M Café’s carnivore night

When the invitation came for dinner at M Cafe, hosted by Alternatives Food Corporation, distributors of Snake River Farms American Wagyu beef, I blacked out, conjuring up visions of beef heaven. I’ve always had a high regard for the brain trust of M Cafe, Andre Wisniewski and chef Sau del Rosario, and was excited to sample the dishes they’d concoct, all centered on this venerable type of beef. Wagyu is the legendary breed of cattle, and Kobe is the region in Japan where they were refined, to give us the world-famous beef known for its intense flavor and out-of-this-world tenderness. Snake River Farms, Idaho is the most renowned American producer of Kobe beef, crossing premier Japanese Wagyu cattle with premium American Black Angus to create their American Kobe beef.

I had had my first sampling of SRF’s American Wagyu at Tsukiji, with my eldest son, Quintin, who preferred it over the Japanese Ohmi. A veritable high-end quality beef roadshow, M Café, located at the Ayala Museum complex, was the culminating stop, after Alternatives held similar showcase dinners at Mezzaluna at Serendra, and Florabel at The Podium. Wagyu or Kobe is all about marbling scores – and it’s important to note that we are talking about the flecks of fat through the muscle and not the layer of fat that is wrapped around the outside of the meat. Standard American scales range from select to choice to prime, while Wagyu is graded on a numerical scale of one to 12.

For the evening’s repast, Sau started with a trio of appetizers. There was SRF beef belly bulgogi rolls with kimchi and daikon cress, SRF sirloin satay rice with cucumber and peanut sauce, and SRF tender beef sashimi with Tagaytay root vegetables and potato floss. Personally, I found the satay the strongest of the trio; a tastier version would be hard to find. You put the high-quality meat into a very Asian context, and it works just fine.

Next on the menu was a very intriguing duo of SRF seared sirloin with spicy salad, coupled with a herb and nuoc-lime infused noodle soup. Once again, you had the beef servicing the very Asian-type dishes. Following this, Sau brought out a coconut-passion fruit sherbet to act as an interlude before the main degustation courses.

First up was the SRF poached tenderloin with cabbage beans and banana. This dish was excellent, and the meat was truly soft enough to slice with a butter knife. At this point, I waved the white flag as this was just too much of a good thing for me. I barely noticed the last main course, which was the SRF braised belly, served with a five-spice sauce and sweet potato. And even the calamansi panna cotta was something I had to forego. It was a cup of jasmine tea for me, and a very grateful thanks to my hosts: Kawshik Sehwani of Alternatives Food, and Andre and Sau of M Cafe. All I was wishing for was my bed and my pillow, and praying I wouldn’t be spoiled, beef-wise, for life. One can call Alternatives Food Corp. at 631-7228 to inquire about the different cuts available for retail.

The Premium Wine Exchange readily partnered with Alternatives and M Cafe on the menu, and from what I heard – I’m allergic to alcohol – the wine selection was truly outstanding. This outfit formed by Jeri Jalandoni, Fred Uytengsu, Eric Recto, and Jojo Madrid originally focused on quality California wines, but they have since expanded to Bordeaux and Australian wines. By all accounts, the bottles selected were a fine complement to the meal Sau laid out for us. M Cafe continues to be adventurous without losing sight of the need to have a solid foundation behind such adventures.