adult Shakes will have to try this on my next trip here.

Sweet Ecstasy Restaurant- 
10 Jupiter Street, Barangay Bel Air, Makati, Philippines

Operating Hours: Monday -Sunday 11AM to 12 Midnight

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Winner, Winner Inasal for Dinner! : Aida's Chicken

Winner, winner Inasal for dinner!

Chicken Inasal hails from the western Visayas region (mid west) of the Philippines. While the region is most popular for for its beaches like Boracay, its food treasures are yet to be discovered by the rest of the world. 

Locals know that the best grilled chicken in the Philippines comes from Bacolod.  As a child, this dish was not available in Metro Manila and I used to get my fix each summer when I would fly to Bacolod to visit my grandparents. 

For a strange reason, specific dishes get imbedded into our memories. These memories are often attached with emotional connections to our childhood.  This dish takes me back to my carefree summers spent at my grandparents farm where the biggest decision for the day would be to go fishing or ride a carabao. Inasal would often be my final meal before I was loaded back onto the plane to Manila.

The dish Inasal refers to young chicken marinated in vinegar, calamansi (Philippine lime), lemongrass, and basted with annato oil and many variations thereof.

The combination of  annato oil, chef's grill skills and the mallaird reaction make a holy trinity to give you the perfect grilled chicken.

The skill of the chef is crucial to give you the right char to doneness ratio. The annato oil gives you that peppery-musk and mallaird reaction gives you the perfect crust.

The dish has gained popularity over that past decade and there have been many places popping up across Metro Manila serving their version of Inasal. To find the best one in the metropolis, my advise is to avoid the fast food franchises like bird flu is in season and head straight to Aida's. 

"Inasal"

For many years the Visayans have kept this dish secret . The dish has taken off in the past few years but sadly they have been "ersatz" versions. A bit like drinking decaf coffee -- it's "coffee" but it's not really coffee. 

Many entrepreneurs have tried to introduce this dish to the rest of the Philippines and have failed to come up with credible alternatives. Franchises have also jumped into the fray and fabricated their "fast-food" version of the dish. 

From a Filipino culinary perspective, the franchises have done much damage to the reputation of chicken inasal akin to what illegal loggers have done. Franchises are robbing our children of their culinary heritage. 

How to order Chicken like a local:

• Don't say chicken inasal just say "inasal". 
• Ask for pa-a (leg) or pe-cho (breast)

Sinamak

Sinamak is a dipping sauce for the chicken.

Every household in the Visayas region will inevitably have their own version of the Sinamak. A concoction of vinegar, garlic, chile, peppercorns and the kitchen sink! At our house, we had three versions of Sinamak- Dad's, mine and everyone else's.

How to rock a sinamak!

Crush a bird's eye chilli in the soy sauce dish, pour some Sinamak into the dish and add a touch of soy sauce et voila!

 

Wall Art at Aida's

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To get a true inasal meal you only have two options:

1. Fly to Bacolod or Iloilo for the real deal
2. In metro manila go to: Aida's at Makati Square, Don Chino Roces Avenue