In late 2022, Ally found a commercial space in Poblacion, Makati which she runs with the three pastaios she trained from scratch. She has imposed a system where they handle both production for the pasta orders they get from the website, as well as for B2B transactions servicing the restaurants, delis, and wine bars. She also has partnerships with Smeg at the Smeg Experience Center where she regularly teaches pasta-making classes. Despite having so much on her plate, she always finds time to seek inspiration and to keep doing R&D with Nico when she can. She picks up ideas from everywhere— a show on Netflix or a specific ingredient that she discovers during their travels. “Sometimes a very specific or special ingredient inspires me. For example, when I found out a local farmer was producing fresh figs, I R&D-ed like mad until I could put it inside a ravioli. That's how our seasonal fig, prosciutto, goat cheese and honey ravioli was born.”

See also: Tanaw chef Robby Goco's new restaurant is now open in El Nido

Perhaps it is this creativity and adventurous spirit which made it natural for Ally to transition into cooking. She and her team started with selling takeaway pasta dishes (tagliatelle al ragu bianco and mozzarella stuffed gnocchi) at Good Sh*t Coffee in Poblacion. This was soon followed by a collaboration with chef Matt MIjares of Ugly Duck (another Poblacion neighbor) and chef Luis Locsin of Supernatural Wines for a pop-up series called Super Ugly Noods. Wine distributor Camille Lhuillier-Albani of Allora also got her to put together a tasting menu to pair with a Portuguese wine line called Bastardo. “This was my first solo sit-down dinner service as head chef, with two seatings a night, two nights in a row,” she excitedly says. “All these experiences taught and evolved me so much, and really helped pave the direction Noodle Lab is heading towards now.”

With a clear path leading her to where she needs to be, there is no stopping Ally, who just a few years ago was simply your average pasta lover. Perhaps this is why she knows exactly who her market is and what they want. “Usually our customers have already mastered cooking pasta or just starting to cook but want to bring their pasta dishes to the next level by using fresh pasta. Since we have unique shapes not sold anywhere else, a lot of our customers stumble upon us in their search for fresh mafaldine or campanelle. A lot are those looking for new and exciting dishes and experiences never seen anywhere else, so our egg yolk raviolo or our herb and flower laminated pasta appeal to them,” she explains.

To feed this excitement, Noodle Lab will continue to evolve and grow. “We are popping up at the Grid at Rockwell soon serving both classic and creative fresh pasta dishes. We are also planning and in talks for Noodle Lab to expand beyond just a commissary and put up a restaurant soon,” Ally divulges. And remember how this all started? “Another exciting development is that we are launching our Asian noodle line as well, starting with udon and ramen! And there are a lot of pop-ups and events involving those products which we can't wait to share.”

NOW READ

Holiday feasting at Solaire Resort

Johnnie Walker launches new umami-infused whisky with chef Kei Kobayashi

Baby Crosta opens in Niseko, Japan