Maple leaves, hockey, maple syrup, the Toronto Raptors, insane amounts of snow, poutine, and the Niagara Falls are just some of the things that you might associate with Canada, also known as “The Great White North,” and it may be surprising to add premium beef to that list.
The chefs of New World Makati Hotel in partnership with the Embassy of Canada and the Canada Beef Institute recently held a media day to share their expertise and promote premium Canadian beef in our market.
Beef is often times synonymous with the United States of America, Australia, Argentina and sometimes Japan with prime steaks, burgers, barbecue and Wagyu. Before I was invited, I had no idea what premium Canadian beef would taste like but I knew that this would be some of the best beef dishes I would probably ever get to taste in my lifetime.
Executive Chef Robert Davis leads the foray of chefs that serve the premium Canadian beef at New World Makati Hotel.
Hong Kong Master Chef and kitchen rockstar Wong Kam On.
Guest celebrity chef Sandy Daza kicks off the festival of meat that we lucky guests were about to partake in.
Marinated roasted whole beef rib, tenderloin, striploin, whole oven roasted prime rib on the bone, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, beef steak with goose liver in black truffle sauce, yorkshire pudding… every mouthwatering concoction at New World Makati Hotel ensures that the taste of their beef will never be overpowered.
During the short press presentation, I learned a lot of things about Canadian beef and got the impression that it truly is better than U.S. prime beef! With a naturally cold environment that acts like a natural barrier to diseases, careful breeding selection over the years, strict animal care standards, sustainable cattle production, fresh air and water, and a formulated diet of corn, barley and wheat grain contributes to well-marbled, tender and flavorful beef.
Canadian cattle probably has the best animal health program in the world, which is probably even better than most countries’ medical and health programs! Animal disease surveillance, chemical residue monitoring programs, real time ultrasounds to examine the rib-eye area, backfat and marbling levels are just some of the ways their happy cattle is taken cared off to ensure safe and high quality meat.
To be considered Prime-grade Canadian beef, the marbling has to be abundant, the meat color has to be bright red, there should be no yellow fat, and the meat should be firm with good muscling. This combination gives a tasty, tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Chef Sandy Daza’s signature roasted rib-eye was one of the highlights of the da  with a splash of truffle oil and a sprinkling of Himalayan rock salt taking us to another place and time. When I first tried it, it literally melted in my mouth.
 Where’s the beef? Find out on page 2!
