House of Wagyu Stonegrill

Like any other couples, Mr. DQ and I looked forward to our first anniversary a couple of months before. We both love to eat, swim, take photo walks, and are also strong believers of living a full and happy life by eating more – just kidding. Despite our similar mindsets, we couldn't quite decide where to celebrate our anniversary. Monthsaries have passed, which included times when we completely forgot about it during the exact date – the funny thing was that we were together one time anyway without remembering until the next day!

The day came and we ended up having dinner past 9 pm over soupy seafood pasta, stale and though steak due to schedule constraints. We decided to redo our anniversary and celebrated at a Japanese grill buffet, it was okay. Apparently, our anniversary became a month-long of mini celebrations in search for good food. Upon learning about Metrobank's 50% deal at House of Wagyu Stonegrill, we were just in plain awe. See details here. 

The idea of visiting House of Wagyu was lingering at the back of our mind but we were always busy with work, his school work and other activities with family and friends. Two days before Christmas, we finally had the time to visit greenhills branch while the promo is still ongoing. We decided commuting via LRT2 and bus ride to avoid Christmas rush and traffic.

From LRT2 Recto station, we got off the train at the third stop – V. Mapa station. Right below the station is the Aurora Boulevard towards north where Gliner and RRCG buses stop over. We would prefer Gliners because they travel faster by not staying too long in bus stops, but RRCG buses are more prominent than Gliners nowadays. Don't be afraid to get on the bus, just don't fall asleep like I do when commute time lasts more than 20 mins. Look for bus signage that has Taytay, Rizal as their last destination. The bus took a right turn from Aurora Boulevard and took more passenger besides SM Santa Mesa. It was a sunny day, in fact too sunny. Thanks to the air-conditioning of the bus, I was lulled in Mr. DQ's arms. Before I knew it, we were already across greenhills. It's a good thing that House of Wagyu Stonegrill was just a few steps from the overpass bridge. We were hesitant to enter from the back door since it seemed empty from the seemingly backdoor from the Ortigas Avenue corner Club Filipino drive. We were greeted by friendly servers and were guided to our seats. The servers adjusted our cutlery since Mr. DQ and I sat side by side, as opposed to seating face to face.

I should mind you that Mr. DQ has a more discriminating palete than mine. Yes, he eats more than I do, but doesn't necessarily mean that I don't eat much hehehe. He has shared with me the love for red meat, but the apple of my eyes have always been red-shelled meat with more than two pairs of extremities. We ordered Rancher's cut to try it out; sadly, they ran out of the choice cut and opted for the Ribeye Grade 8 for 220 grams. The differene between the two choice cuts was that Rancher's cut included the bone, while the ribeye did not. I ordered the Wagyu Combination (New York Strip for 180 grams and King Prawns) since I just could not take on too much red meat and I could not let go of my love for crustaceans.

We had time to relax, chat and secretly spy on other people's table in the restaurant while munching on complementary bread, which made me even drool more. Thank God, the soup of the day were served immediately. The soup was superb with a dash of cream and pieces of croutons on top, the pepper played up the soup's flavor. The bread appeared to be some sort of white bread shaped like a sliced baguet. Munching on the bread made me think of Olive oil based dip to go with it. As it turned out, they served the butter after emptying our basket (first timers bloopers).

House of Wagyu Review: Mushroom Soup with Pepper
(Courtesy of Mr. DQ as my soup of the day attendee #feelinglikeaprincess)

House of Wagyu Review: Mushroom Soup as Soup of the Day

As it appeared, we were just on time for lunch since people just started coming in as family or in pairs at around 1PM. The server put on our bib – this was really a clever idea to avoid unwanted splatters from the stonegrill. Likewise, giant sheets of white paper were used to cover the table cloth. The servers removed the extra cutlery for salad earlier because we did not need them, it really freed up space on our table and made room for the giant stonegrill. I was just about to go the restroom when I saw our food being rolled out from the kitchen to our location. Boy, do I feel like a queen with my food being delivered with a trolley!

The steaks were evidently being served raw and fresh, it was literally being cooked on one side straight from the kitchen trolley. (This gave me an impression that the meat did not undergo freezing to make them last longer). The server then turns the steak over to cook the other side after placing the stonegrill to unto the table. The smoke was wafting all over the place, I looked up and saw these seemingly quiet air vents that might have been the reason why we did not smell like a person would normally do after eating at a grill restaurant. The juice was oozing out from the New York Strip steak as I sliced through the slab of meat, it hummed more sizzling melody through my ears. I did not really need the giant steak knife because it was juicy and easy to cut into bite sizes, a salad knife or a spoon would suffice. For me, the steak knife just gives you a powerful gusto when slicing through a slab of beef. Not that I needed the steak knife - the knife and the slab of stone just helped my consciousness to process that I am a carnivorous civil creature, eating a piece of steak with a steak knife.

House of Wagyu Review: New York Strip ...

I almost ignored my prawns hahaha. I have a personal freshness test for crustaceans like prawn and shrimp: The tail meat must come off easily. If it breaks and sticks too much from the shell, it might be overcooked or lacked freshness. The first prawn was a bit overcooked, while the other prawn meat from the left peeled off easily from the shell and was more tender, umami with hint of lemon and pepper (just the way I liked it). The potato wedges had a fried salty crust and went well with the sweet mustardy sauce. Not sure if the sauce was for which item, but it went great for the prawns too. I wish that there were 3 pieces of prawns.

House of Wagyu Review:...with King Prawns

Mr. DQ was already halfway finished while I was still busy documenting my side. Pardon my cellphone camera. The steak was still pink and juicy inside, but not cold or bloody at any point. It was heaven. Even Mr. DQ was cursing me to express his joys while enjoying the luxurious experience. The Ribeye steak order included a side of veggies consisting of a piece of carrots, cauliflower, corn and mashed potato. It did not have the broccoli that was included in the promo picture, not sure if they ran out of it. I like veggies especially when cooked well. I was not able to take a picture of the veggies, the veggies were artistically placed on a rectangular plating. Well, yes... people came for the steak and the veggies just came as sides, but a little more quantity could not hurt.

House of Wagyu Review: Ribeye Grade 8

My taste buds did not find any big difference between the 2 cut choices; they were both tasty, tender and did not have a strong putrid odor. The 180 grams was sufficient for my appetite. Without the prawns and the potato wedges, I think I could finish the 220g of Ribeye Wagyu beef choice cut. We dined in for Wagyu beef steak as part of our month-long celebration, but mostly it's just because we wanted to try it out for so long, plus it's a great steal at 50% off.

Likes:

Meat was not frozen as stone when it was laid on the stonegrill
Meat display that showcased chilled meat pieces - not frozen 
The tenderness of beef

No post-MSG uncomfort from the food means fresh fresh fresh!

Soup of the day

Service

Ambience

Decent comfort room

Dislikes:

Veggies needed more leveling up
They could have been more generous with the sides and included the 1 broccoli found in the promotional ads

Tips:

Wait for the bread butter before eating from the basket

Ask for help from the server if not sure what to order, they can explain the cuts and help you choose to enjoy your experience
Since you're already here, please don't settle for a burger, have a steak!

Price:

Ribeye : Php 2900.00 for 220 grams

New York Strip Steak with Shrimps: Php 2100.00 for 180 grams and 2 pieces of large prawns

Original bill: Php 5000.00

(Original bill less 50% for Metrobank Platinum creditcard holder) = Php 2500.00

Exclusive service charge is 10% of original bill = Php 500.00

Inclusive of 12% VAT

Total bill: Php 3000.00

Verdict: Anniversary/Christmas Splurge-worthy, Wagyulicious!

Updates:
House of Wagyu Stonegrill Promo is extended until the end of January 2014!

Metrobank's Promo Period:  December 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013
... now extended until January 31, 2014.

Available from Monday to Sunday, 11:00am to 3:00pm (Lunch only)

Keywords: Wagyu, House of Wagyu Stonegrill, House of Wagyu Review, House of Wagyu