Monday, 6 July 2026
Nasdaq -0.80%
Subscribe NowSupport Us

Daily TribuneDaily Tribune

Daily TribuneDaily Tribune
Subscribe
Monday, 6 July 2026
Nasdaq -0.80%
  • News
  • Page Three
  • Commentary
  • Business
  • Life
  • Show
  • Tech Talks
  • Sports
  • Global Goals
  • Dyaryo Tirada
Partner feature
Daily Tribune

The Philippines' leading digital newspaper.

News
  • Headlines
  • Metro
  • Nation
  • World
Commentary
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Scuttlebutt
Business
  • Shipping
  • Portraits
  • Pep
  • Business Advisories
Life
  • Show
  • Food & Drink
  • Getaways
  • Arts & Culture
  • Social Set
  • Spaces
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • The Edit
  • Top Form
  • Next Gen
  • Sacred Space
  • Project Larawan
  • Snaps
Sports
  • Hoops
  • Volley
  • Golf
  • Goal
  • Boxing
  • Tennis
  • Esports
  • Blast

More

  • Page Three
  • Tech Talks
  • Global Goals
  • Dyaryo Tirada
  • Horoscope
  • Quips
  • Sudoku
  • Crossword
  • Photos
  • Embassy
  • Hotspot
  • Special Report
  • Innovation
  • Partnership
  • Remember Me
  • Environment
  • Natural Wonders
  • Earth

Company

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe
  • Support Us

© 2026 Daily Tribune · tribune.net.ph · Powered by Quintype

Food & Drink

Well done: The flavor science behind Japan’s queen of ‘wagyu’

Matsusaka, long hailed as the ‘Queen of Wagyu.’ It has an exceptionally low melting point around 12°C, meaning it literally dissolves on your tongue.

Pauline Joyce Pascual·26 November 2025, 2:14 am

Share

Google Preferred Sources

Get more Daily Tribune stories in your search results

Add Daily Tribune as a preferred source on Google Search.

Add to Google
Well done: The flavor science behind Japan’s queen of ‘wagyu’

PREMIUM selection of Ito Ranch Matsusaka Beef.

Partner feature

Why do people lose all sense of composure when a slice of wagyu beef hits the grill? 

Because great beef is all about chemistry, craftsmanship and centuries of tradition coming together in that one perfect, buttery bite.

At its core, beef becomes delicious when fat and flavor team up. 

That marbling you see? Those fine, white streaks aren’t just aesthetic flexes, they're flavor bombs. 

When heated, they melt into the meat, creating that juicy, umami-packed, holy-this-is-insane experience. 

Premium beef takes this to the next level: higher marbling scores, lower melting points, and genetics specially bred for tenderness make each bite taste like it’s slow-dancing on your tongue.

And for the first time ever, Filipinos can finally taste the gold standard of this melt-in-your-mouth magic.

“Filipinos can now experience one of Japan’s rarest and most celebrated culinary treasures: Ito Ranch Matsusaka Beef,” officially introduced to the country through Prime Cuts by Doubleday, the Philippines’ premier purveyor of fine meats and luxury ingredients.

This isn’t just your typical Wagyu — this is Matsusaka, long hailed as the “Queen of Wagyu.” 

What sets it apart? 

It is extremely intricate marbling — so lacy it looks hand-drawn. An exceptionally low melting point around 12°C, meaning it literally dissolves on your tongue. Impossibly rich umami that lingers and makes you rethink every steak you've ever eaten.

No wonder Matsusaka is rarely exported. Its arrival in Manila is a straight-up culinary milestone and a major win for the country’s dining and hospitality scene.

“It’s about sharing the care, patience, and generations of tradition that go into every step of raising our cattle,” said Hiroki Ito, third-generation head of Ito Ranch in Mie Prefecture.

Ito Ranch founded in 1953, it is basically the “goat” of the Wagyu world, with over 35 competition wins, including a historic three-year Grand Champion streak (2017–2019) at the Matsusaka Beef Carcass Competition. 

They’re also the only farm ever to pull off that hat trick. Their meticulous care has earned global attention, even appearing in Business Insider’s “Why Matsusaka Wagyu Is the Most Expensive Beef in the World.”

And if you need a celebrity stamp, in 2023, Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, one of the greatest chefs to walk this planet called Ito Ranch’s beef “from another dimension.”

That’s how you know it’s seriously

Lorenzo Vega

Lorenzo Vega

Share

Google Preferred Sources

Get more Daily Tribune stories in your search results

Add Daily Tribune as a preferred source on Google Search.

Add to Google
Partner feature

Suggested Articles

Art you can drink
ARTS / CULTURE

Art you can drink

What if a trip to the museum could begin with your afternoon tea?

Pauline Songco·2 July 2026

A James Beard win for Fil-Am writer
LIFE

A James Beard win for Fil-Am writer

Pinoy pride reigns supreme once again as journalist Yasmin Tayag brings earns recognition from one of the world's most…

Elizabeth S. Timbol·1 July 2026

Mang Inasal offers P69 Pork BBQ meal on 8 July
LIFE

Mang Inasal offers P69 Pork BBQ meal on 8 July

Mang Inasal is celebrating National Mang Inasal Pork BBQ Blowout Day on 8 July with a one-day nationwide promotion…

DT·1 July 2026

Science, Innovation, Quality: Ajinomoto PH opens immersive facility tour
LIFE

Science, Innovation, Quality: Ajinomoto PH opens immersive facility tour

'Eat Well, Live Well'

Kate Villar·26 June 2026

LUZON ON A PLATE
Food & Drink

LUZON ON A PLATE

There are elections, in true Filipino fashion, where nothing changes, and then there are food pilgrimages where…

Alvin Kasiban·25 June 2026

Chef Kazu Yonemoto brings traditional Japanese flavors to life in BGC
Food & Drink

Chef Kazu Yonemoto brings traditional Japanese flavors to life in BGC

A key highlight of the new Ogawa is its live robatayaki grilling experience, where guests can witness dishes being…

DT·25 June 2026