Dine On Authentic Saga Wagyu At This Chic Restaurant

There's nothing ordinary about this rich, buttery Saga-gyu beef that will truly melt in your mouth!

Jovi Figueroa

<p>You&#x27;ve known about wagyu beef and it&#x27;s superlative qualities. In fact, you probably love it. But we&#x27;re willing to bet that what you&#x27;ve tasted is the legendary Kobe and Matsusaka Wagyu beef.  But there&#x27;s another delicious gem we&#x27;ve all been sleeping on: Saga Wagyu. This is wagyu beef from cattle raised in the Saga prefecture, and it&#x27;s just as juicy, just as fatty, and just as silky and flavorfully good as the rest.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/9342f733-2792-419f-9f92-95c50e834e1a_20220719_1252022.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><p>When talking about food in Japan, my mind always goes to world-famous Kobe beef, the Ishikari Hot Pot, and the culinary hotspots in Tokyo and Kyoto. When I hear “Saga,” all that registers in my mind is that <em>Between Maybes</em> movie shot in Saga that starred Gerald Anderson and Julia Barretto, which eventually led to the fallout between Gerald and his then girlfriend, Bea Alonzo.</p><div><br/></div><p>But showbiz chika aside, Saga is actually a quiet and beautiful rural prefecture in Japan  known for its porcelain and some of the most precious beef on the planet: the Saga Wagyu.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/6a05f0c8-a296-49ad-ba04-a1fa3b027b5e_20220719_122321.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><div><strong>Saga Wagyu: A short history</strong></div><p>Wagyu beef dates back to post-World War II Japan, when the Japanese tried to revive its Japanese Black cattle breed. Saga beef, however, is fairly young. A product of modern history, science, nature, and culinary art, Saga beef was born in 1983 after a local cattle-rearing group conducted a research program that led to the creation of a special breed of Japanese Black.</p><div><br/></div><p>Dr. Toshimune Tateno, now called the Father of Saga-Gyu (Saga Beef), is the man who developed the DNA of the cattle now being used to produce the Saga wagyu. Although the breed is slightly different from the other Wagyu, the cows are still raised and fed in the same way as the more popular cattle from Kobe and Mie, and are held to the same standards. All meat must pass a meticulous Beef Marbling Standard test, and must score 7 out of 12 for it to be called Saga beef. Currently, all Saga Wagyu are rated A4 and A5—a testament to its fine quality and taste.</p><div><br/></div><p>Despite the worldwide craze over the unique marbling and buttery smooth quality of Wagyu, surprisingly, it was only recently that Wagyu importation became legal in the Philippines. In 2014, the Philippine government finally legalized the importation of wagyu, paving the way for Japanese Wagyu such as Saga to finally enter the country.</p><div><br/></div><p>In February 2015, Mayon Consolidated, Inc. was one of the first distributors to bring Saga Wagyu officially to the Philippines. Shortly after that, they began supplying Saga beef to hotels such as Diamond Hotel Philippines, introducing Saga’s secret gem to the hungry Filipino market.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWVYKVvoJf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWVYKVvoJf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div> <div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 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511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top:8px"> <div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"> <div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWVYKVvoJf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Diamond Hotel Philippines (@diamondhotelph)</a></div></div></blockquote> </div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>Where to find Saga Wagyu in Manila?</p><p><strong>Diamond Hotel’s Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant </strong>received its official Saga-gyu (Saga Japanese Wagyu) plaque from JA-Saga, an agricultural cooperative in Saga, Japan that awards and lists the official restaurants that pass their screening for how to handle and serve Saga wagyu. Ricardo Hao and Varsita Hao from Mayon Consolidated and Yurakuen’s Head Chef Louie Rocela flew to Saga to experience first hand how Saga beef is made.</p><div><br/></div><p>Present during the awarding of the plaque were representatives from the Japanese cooperative that made Saga wagyu possible, and executives from Filipino importer Mayon Consolidated, who has been instrumental in bringing Saga wagyu to the country.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/2176b8d9-7fd6-491f-ab94-7f707f37b280_wagyu in bamboo box.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/4eec7a62-42b9-47e1-995f-d23786d600fc_wagyu teppan 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/></span></span></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/restaurants/tom-hines-premieres-culinary-theatrics-at-kobe-jon/32501" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tom Hines Premieres Culinary Theatrics At Kobe Jones </a></div><div><font face="Georgia-Italic"><em>Saga Wagyu is recognized as one of the best Wagyu in the world. Sample it&#x27;s superb quality at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant, G/F <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diamondhotelph/" target="_blank">Diamond Hotel</a>, open daily 11 AM to 10 PM. Reserve at (02) 8528-3000.</em></font></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

There's nothing ordinary about this rich, buttery Saga-gyu beef that will truly melt in your mouth! 

Dine On Authentic Saga Wagyu At This Chic Restaurant | ABS-CBN

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Dine On Authentic Saga Wagyu At This Chic Restaurant

Dine On Authentic Saga Wagyu At This Chic Restaurant

Jovi Figueroa

Published Aug 07, 2022 03:53 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 07, 2022 03:57 PM PHT

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