Wagyu Studio turns one
The Clavano brothers — LA, Mico, Lui and fourth partner Carlo Alvarez took a big gamble by opening Wagyu Studio during the pandemic. It seems their gamble paid off, as their restaurant has just turned one year old! The place is doing very well and I would have expected it to do so because of the excellent food served there.
An intimate dinner marked their first year and this definitely was one of the most heavenly meals I have had in the Philippines. The 10-course dinner was perfect and simply divine.
We started with the Nori Tostada — toasted seaweed topped with wagyu tartare, uni (sea urchin), pickled wasabi, caviar, and edible gold flakes. The flavors just melded perfectly.
The chawanmushi was no ordinary Japanese egg custard as it was made with wagyu broth, flavored with truffle essence, and served with a Japanese snow crab leg.
Lumpia was also served and stuffed with slow-cooked wagyu “adobo style” and foie gras. A huge Japanese oyster was poached and topped with caviar cream, olive oil, and lemon rind.
Of course the house specialty Sando (Japanese for “sandwich”) was on the menu. The melt-in-your-mouth chateaubriand (the softest part of the tenderloin is perfectly breaded then fried, served with the Wagyu Studio sauce in a sandwich embellished with edible gold flakes.
“Josper” were wagyu steaks quickly cooked in the extremely hot Josper oven and served with Japanese yams and an aged soy sauce with sancho peppers.
A chirashi of raw wagyu, uni, ikura (salmon roe) and again their trademark edible gold flakes was prepared for us, which Wagyu Studio chef Yoji Kitayama made into sushi rolls.
These superb dishes were served with sake paired by Shunsuke Nakata.
This perfect dinner was capped off by an unusual dessert that I actually liked: milk ice cream with wagyu fat and wagyu jerky! You have to try it to understand the complex pairing that actually works!
Aside from their degustation menu, other offerings are sandwiches, gyudon (beef bowl), gyoza, and an off-menu instant cup noodles topped with wagyu trimmings!
Congratulations to LA, Mico, Lui, and Carlo for your baby’s first year! You definitely have one of the best restaurants in Manila!
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Wagyu Studio is located at The Finance Center, 9th Avenue corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Call 0917-180-0657 for reservations or inquiries.
Spotlight on Indonesian Islands
Indonesian celebrities go on a challenging adventure across three islands in Wonderful Indonesia in AXN Asia’s new travel reality original show produced in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia.
AXN Ultimate Challenge Indonesia recently premiered on the English-language general entertainment channel AXN Asia and is currently streaming worldwide on its official YouTube channel.
Hosted by Richard Kyle, the six-part multimedia series stars Indonesian actor and singer-songwriter Afgansyah Reza (aka Afgan) and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and London’s Royal College of Music graduate Isyana Sarasvati (who sang the Indonesian soundtrack of A Whole New World for the 2019 live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin).
The pair with their respective travel partners Reza Chandika (#TeamAfgan) and Rara Sekar (#TeamIsyana) will let the audience experience Indonesia’s stunning island destinations: Labuan Bajo (known for the Komodo National Park and flying fox bats), Mandalika in Lombok (known for racing circuits and water parks), and Bali (a famous and favorite traveler’s destination).
Catch this on AXN’s official YouTube channel.
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Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.
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