PHILIPPINES Restaurant and Wine Bar: Title: Steak Restaurant in Manila Philippines Date: 3rd September, 2010

The Reluctant Gourmet’s Top Steak Buying Tips

A lot of visitors ask me about buying steaks so I thought I would start putting together some tips on buying steaks, describing various cuts and what to look for when purchasing a good steak. I’ll start with some basics and add to this page as I learn more from my resources. You may also be interested in How to Grill a Good Steak? and where to buy steaks online and why just below….

1. My #1 tip is get to introduce yourself to your local butcher and become friends.
2. Buy the best grade of meat you can afford…Prime, Choice, Select in that order.
3. When possible, buy from the butchers counter not the pre-packaged section.
4. Look for steaks with fine texture and firm to the touch.
5. You want the color to be a light cherry red color, not deep red. And by all means stay away from gray meat.
6. Look for a steak that has marbling. It is the thin threads of fat running through the meat that makes it Prime and gives it that incredible flavor.
7. Dry aging is considered better than wet aging but that may be a matter of taste. However, avoid meat that has no aging and is too fresh.
8. If you do buy packaged meat, stay away from any with excessive moisture, tears or that are past their sell by date.
9. Just because the label says Angus, doesn’t mean it is Certified Black Angus (CBA)
10. Visit the Reluctant Gourmet Web Site often and sign up for my free newsletter!

It doesn’t matter if you buy your steaks at the supermarket or a gourmet butcher shop. If you want to learn about meat, how to purchase it, what’s a good buy today, how to cook it, start a relationship with your butcher. These are the folks who know what you don’t and will be glad to help if you just ask.

My own local butchers tell me that customers don’t take advantage of their knowledge and experience. They come in with their own preconceived ideas of what a good steak should look like and end up buying an inferior product. A good steak is expensive so why not ask the expert who handles the products everyday what they think is a good bargain. You may be surprised by getting better cuts for less money.

#2 Buy the best grade of meat you can afford

Most of us rarely have the opportunity to buy and taste Premium beef. That’s because only 1 – 2.5% of all beef processed in this country is good enough to be graded by the USDA as Prime. The inspector takes in all sort of things when grading for Prime but as a consumer, we are mostly looking at marbling, that network of fat that traverses throughout the meat.

Given a choice at the market between a perfectly lean piece of meat and a Prime cut with lines of fat running through it, most of us would pick the lean steak. But it’s the marbling that gives the Prime cut the incredible rich, juicy, tender flavor and texture that we are looking for.

Just because Prime isn’t that readily available or in a price range we can afford, there is nothing wrong with Choice. There are different grades of Choice so you may want to shop where they consistently buy beef at the higher end of the Choice grade. How will you know? By getting to know your butcher and asking.

Select has the least amount of marbling making it lean but not so tender or tasty. More importantly, you are not going to pay that much more for Choice than you are for Select, so if you can, spend the extra dollars and buy Choice. In my opinion, there’s nothing worse then chewing and chewing and chewing through a tough, flavorless piece of meat.

It’s my opinion, you should find a reputable meat market or supermarket to buy your meat but some of you may not have that luxury.

You may find yourself in a situation where your local market doesn’t have a good selection of choice meat. You may want to serve a Prime cut for a special occasion. Or you may want to send a friend or client some steaks for a special occasion or as a thank you.

In that case, there are some good online sources where you can buy a wide variety of steaks. I highly recommend MyButcher.com

You probably never heard of MyButcher.com but they offer both USDA Prime Beef & Premium Black Angus. All their beef has been aged for a minimum of 21 days which is a good thing.

They also cut the meat to order rather than pre-cut the meat so your steaks are fresh. The steaks at MyButcher.com are never frozen and are sent to fresh which really makes a difference when buying quality meat.

Source:  http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/steak_information.htm

Although wines are widely available in most Asian countries, especially in Hong Kong which has eliminated import tariff on wines altogether, the availability of fine vintage wines is still very scarce.  Most wine merchants offer big names, young vintages and cheaper wines for everyday consumption.  Wine lovers and connoisseurs looking for something special often travel to Clark Pampanga Philippines to do their shopping at this Wine Shop in Manila.

At Yats Wine Cellars we believe that a little bit of knowledge in wine goes a long way to developing expectations in the wines we choose to buy or drink.  Without expectation, it is difficult to really enjoy wine to its fullest.  With this in mind, efforts are made by Yats Wine Cellars to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible for our clients to learn more about wine.

Birthday wine gifts is one of the most popular birthday gifts to give someone living in the Philippines.  Fine Vintage wine from Yats Wine Cellars is a sure winner and it does not have to cost a great deal to send someone a bottle in Philippines

To avail of wine catering service of Yats Wine Cellars, just contact this wine supplier in Manila or Angeles Clark Philippines for a meeting to design a theme for the event.  The venue for a wine event can be in the privacy of a home, the convenience of an office in Manila for example or in a clubhouse of a subdivision.   Wine glasses and accessories necessary for wine service are included in the wine catering service.  Moreover, interesting wine notes accompany the wine to help participants enjoy the event even more by learning a little bit about wine while enjoying the party.  A wine steward will be present to serve the wine.

There is also an exciting collection of white wine from Burgundy at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Meursault, Chablis, Chassagne Montrachet, Puligny Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne and St. Aubin.  Red wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhone are also available with a good depth of back vintages too.  Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila

Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple:  after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave.  From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City.  From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center

Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building

Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,

Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars

Manila Sales Office

3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,

Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

(632) 637-5019   0917-520-4393  ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.