MORTON'S: THE SEXIEST STEAK ON THE PLANET

Here, you can have a perfect slab of steak, paired off with a rare vintage wine, fresh seafood, plus fresh salads, rare appetizers, and decadent desserts baked on-site—in other words, an incredible beginning-to-end dining experience—in just one posh setting.

- CHING M. ALANO

Well, here's the beef: On opening night of Morton's The Steakhouse at Uptown East Gate, Bonifacio Global City, the first Morton's in the Philippines, guests are trooping into this tony resto, raring to find out why it's famously described as "a cut above the rest."

We find out soon enough as we gingerly dive into the assorted food offerings as the night gets lusciously deeper. But first, let's bite into a bit of history and then meet the men who brought Morton's to the Philippines.

The story goes that Arnie Morton (that's our guy) and Klaus Fritsch, before they became business partners, were working together in a club in Montreal, Quebec. While changing the club's menu, Fritsch prepared a hamburger for Morton to sample. Long story short, Morton gushed that it was the best burger he had ever tasted! No wonder it was called the Million-Dollar Hamburger! But why settle for a burger when you can have a whole steak? Thus, in 1978, Morton and Fritsch founded Morton's The Steakhouse in Chicago.

Flying in from their headquarters in Houston, Texas, Jarrett W. Ingram, Landry's vice president: international and licensing, looks dapper in a cool crisp suit with a warm smile to match. Landry's is a multinational restaurant, hospitality, gaming, and entertainment company which has partnered with The Bistro Group, a leading restaurant chain in the country, to bring Morton's Steakhouse to the Philippines.