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.
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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.
Lorenzo Vega
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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
