JULY 2016, Kuala Lumpur - Like every other year before, Hitachi Sales Malaysia has once again celebrated Hari Raya with plenty of exciting activities and loads of fanfare. This Hari Raya 2016, Hitachi introduced the "Kesenian Di Dapur" festive campaign to promote three Hitachi kitchen appliances - its microwave oven, rice cooker and refrigerator.

Made-in-Japan Hitachi Microwave Oven

The Made-in-Japan Hitachi Microwave Oven (MRO-NBK5000E) is a versatile helper that boasts a host of innovative features to help home cooks prepare unforgettable meals in the kitchen. The only one of its kind in Malaysia with the capacity to cook and bake, it comes with an Auto Bakery function to prepare breads and pastries. In just 90 minutes, consumers can enjoy freshly baked bread that is rich in flavour and soft and fluffy on the inside.

To make healthy meals, consumers can select from an array of 200 automated recipes and multi-functions with the easy-to-use LCD touch screen panel. The Hitachi Microwave Oven provides oil-free deep frying and steam-grill options, as well as the Superheated Steam function, which uses 100°C steam within the oven to cook meals with reduced fat and salt.

Hitachi IH Rice Cooker

The Hitachi IH Rice Cooker (RZ-JHE18Y) comes designed with 40 automated recipes for the ultimate convenience of consumers, along with 14 cooking modes to offer maximum versatility. Baking, steaming, boiling and braising - the Hitachi IH Rice Cooker does it all. Utilising advanced heating technology from Japan, the unique Induction Heating (IH) Rice Cooker uses magnetic force to generate heat and cook up fluffy, delicious and uniformly cooked rice. The 3.6mm thick, Made-in-Japan inner iron pot also ensures even heating of food.

Made-in-Japan Hitachi Refrigerator

Food is only as good as its ingredients, and the Made-in-Japan Hitachi Refrigerator (R-E6800XM X) has consumers covered on that front. Employing advanced Japanese technology, this refrigerator can keep greens fresher for longer with its Aero-care Vege Compartment. This groundbreaking large fridge also sports the Advance Frost Recycling Cooling with Hybrid Defrost technology, touch-sensitive auto doors and drawers, and 6 doors for easy storage of food. Consumers can also save on energy costs thanks to the Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP), which enhances the refrigerator's cooling efficiency and effectively lowers the household's annual energy consumption.

Share & Greet Contest

In line with the Hari Raya campaign, Hitachi ran an online cooking contest called the 'Share & Greet Contest' from 5 June to 6 July 2016. The contest encouraged the public to share home-cooked Ramadan dishes online and garner votes from family and friends to stand a chance to win a Hitachi IH Rice Cooker.

Submissions that were completed early were given a Scanpan Knife as well. Participants with the highest votes were then invited to enter a cook-off challenge for the grand prize of a Hitachi Microwave Oven.

Celebrity Chef Sherson Lian, host of AFC's '5 Rencah 5 Rasa', was engaged to be the face of the campaign and contest. The idea behind the contest was to inspire the public to try out modern recipes during Ramadan and to showcase Celebrity Chef Sherson Lian cooking with the Hitachi Microwave Oven and Hitachi IH Rice Cooker.

Four cooking webisodes, hosted by Chef Sherson Lian, were filmed and featured two recipes each webisode. To add a further dimension to the show, renowned radio DJ Linda Onn was invited as a guest and co-host for the 3rd and 4th webisodes. The videos were uploaded onto Facebook and YouTube on 6 July and will continue to be circulated until 5 September 2016.

Webisode 1: Ayam Percik Panggang and Nasi Kuning dengan Kacang Gajus dan Kismis

Webisode 2: Daging Masak Hitam dengan Buah Prun and Roti 'Rustic' Bawang Putih dan Cili

Webisode 3: Udang Galah Bakar Berempah and Kek Prun

Webisode 4: Kuah Kacang Ayam and Bubur Lambuk

The 'Share & Greet Contest' Cook-Off Challenge and prize-giving ceremony was held on 3 August 2016 at Nathalie's Gourmet Studio. The four finalists were invited to cook dishes based on the theme 'Chicken & Rice' using Hitachi kitchen appliances. To make the contest more fun and challenging, they were only allowed to select ingredients from the pre-set food station. Each participant had a demonstrator to assist them with their cooking. Celebrity Chef Sherson Lian was part of the judging panel, and giving constructive feedback and criticism to the finalists. The event ended with light refreshments and a prize-giving ceremony, which saw four units of Hitachi IH Rice Cookers given away to the talented winners, and a Hitachi Microwave Oven presented to the Grand Prize winner.