Nothing could likely be more desirable to carnivores, especially the more discerning ones who are particularly selective about the kind of meat they consume, than wagyu — that is, meat from Japanese Black cows prized for exceptional marbling, texture and taste.

To meat connoisseurs, wagyu —whether Kobe from Tajima beef, a subspecies of Japanese Black cattle bred in Hyogo prefecture; Ohmi from an older Japanese Black cattle strain cultivated in Shriga prefecture; Matsusaka from highly pampered beer-fed Tajima cattle raised in a remote location, Fukano Valley in Mie prefecture, west-central Honshu, some 80 kilometers from Nagoya; Central Japan-raised Hida; or Saga, raised in Saga prefecture in the north-western part of Kyushu Island in Southern Japan — epitomizes culinary meat perfection.

The good thing is, discerning meat lovers do not have to fly all the way to Japan to indulge in wagyu meat heaven because there are several dining establishments that offer it on their menu, including Melo’s, the famed chain of restaurants founded by Carmelo L. Santiago, which has become a byword for steaks in a classic fine dining setting.

Synonymous with CAB

Santiago opened the first branch of Melo’s, his eponymous restaurant synonymous with Certified Angus Beef (CAB) steak in the Philippines in 1988.

In 2015, he opened House of Wagyu, with melt-in-your-mouth Saga beef on the menu. That same prized, ultra-decadent meat is on his daughter Carmina “Cricket” S. Mesias’ Melo’s Steakhouse BGC restaurant’s menu, which features wagyu, both Australian and Japanese (Saga), alongside US Certified Angus Beef, which started the business her father started well over three decades ago.

Santiago’s gone (he passed away in 2021), but his legacy lives on in his daughters’ restaurants, which continue to bear his name, and where their “Papa Melo’s” passion for dining well, particularly on quality steaks, and impeccable service provide patrons, are maintained.

Cricket (Carmina) and Caron (Carolina) S. Macasaet, two of Santiago’s four daughters, say they all grew up exposed to their dad’s restaurant business, which he actually started in the US in the early 1980s. “He opened Melo’s with a partner in the US, but it wasn’t a steakhouse,” Cricket said. “It was an American-Spanish restaurant.”

Their father’s venture in the US didn’t last long, but while Santiago was there, he noticed a restaurant that consistently drew a long line of customers waiting to get in for steak. That gave him an idea for what he’d like to do next.

He quit his business in the US and flew back to Manila to open a restaurant, still named Melo’s, along Pasay Road in Makati. He found a supplier for CAB, and the rest is history.

Melo’s in a Philippine setting

Melo’s, this time in a Philippine setting, boomed. Santiago’s daughters, done with their studies in America, came home, got involved in the business and eventually took over Melo’s, running a branch each in a designated location: Cricket in BGC; Caron in Westgate; Camille in Quezon City; and Cristina, Carmelo’s Wagyu Steaks at Proscenium, Rockwell, Makati.

Cricket says they were very much exposed to their dad’s business growing up. “He was so hands-on; he loved being in the kitchen and he would ask me, actually all of us, come here, help me in the kitchen,” she said.

“We miss being little girls, just following him around,” Caron said. “And he loved to eat; we would be eating lunch and he’d already be asking us, what should we have for dinner? And it should always be different; the food he wanted for dinner must be different from what we ate at lunch.”

The Santiago girls recall how they were lassoed in, into the business. “We never experienced eating out or having a date on Valentine’s Day and other days marked special by people, like Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, even Christmas,” Cricket said. “We were always working in the restaurants on those days. We go out to celebrate only after those special occasions; so, for instance, our Valentine’s Day would be celebrated on the 15th, or 16th of February.”

Other than offering only the very best top-quality meats, whether US, Australian, or Japanese — to their father, the key factors behind Melo’s success comprised of being hands-on, knowing and befriending patrons, and maintaining the best-selling items on the menu. Always.

“He would forever be reminding us that it’s okay to be creative and add something in the menu, like side dishes, Chef’s specials, and the like, as long as the originals are kept,” says Caron.

Keep the classics

“In other words, keep the classics,” stressed Cricket, “because those are what customers keep coming back for, those are what made Melo’s famous.”

Indeed, in this town where dining establishments are sprouting all over the place all the time, offering a fusion of dishes that are deconstructed this way and that — all fun and good to sample, on occasion, yes — but sometimes, one feels the need to sooth and restore a palate confused by so much food distortion. And the best — and only way to do that is by returning to the familiar classics, food we’re familiar with, done well, in a genuinely pleasurable straightforward manner.

To illustrate, a recent visit by myself and a small group of friends — all amply exposed to all sorts of food here and overseas — to Melo’s Steakhouse in BGC, had us sitting to two kinds of steak on the table: a CAB ribeye prime and a beautiful 10-oz. slab of Grade 7/8 Australian wagyu ribeye, both done medium.

Preceding the fine meats were plump baked Oysters Rockefeller and decadent foie gras sautéed in EVO, ever so slightly seasoned in sea salt and black pepper and, to balance the richness of the duck liver, an accompaniment of mixed berries and caramelized apples drizzled with a cranberry wine sauce. French onion soup after the appetizers and just before we devoured the steaks, and a few sweets from the dessert menu completed the repast.

Make no mistake, Melo’s Steakhouse BGC’s menu — from starters, soups, salads, steaks (Certified Angus and Australian and Japanese wagyu), seafood, Chef’s specials, to a fine selection of libation, wines and cocktails included, and desserts — is extensive, but what we chose to have when we visited last week was just right to suit the collective mood for a repast that would serve as salve to nostalgia, bringing back familiar — and delicious — tastes and flavors of food that will always remain the good old classics.