Chunky Monkey

They are homogeneous tiles, wuga. And yes, they are 600 x 600 mm.

Canned abalone is the easiest. The best ones are those which are THICK and FIRM but soft to the bite. The premium brand is Calmex. About S$95 - S$105 per tin, I think. As for fresh abalone, I think the best grade is the Emperor Abalone that is a bit greenish. About A$150 each.

Good for you! Congratulations. Which industry are you in? My DH is in Investment Banking. But #$%@ the sub prime crisis - we expect his bonus to be a BIG FAT ZERO.

LOL! Sorry, I meant Franke for sinks! What was I thinking. I meant to say I would not think twice about getting a Franke sink. But I would hesitate with a Franke hood and hob. Teka hood is good. But make sure you get one that has a high suction. Else no use. Teka hob ... it's been along time since I viewed a Teka hob. But when I was considering it for my mother's kitchen, I changed my mind about it, because most of the models I like have grids that are made of cast iron, and if the maid is careless and drops it, either the floor tiles will crack or the stands inself will break into bits. (Maybe these days there are enamelled grids???) Don't go for Teka ovens. That's not their primary offering. Stick with De Dietrich. It may be expensive but very good. Miele's too expensive, not to mention Gaggenau. One day, if I should strike lottery, I would get a Gaggenau! (fat hope).

Re microwave + oven combi ... I got the 40L model (DME555X). No I didn't get their hood and hob. That is not what De Dietrich is known for in terms of their technology. WRT Teka (no offence to other forummers), I am someone who would not hesitate to buy their sinks. But nothing else. I have not moved house yet, and hence have not used the steam oven. But I have every intention to use it more, and use less of the microwave for cooking. For price reference, the De Dietrich steam oven is S$2300. I hope you can decide on what you want earlier than later. I suspect the price increases will be taking effect soon. Remember to get your electrician to provide a 16 AMP power point if you have the oven. And also the installation guide for your carpenter in providing the crevices for you, to build in the ovens. All De Dietrich ovens are built-in ones. Not for standalone.

The solo microwave is S$2400. The combi microwave + oven is S$2500. These are apparently the latest prices. But you will need 16 AMP power supply for the combi microwave + oven.

How about roller blinds? When not in use, it's rolled up. Normal curtains or venetian blinds or bamboo chick or another blinds will trap dirt and oil from your cooking. If your kitchen window is not too big, go to Ikea to see which of the standard sizes that they have can fit your use. No need to spend extra money to custom make roller blinds in this part of the house.

Yes, I bought the combi as well. The price difference between the combi microwave + oven is a couple of hundred more than the solo microwave, so I opted for the combi microwave + oven. You may wonder why I did that ... it's because I roast a lot, and having an extra oven on top of my big oven is surely a plus. There was one Xmas when I roasted 14 beef roasts; requests from friends. (non-profiting making. They just paid the cost of the ribeye) So for yourself, you need to decide what to do. If you get this combi as the only oven, when the oven's in use, you will have no microwave oven to defrost, melt chocolate, make pop corn, etc.

Yes, one sink for each of us.

Just playing devil's advocate here. Are you sure you want to do this? By using tinted window film, your rooms will be very dark when your windows are closed. There may be times when you want the breeze coming through, but do not want the glare. And this is when you need curtains or blinds.

I don't think so. You're not consuming the baking soda, anyway. Here's the link to the company that produces this http://www.armhammer.com/history/

I don't know which section to post this in. So I am posting here. Just found this at Cold Storage. A box of spill-proof baking soda, nicely packaged to put into your fridges and freezer. I bought 2 boxes to put in my new fridges to remove the smell inside.

binzz, I am very impressed with what your ID has done for your wall panelling and kitchen entrance. Very chic. You mentioned that your FSM recommended glass door for your kitchen entrance because of the need for light penetration from the living room. It looks like glass inside the kitchen, but the outside is laminate, right? How's the light penetration possible? Pardon my questions. I am curious.

Thank you, BunBun. All the homes I see here are very nice. 12 January 2008 My designer called up to say that the Corian guys would be going to my place to install the counter top for my bathroom earlier than the date they communicated to him. This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't make it for the installation. When I went there to see it a couple of hours later, this was what I saw ... I was pleasantly surprised. And I am usually very hard to surprise. The Corian guys did a fantastic job. No mistakes, and exact to my specifications. There will be 2 huge free standing mirrors on the ledge. The mirrors were leaning against the wall in the shower room. I tried to lift one of them up by myself but it was just too heavy to do so. Will have to wait for my main contractor to help me put them in place. In the coming week, I hope the plumber would be able to come back to install the faucets. My WIW is still not ready ... And I think it won't be ready till the very last minute!

Yang Guo, your kitchen is done up very nicely! And you must feel so proud! I think the pull out breakfast table is beautifully made too. Are your white cabinet doors lacquered doors? Do you have a cooker hood? The neutral colours in your living room is lovely too.

If the infestation is just the bed mattress alone, call in a mattress sanitizing company. I have a contract with De Hygienique. http://www.dh-asia.com/c_mattresssys.html

Each set of runners can support up to 50kg. So I won't push to the limit. I won't stack too many things in each drawer anyway. The increased height of the drawer is just to make sure things can't fall to the sides when I pull open the drawer. My wrought iron gates were installed today. It was a weird feeling. I felt as if the space has shrunken. The caged up feeling was no fun. I guess my feelings were no different from animals in captivity! Here are the pictures:-

Here's a reply from a staff from the Safety department of Spring. I emailed for clarifications about insurance, but as expected Spring does not have information about it, or is not in a position to comment on what's outside of their jurisdiction. But here's what the staff said pertaining to Safety Mark per se. Dear XXXX, It is a mandatory requirement that all consumer products that are designated as Controlled Goods must be approved and registered with the SPRING Singapore before they can be traded, supplied or advertised in the local market. Consumers are thus strongly advised to purchase controlled products that have been registered with SPRING Singapore, and are affixed with the SAFETY Mark. However, for home owners who decides to 'import' in their own electrical products for their own personal usage, the onus of ensuring that the product and its accessories are safe rest with them, and this advice is given without prejudice to any future amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, its Regulations or the List of Controlled Goods. We will be glad to arrange a meeting with you if you are interested to find out more information or further clarify issues in relation to the CPS Scheme. You may wish to contact me at 62793814. Thank you and have a good day ahead. Regards, Long Junming Safety Authority SPRING Singapore Direct : +65 6279 3814 Fax : +65 6278 9885 E-mail : long_junming@spring.gov.sg

11 January 2008 Update. We are at a stage where we are making note of areas that we want our main contractor to make good mistakes or improvement. Initially, my biggest peeve was the humming sound coming out from my PLC lights all over the house. That has been resolved. It was all because the ballasts inside the PLC housings were loose. So can you imagine the double work the electrician had to go through, to reach out to 70% of the lights in the house, to tighten up the ballasts. We are still getting bits and pieces of our carpentry work rectified. Unfortunately, an apprentice came along with 3 other senior carpenters. And this apprentice alone caused a lot of problems. He was not skillful enough when cutting the laminates/PVC edging that he broke some of the laminates that were already glued onto the carcass at the factory. There are areas that I can close an eye on, and let it pass. There are however mistakes that are too glaring and I am insisting on re-lamination. We have asked for removal of all the drawers in our kitchen larder. I have had experience with drawers that are not deep enough, and when you pull out the drawers, packets of food like chips fall out from the sides. So I insisted that all the shorter drawers be replaced. And this is not good for Classic, because I did tell my designer on more than one occasion that I wanted deep drawers, and he didn't think I needed them. Sorry that I won't be overruled. Here's a picture of 2 new sample deep drawers, amongst all the shorter ones. And I have also asked for the doors to be removed, to give me opaque film, which was what I asked for right from the start, by my designer thought it wouldn't look nice. But I am putting my foot down and that's what I want to get. And here's a picture of my twin fridges. One with a left hand close, and the other a right hand close I had my retractable awning made by Parosols Unlimited. I highly recommend them. Very professional and very good. I am using Somfy motor, the best in the market I hear. And the arms are very strong. More updates another time. Gotta take my kiddy winkies to school now.

I just want to add on to my earlier post regarding the Room Make Up Kit (wall stickers). I saw an advertisement in a magazine and it seems that some department stores and some children-related stores are already selling them here in Singapore. I didn't take down the details but I remember seeing Isetan as one of the retailers. So if anyone's keen to get them here, they are available. But they are more expensive than in the UK. Guess it's because of shipping + mark up.

At about 7 pm today, I was driving along the PIE towards Changi on the 2nd lane from the left, and needed to get onto the left lane so as to get onto the KPE. I gave an early signal. The driver on the left lane saw my left indicator but stepped on his accelerator (I could see him in my rear mirror). I continued with my left indicator for a couple of more seconds, hoping he would give way. He closed up even more. I got fed up and honked at him, loud and long. He backed off. And there I was in the car with my 3 year old, trying to get home but had to swear under my breath. WHY DO SINGAPORE DRIVERS DRIVE LIKE THIS!!!????!! A left signal or a right signal is a way of asking "please give away". Not a signal of inviting a challenge. I always give way when a car in front of me puts on his/her side indicators. Why can't everyone on the road be courteous and do the same!

http://www.spring.gov.sg/Content/ModulePag...e9-a885de0c3c9b Here is something for everyone to read whilst I seek clarification on the insurance matter.

This was told to me by the boss of the electrical company that is doing the re-wiring of my house. I hadn't read the fine print of my home fire insurance but this gives me an idea to email my banker and get the clarification. I did google some time ago, and I did come across some websites that say retailers in Singapore who are caught selling electrical items without the Safety Mark can be fined up to S$10,000. I haven't read anything about regulations against end consumers who choose to buy items with the approval of PSB. So I guess that is still pretty much the perogative of the homeowner. When I get more information, I will post back here. Especially the insurance bit.

erm, I think you have misunderstood my post. I was saying that the Tanjong Katong outlet is great. Different management.