Cooking up a Feast this Christmas?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Beko's useful tips will help you better prepare the best meals

Now that the yuletide season is just around the corner, you are probably anxious as to what feast to prepare for your family when the rounds of parties begin.

During the holidays, a lot of time will be spent in the kitchen, cooking sumptuous meals for family and friends, who will be dropping by at an ever frenetic pace. So, your kitchen has to be ready to meet the challenges of preparing all the food you will serve.

To help you manage the kitchen workload better, BEKO, a leading brand of innovative appliances from Europe, shares some fail-safe tips for a stress-free holiday season.

Out with the old, in with the new. The onset of the holiday season is a sure reminder that it's time for a serious decluttering. Start by decluttering all the excess items in your kitchen that you no longer need, such as the old spices, condiments, and canned good in your cupboards and pantries, as well as unused kitchen items you never seem to have any use for from your countertops.

You may also try re-arranging your items in the pantry or cupboard so you will always have extra space when you buy the items you will need when you begin preparing food for the reunions.

Throw out what must be thrown out. We are all guilty of this but, we have often failed to throw out grocery items in the fridge until we need to. Look in the bins, chillers, and freezers to see if there are food items that you need to throw away. Also, look in the containers of food in the refrigerator compartment to see if there are foods that cannot be eaten anymore.

Disposing of old, stale food will not only free up space when you store freshly cooked food during the parties but more importantly, it will prevent contamination of clean food from the odors of the old ones.

Stock up on kitchen essentials. The last thing you want is for you to be preparing a meal only to realize that you are out of a key ingredient. This is not only inconvenient, it also messes up your schedule and wreaks havoc on your workflow. As you clean and declutter, check your cupboards and pantries to know if you still have essentials, such as dry goods, herbs and spices, condiments, basic ingredients and the like. These items are handy when preparing the food you will serve. Also, don't forget to check things like dishwashing fluids, hand soaps, paper towels, plastic wraps and foils, leftover containers, kitchen cleaners, among others.

Upgrade your appliances. As you prep your kitchen for the holidays, it pays to check if you have the right appliances to meet your needs, considering that you will be doing a lot of preparations at short time frames. It is wise to choose appliances that will help you prepare food faster and more efficiently, store leftovers and viands for longer periods, and keep as many items in the refrigerator.

Today's appliance manufacturers, like BEKO, are now innovating breakthrough technologies that allow easier, stress-free food preparation. Efficient appliances can also help you to focus more on enjoying the company of your guests.

For instance, BEKO Refrigerators are now made to keep your Christmas groceries fresh for longer periods with its NeoFrost+® Technology. This innovative feature sets them apart from other brands because of its powerful Active Dual Cooling systems. This breakthrough cooling system achieves stable and faster cooling both in the fridge and freezer compartments. Thus, the fresh produce, as well as your Christmas delicacies stay crisp and palatable as if they are freshly made.

The fridge and freezer compartments also have separate airflows that provide balanced circulation between its shelves, ensuring that your foods are stored in an ideal condition. Since it has the perfect airflow rate and temperature level, it can keep your food's freshness and nutritional value for up to 50 times longer than usual.  It also prevents air transfer from freezer to fridge compartment thus, food is safe from cross-contamination.

When it comes to cooking your dishes, you can never go wrong with the latest BEKO Cookers with IndyFlex+ Technology. This breakthrough feature allows you to cook multiple dishes all at the same time. It uses eight accurately arranged and separate coils that allow you to configure the size and the number of pans you will need to cook your holiday dishes like a pro.

BEKO's IndyFlex+ Technology also creates eight different cooking zones that can either be combined or managed independently for all pan sizes.

“The Christmas season is a time for you and your loved ones to share meaningful moments and we do this with a feast. As we aspire to become the Official Partner of the Everyday, we want to bring more reasons to cherish the true spirit of Christmas and enjoy the holidays through BEKO's efficient appliances,” said Dyeun Zapanta, Marketing Head of Beko Philippines.

Since 2015, Beko Philippines already doubled its distribution and tripled its sales through its improved and aggressive product line that continuously meets the need of the Filipino market.

Beko Philippines is now on an expansion phase as it opens its door to other retail business partners as it aims to reach more Filipinos and become their Official Partner of the Everyday through products that make life more convenient and stress-free.


About Beko Philippines
BEKO is one of the strongest and leading brands in the whitegoods sector in Europe and has been the fastest growing brand in the European market. Given that the brand sells every two seconds somewhere in the world, BEKO has always embraced the goal of “Being a World Brand.” BEKO has been the first choice of 280 million consumers in more than 100 countries by carrying on its Turkish market success all over the world.

Designed to make your life easier thanks to super-fast programs and energy saving technology - BEKO delivers exceptional value for money, providing smart, innovative and energy efficient home appliances. These factors, combined with an affordable and reliable proposition, make BEKO the brand of choice for today and the future.

Sony Channel Delivers All the Fun and Laughter in New Sitcom “Great News” this December

Wazzup Pilipinas!

An entertaining combination of fun and laughter will fill your Sunday nights with the premiere of the new workplace comedy Great News starting this December on Sony Channel.

Set in the world of television news, the series follows a budding news producer, Katie (Briga Heelan) who finds her hands full dealing with her loving yet slightly overbearing mom, Carol (Andrea Martin), when they suddenly become co-workers after Carol decides to take an internship at the cable news network where Katie works.

As the mother-daughter relationship is put to the test, Katie feels that Carol’s constant presence can be a bit much. But deep inside, she believes that her mother’s unending support and knack for taming the volatile anchor Chuck (John Michael Higgins) may prove to be just what she needs to move ahead in her career.

Great News premieres on December 3, every Sunday at 8pm as part of ROFling Sundays first and exclusive on Sony Channel.

Sony Channel is available on Cablelink Channel 39, Cignal Channel 120, Destiny Cable, Channel 35, G Sat Channel 48, and SKYCable Channel 35.

About Sony Channel
Sony Channel is the premier destination for female-skewing entertainment with the biggest and best of Hollywood. Designed for the socially connected viewer, Sony Channel features some of the most captivating and talked-about drama, comedy, lifestyle, and reality programs on TV, all airing close to the U.S. telecasts, together with popular feel-good movies.

Fresh, confident and stylish, with a dash of clever wit, Sony Channel is visually stunning with a brand identity that perfectly complements its line-up of high calibre programming. Sony Channel appeals to a female-skewed, male-inclusive audience who loves to escape, engage, and lose themselves in premium content.
Viewers are modern, social, stylish, and aspirational.

Sony Channel is wholly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and managed by Sony Pictures Television Networks Asia, which also operates pay-TV channels AXN, Animax, ONE and GEM.

See www.SonyChannelAsia.com, and join the conversation on www.facebook.com/SonyChannelPH and https://twitter.com/SonyChannelPH for more.

Press Preview of the Dishes at The Noodle Studio by Chef Gigo de Guzman

Wazzup Pilipinas!

We must realize that there’s more to noodles than just ramen. Since there are already a few restaurants specializing in ramen, Chef Gigo together with his kitchen partner Chef Al, have worked on many other noodle variations focusing on Asian influence to come up with the best noodle dishes possible.

Appropriately called The Noodle Studio, the restaurant aims to become their workshop in their attempt to bring out the best noodle dishes even if it means undergoing different variations just to finally get to the best version. Of course, they would always consider the feedback of their customers, thus their noodle concepts would probably vary depending on customer requests.

At a media preview held at the restaurant itself, Chef Gigo was very enthusiastic in explaining the story behind every dish. He seems to be so proud of what they’ve achieved so far and so they were ready to let us taste some of them – 15 dishes to be exact out of the 40 dishes currently in existence already. But their original plan is to make it up to 60 just in time for their grand opening tentatively by the end of January 2018.

Now, that would be something to look forward to as the 15, or more, dishes he served us that day was already a tummy-full of delight. Not that we’re complaining, but even though the taste buds were still willing to taste every single dish, the tummy doesn’t have room anymore. …and one bite out of every dish seems to be not enough since this is probably the only spread that I liked so much.

Which dishes are my favorites? I have to decline to mention a single one since I love more than a handful, or more, from the more than a dozen dishes served.

It was an impressive start with the Crab Ragoon and the Fried Salmon Pouches as starters. Both dishes were so creamy that one piece is simply not enough to satisfy your craving. You’ll grab more than your expected share from both dishes.

If you love something sweet, there’s the Beef Brisket Noodle Soup that would have you eat more rice since it’s so good.

I could probably survive with only the Thai Pomelo Salad as the same meal for both lunch and dinner but would love a sweeter Pomelo if they could get them from a better source. This is not my first time to try a Pomelo Salad so I have tasted sweeter varieties.

Of course, who wouldn’t love a familiar taste of Claire’s Pancit Canton, named after her mother Claire dela Fuente, since it has been a common comfort food for Pinoys, but the Pad Thai and Char Kway Teow 2.0, and even the Mi Goreng 2.0, are highly recommended. All four have distinctive tastes that the restaurant could be very proud of. All the other noodle dishes, with the inclusion of the soups, have a spacious room in my heart, and belly.

Claire Dela Fuente must be very proud of the achievement of his son, who has been dreaming of having his own restaurant even when he was a child. His primary motivation was also the memories with his late father as they feast on Noodle dishes during his younger years. Pursuing his passion to become recognized for his culinary creations would definitely become as bright, or even brighter, than her well-respected mother who would forever carry the stature as one of the OPM icons in the Philippines. If her mother would be leaving a legacy of well-loved songs, he would be claiming the branding as a Noodle Master.

Indeed, you’ll forget about your diet once you find yourself surrounded with several choices of noodle dishes, plus a lot more, at The Noodle Studio.

We're still editing our photos from our camera but some taken using our smartphone already were posted on social media. Expect us to upload them soon so you could further preview what to anticipate when you visit The Noodle Studio. But do watch out for them at our official Facebook and YouTube pages.
 

Below is the official write-up presented to the media during the event so I’m just attaching it below for your continued informative reading of the details about The Noodle House.

 

Noodles have been a staple in the culinary vernacular of most Asian Countries. In many parts of Asia, it is considered comfort food. While there are numerous places in Manila that offer European renditions of noodles, little has been done to really gather and place emphasis on its various conceptions from around the Asian continent. 

The Noodle Studio serves as a workshop in exploring Asian palates, gathering a selection of well-known noodle dishes as well as creating new Asian dishes in a modern, sophisticated setting. Each dish is prepared using contemporary techniques in the culinary world, while retaining the heart and flavor of the original recipes to deliver its version of modern Asian comfort food to discerning diners.

The Noodle Studio is the brainchild of Executive Chef Gregorio “Gigo” de Guzman. He graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature, from where he then pursued a culinary course at Enderun Colleges. He was fortunate enough to be chosen for an internship program at the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Jules Verne on the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. 

His love for noodles began in his childhood, where his favorite memories of his late father, Moises de Guzman, were of their numerous noodle food trips. Some of his many passions are musical theater (appearing in Ateneo Blue Repertory’s High School Musical, Repertory Philippines' The Producers, and Trumpet’s Bluebird of Happiness), and indoor cycling (working as an instructor at Electric Studio, the Philippines first boutique indoor cycling studio).

The concept of the Noodle Studio was inspired by a previous restaurant created by his friend Chef Off, a Thai national who studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, and his mother Claire dela Fuente, the famed singer, entrepreneur, and restaurateur. The 2-year process of creating the Noodle Studio was a collaborative effort between Chef Gigo and Head Chef Alister Sun. An HRIM graduate major in Culinary Arts from De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, Chef Al garnered his training at the Panorama Hotel in Hongkong and the Starwood Hotel Group in Colorado, Washington, and Arizona. They also had the participation of Chef Off, Claire dela Fuente, and a few friends from around Asia.

The aim of the Noodle Studio is to bring the flavors of various countries in Asia in one place, providing a relaxed, modern upscale setting where these can be enjoyed with friends and family. It wishes to serve as a workshop or “studio,” where various Asia noodle dishes can be explored and recreated to satisfy the ever-growing number of foodies in Manila. But most of all, the Noodle Studio aspires to give Asian Noodle Cuisine the credit it deserves in molding and influencing the culinary world.

Executive Chef: Gregorio Angelo Rafael “Gigo” de Guzman Head Chef: Alister “Al”  Sun Owners: Claire dela Fuente & Florita Santos

Complete Address: 2nd Floor, Ayala Malls the 30th, Meralco Ave. Ortigas, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Telephone Number: (+632) 637-6500
Mobile Numbers: Smart – (+63) 928-389-8583  Globe – (+63) 995-271-5465
E-mail: thenoodlestudioph@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thenoodlestudioph
Instagram: @thenoodlestudioph