Homeowner

Nice.. I really like your bathroom, orh orh but nice. Thanks for sharing your pictures at last...now, I wonder when's MaCe's turn to set up his own wandering T-blog?

Lovely. Real pity about the pipes though.

That's an interesting lamp. And the staircase is nice and warm. Was the parquet there originally? Looks so different from my white, white staircase . I see that you've kept the curved doorways...same here. More pictures, please!

The active agent in most mould killers is chlorine. So, you can use diluted bleach to clean the silicon. Think it is best that you use it weekly when you clean the bathroom. Don't think there is a once and for all product 'cos the bathroom is always exposed to water.

Hello, Mace. Long time no blog . How's your reno.? Any pictures to share?

I used Island Link Express, Ivan, Hp 83338363. $400 for 40 boxes (20 S, 10 M, 10 L), dining table and six chairs, king size bed and mattress, single bed, piano and chair, television, coffee table, 3 ft study table and swivel chair, miscellaneous S, M and L boxes and bags of our own (1 storeroom full). We found them very professional. Furniture were properly wrapped, hanging clothes put on movable hanger and the piano put on a roller. But, we carried all our precious glasses and plates ourselves 'cos we read that one forumer who engaged Cxxxxxx had some kitchen ware broken and we didn't want to risk it. Too sentimental.

You're welcome! Type error. It should read Poh Joo, 391 Jalan Besar.

Sumobear and Mist, it's really nice of both to share your inexpensive but stylish creations. More juice!

Hi, I got all my sanitary stuff including the cabinet from 191 Poh Joo. You can speak with Celina. They have a few bathroom cabinets on display. We chose this because it had glass doors - easier to match and hopefully more resistent to moisture. They also sell hobs and hoods. But, the contractor had some problems installing the cabinet 'cos the plumber did up the pipes first before opening the box and realising we had a ready made cabinet. Luckily, the plumber figured a way out. The contractor changed the legs to longer stainless steel ones, thereby increasing the height of the cabinet by 1 inch. The pipes were then able to run below. So, if you intend to get a ready made cabinet, please do show the plumber the cabinet early before he runs the pipes. I am not sure if I saw any cabinets with stainless steel sinks when we were doing our shopping. A possible place is Sim Siang Choon, Changi. They had some utility sinks with cabinets. But, I can't remember whether the sinks are made of plastic or stainless steel. Hoe Kee also has some bathroom sinks with cabinets. But, I think they're not as nice as Poh Joo's, IMHO. Hope this helps.

Thanks, yellow. Thanks for visiting, too. We paid $3k for both wardrobes. We got a slight discount 'cos one of the sales person misquoted and Seng Kwong honoured the deal. Think it was about $1.2k for the study room 8 ft shell (sliding doors plus gypsum board sides and top, no shelves inside) and $1.8 for for the bedroom wardrobe (shell + shelves and 2 drawers). We don't regret getting them, although to be really honest, the designer is a little bit absent minded. We really like the installers. They were very professional e.g. they cleaned up after installing and the workmanship is good. Besides the 15 year warranty, the other good thing about the wardrobes is that they can be dismantled and moved to your new place by Seng Kwong for a fee of "one to two hundred". Hope this helps. Thanks, Lifestyle.

Saw them at hardware stores - Kelatan Road and Choa Chu Kang, and Giant Tampines. Got ours from a hardware store at Choa Chu Kang Way. Transport is a BIG problem. Should have bought it earlier and got the moving guys to move to the new place for us. In-laws pited my husband and some how managed to transport it in their car. Don't really advise it 'cos I think it is dangerous.

To me, nothing beats a once a week helper. That's the best.

Think the responsible contractors/ IDs will at least clear the rubbish and sweep the floor. My contractor wiped the tiles and the carpentry as well. But, like he said, it is the very fine dust from the renovation that you have to vacuum and mop a few times before the place is comfortable.

Yah. If you don't have the time and the energy...hopefully you have the money to outsource. You can get part-time cleaners at $10 per hour per person (you provide mop, vacuum cleaner, sponges, detergent) or companies with their own equipment, big water based vacuum cleaners. For our first place, we had the luxury of time so every weekend, we vacuumed and moped. At least 3 to 4 times before we moved in. Luckily, in our first month of stay, we had the confinement maid to mop the floor daily for us. She lamented the place was still so dusty despite her efforts. For the second, time was crucial and we are now swapped with kids and work so we hired a cleaning company to do the cleaning and polishing.

I usually use chicken pieces with skin (1 piece for 1 person - drumstick, wing, or thigh) in my cooking becos my family is small so we can't finish the entire chicken in 1 meal. It is not meant to add flavour to the rice. Putting the chicken pieces in when the rice is just cooked or about to be cooked (almost dry) will result in the chicken being steamed just right, not too long or else they'll be hard. Making cuts and stuffing the pieces with garlic, ginger and pandan leaves infuse the meat with the flavours. Hope this helps.

Overmount if you think you will change the sink in future. Undermount for less splashes and easy clean. You have to remove the countertop if you want to change your sink.

Hi Applefreak, tried your recipe last night. Quite nice. But, dunno why my ribs are still a bit hard even though I simmered it longer than recommended - abt 15-20 min. By then, the bitter gourd was really soft...my son said it was like fruit, just slightly bitter. Think I need a little more practice! Hubby thought it was nice for a change. Thanks for sharing. Think the greasiness of the rice depends on the greasiness of the stock. Did you add enough stock? More stock/water soften the rice. My chicken rice recipe is very simple, no cloves and cinnnamon though. Three chicken pieces. Make cuts and stuff with finely sliced ginger, garlic, and pandan leaves. Wash rice, fill up with required amount of chicken stock (my own recipe) - see markings on rice cooker, put in tied up pandan leaves, garlic and ginger. When the rice is cooked, throw in the chicken pieces. Let it steam inside for the a while, abt 20 min. And the chicken rice is done! Sigh...haven't cooked sweet and sour for a long time...maybe I should try again. Mine has no chilli 'cos the kids can't take chilli yet.

Hi. Wanted to put the picture of my dispenser here, but can't seem to get through to imageshack. There is a picture of it in my t-blog though, post 257: http://www.renotalk.com/forum/index.php?sh...7067&st=240 It is a 12.5 kg Tupperware rice dispenser. I have it on the countertop. 1 swipe to dispense rice. Each swipe is 1 cup. I pour any excess rice back into the dispenser. Life time warranty. Now on offer at $94. Bought it for $90 from a Tupperware shop closing sale.

Hahah. Thanks for your contribution. Looking forward to more recipes from you. Anyway, for really bad days, I just smoother the chicken pieces with olive oil and marinate them with Tuscan Spice or Mixed Spice, which are available from most supermarkets. (With Mixed Spice, you need to add your own soya sauce or salt and pepper). Then, pop the whole lot into the oven, 190 degrees, 40 minutes.

Do share with us in the recipe thread.

Thanks for contributing, Applefreak...will try your recipe soon. Wonder if you get the normal ribs or soft bone ones? Footnote for claypot chicken: Just add more water if insufficient water during cooking time. Or, start with 250 ml of stock and 250 ml of water and thicken later. If you don't like it too salty/ saucy, reduce the light soy sauce and oyster sauce in the soup. I usually make a big pot of chicken stock and freeze it in 250 ml lots. Good stock makes tasty stews, soups, sauces in a jiffy. Recipe for chicken stock (My own) Ingredients: Chicken bones 5-6 dried scallops 5-6 dried oysters 1 thumb size ginger, bashed 5-6 cloves garlic 1 bowl ikan bilis washed and drained Steps: 1. Boil water and scald the chicken bones. Pour away the water and froth. 2. Put in just enough water to cover the bones and add dried scallops, oysters, ginger and garlic. 3. Bring to boil and leave to simmer for 7 hours. 4. Add ikan bilis and simmer for 1 hour. You can also add vegetables e.g. celery and carrot together with the ikan bilis. You can use the stock immediately or within three days if you put it in the fridge or within three months if you put it in the freezer. Let the stock cool before putting into the fridge. If you have the time and don't mind the effort, it is better to cool the stock in a tub of ice.

Hi. I cook dinner every weekday and am always on a lookout for good recipes 'cos you know, it's so sian if you keep eating the same thing. So, this is a thread for everyone to share their favourite easy to do and tasty recipes. To start the ball rolling, here's a recipe, Claypot Chicken, adapted from my first and one of my favourite cookbooks: "The Best of Singapore Cooking" by Mrs Leong Yee Soo. My first mentor (for cooking) was my best friend's mother. She said she started off not knowing how to cook like us and learnt by trial and error using this cookbook. This is one of the first dishes that I cooked after I took over the dinner job from my hubby. Hubby loved it and this was his favourite dish for a quite a while. Serving size: 3 Ingredients Chicken (3 pieces - drumsticks, thigh, etc), seasoned to taste with salt, pepper and sugar for at least half an hour 2 cloves garlic 4 slices ginger 4 shallots, bashed 1 carrot, sliced 1 small can button mushrooms 3 Chinese mushrooms, soaked, softened and cut into halfs/ quarters 4 leaves, long Chinese cabbage, cut into pieces Soup 250 ml chicken stock (I cook my own and freeze, but you can make instant ones with chicken cube) 1 tablespoon light soya sauce 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1/4 teaspoon pepper Steps 1. Heat oil in pan to brown chicken on all sides. Remove to a dish. 2. Heat oil in a fairly large clay pot and brown garlic, ginger and shallots. 3. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for 2 mintues over high heat. 4. Pour in the soup and bring to boil. 5. Put the chicken in pot, cover and cook over high heat for 10 minutes. 6. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or till chicken is tender. If you prefer thicker gravy, add cornflour mixture (a tablespoon of corn flour mixed with 4 tablespoons of water). Enjoy!

Decided to set up another thread on RECIPES, instead of hijacking this one! My apologies, Chunky Monkey. Contributions, please, everyone!

Did you really get all your electricals from Everjoint? Sorry to borrow your t-blog, Applefreak...but, MaCe has no blog.