Buta+wagyu

Had stone-grilled sirloin and rib eye wagyu cuts, which were so tender and flavorful that they just melted in your mouth. The kimchi ramen was also worth a commendation. Classic dishes that are straight to the point, but done excellently.

Went to Buta+Wagyu for an afternnon snack and ended up having their Chasudon. The menu says - organic pork belly allegedly braised for 24 hours on Japanese rice and I'm buying it! Pork cuts were so soft and tender it falls off the chopsticks with savory charred-soy flavors! Worth the Php450!

Ribeye, Sirloin, Chateaubriand Wagyu by Buta + Wagyu: Tearjerkingly YEY.

I was in SM Aura for #ManilaArt2016 and it was lunch time. Coming from last week's difficult review of La Cabrera, I was determined to have some beef again this week just so I can give myself some peace of mind. I say it was "difficult" because even if I gave the #OjoDeBife a Yey (and a 4.5 in #zomato), I was still bothered by the fact that I had to justify a lot of things in its favor. The shorter sanitized version of the review is in my FB and IG account, but head on to my full review of La Cabrera in my Zomato account (foodiefudihanMNL) and you will see that I had so much to say about my experience being far from perfect. More on that later.

And so there I was, choosing between #OgetsuHime and #ButaWagyu. What's going for the former is the 50% discount promo for their Matsusaka Beef while the latter had a stone grill sampler set. To cover more ground in terms of beef cuts, I chose the latter.

Buta+Wagyu's Stone Grill sampler lets you try popular cuts for Wagyu namely Chateaubriand, Sirloin, Chuckroll and Ribeye. A logo that says "Wagyu: Japanese Beef" adorns most of the restaurant's merchadising materials, a badge you can only use if you sell certified Japanese beef. Not all wagyu are created equal as meat from producers undergo a rigorous and complicated rating process. What they serve in Buta+Wagyu are rated A5, the highest in the scale.

I ordered the Ohmi but I was told that they only have the Kagoshima/Saga as of the moment. Ohmi is considered as one of three supreme beefs of Japan together with Kobe and Matsusaka. Saga and Kagoshima, named after Japanese prefectures where the beef comes from, are also up there high on the rankings. For the cuts, (Un)fortunately, they've run out of chuckroll and so had to give me twice the amount of ribeye. Ribeye is supposed to be the least used part of the cow and as such, it will be incredibly tender and fatty.

Wagyu are known for their pervasive marbling--the fine layers of intramuscular fat running through their meat. Supposedly, the Japanese recommends that steaks be cooked at longer timeframes or else, "it would feel like eating a stick of butter."

And melted like butter, it did. Seriously. No really, I'm not exaggerating. It was like velvet in your mouth, soft, smooth and richly thick. I hardly chewed on anything since it just... melted. It was extraordinary. PRAMIS!

The different parts of the beef had certain characteristics. Each bite on the ribeye was just an explosion of fatty goodness, the chataeubriand was flatter and more lean, and the sirloin had a delicious sweet finish. It's easy to know which is which as the cuts come with labels when they are brought to your table. But while I was cooking it, I jumbled the labels altogether. I would have had a better chance distinguishing the sirloin and the chataeubriand in a blind taste test. And such is the case when I ordered another round of meat. My favorite was the sirloin as it was sweet on the palate. However, without the labels, I mistook it for the chataeubriand and ended up ordering the latter. Nevertheless, the beef is so good you can't go wrong with any of the choices.

Instead of just plain salt, the restaurant let's you use their inhouse blend which they simply but aptly named "Wagyu Spice". I asked the attendant what's in it but she respectfully responded that it was the owner's secret mix. Hmmm. I'm sure it's something less mysterious than that, but where's the fun if you don't have secrets, eh? (Does it have salt? Pepper? Chili, Sesame? No? Yes? Sirit.)

Don't forget to use the Ponzu sauce as well. This provides some acidity which complements wonderfully with the meat.

All in all, this is one of my best experience when it comes to beef. It was unbelievable to have a meat this tender. The flavors were strong (the meat had a woody and spicy undertone) and the texture was just silky. IT WAS A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

P.S. That brings me to that issue about ojo de bife versus wagyu. While I will be giving Buta+Wagyu a 5 star rating for their meat (while La Cabrera got a 4.5), in my heart of hearts, I think it's like comparing apples and oranges. The argentinian steak was brusque and manly, while the wagyu is luxurious and neat. Aside from them both being cattle, there is really little point in comparing them. That being said, #Melos for next week?

#foodiefudihan #foodie #food #butawagyu #bgcfoodtrip #eatingmyfeelings
#moveonpolvoron #steak #wagyusteak #wagyu #wagyubeef #carnivore

Sources:
http://www.tokyoweekender.com/2013/05/beef-myths-busted/
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/07/travel/cnngo-japan-beef-wagyu/)
http://www.wagyu-master.eu/products/ohmibeef.html

I have read a few reviews about this wagyu place in SM Aura that serves A5 wagyu beef. All reviews say that the place serve quality beef but it comes with an expensive price. I told R about it but we didn’t really bother going as even with us two, I’m sure that we have to shell out around PHP10,000 for a nice and filling meal. But then R’s dad wanted to bring one of their business suppliers there for dinner and R told me to tag along. So we got to try it for free! Yay!

Hello, Buta+Wagyu!

The wagyu restaurant is located at the Sky Park of SM Aura, beside Kettle. I didn’t notice it at first as the entrance of the place is flushed inside the walkway and is right beside the escalator going to Niu. It has another dining area right across where we dined. R, his dad and business suppliers were already there when I arrived.

Since I was the resident foodie that time, I ordered for us. We got a Stone Grill Sampler (PHP8,500 + PHP300 cooking charge) and 300g of Sirloin Hida Steamed Wagyu (PHP1640/100g + PHP300 cooking charge). I also got a glass of Apple Cucumber Shake (PHP250) while R got Cantaloupe Shake (PHP160).

While waiting for our dishes, I munched on the complimentary side dishes—anchovies and kimchi. (I hate kimchi but I was too hungry to be a picky eater. I actually finished the whole thing!)

Soon, our steamed wagyu was served.

It was so soft and perfectly cut. I enjoyed dipping it in Ponzu sauce and putting a bit of wagyu spice and garlic chips for extra flavor. It was so good that we ordered rice to go with it and we also ordered another 300g right after we finished the first serving. That was another PHP5,220 to our tummies.

The platter of raw wagyu was presented to us while enjoying the steamed wagyu. We asked the servers to prepare it medium and to just provide us with a hot stone grill for us to cook the meat a bit more if needed as some do not like seeing blood in their meat.

It took about 10 minutes after we finished our steamed wagyu when the platter came. The Ohmi platter comes with Rib Eye, Sirloin, Chateaubriand and Chuckroll cuts. All were amazingly good! ❤️

The rib eye which is from the top part of the center section of the rib had beautiful marbling. It also had the most fat.

Sirloin which is from the back part of the ribs and tenderloin also had good marbling and lovely sweet flavor.

It was my first time to hear chuck roll. Apparently, it comes from the neck, shoulder blades and upper arms. It had moderate amount of fat which gave it a great natural flavor.

My favourite was Chateaubriand which was the tenderest meat I have ever popped inside my mouth. It was the melts in your mouth type of meat. Known to be the most luxurious part of the beef carcass, it was also the priciest wagyu served that night.

We couldn’t help but order another platter! (We ordered four in total!)

I also tried the Organic Pork and Wagyu Gyoza (PHP280) which was juicy and flavorful as well. It was as good as the gyoza served at my all time favorite, Kitchitora.

R’s mom also ordered Steamed Iberian Pork Rolls (PHP420) which was an unpopular dish that night. I guess our tastebuds were spoiled by the scrumptious and succulent wagyu cuts that this dish didn’t stand a chance. 😶

Before our desserts, we toasted to a wonderful meal and opened a bottle of Dom Perignon. There was a corkage though of PHP1 per milliliter so we had to pay PHP750 total for it.

After finishing the champagne, our lime sorbet was served to cleanse the palate. Its light and tangy taste was perfect! 😋

Overall, it was a fantastic night! The bill though was a bit too steep for me to visit soon. Our total damage was almonst PHP55,000. 😱

I admitted to owner Wesley Villarica that I wasn't a big fan of wagyu, but boy did he convert me! One of the best steak lunches I have ever had. Everything we tried was well-executed- from the gyoza to the bibimbap to the chahan, which is good to mix into your leftover ramen broth as recommended by the owners. Naturally, the star was the wagyu, which was served either steamed or on a stone grill. They only serve the highest grade A5 from Japan, including the Omi brand which is what the emperial family is served. The interiors are sleek, and the whisky bar is inviting. A must-visit when you're in SM Aura!