minstrel

Thanks for your advice, wuga98. I did look at some of the die dietrich ones, but they are to expensive for us(ie: we are not willing to pay that price for a hob).

Getting the correct hob is also a chore because nowadays we also have the choice of gas, induction or halogen heating. Having used gas all my short life so far, I really was wondering how well one can cook on induction or halogen. I read somewhere that actually induction can give a very strong heating, but of course for wok with rounded surface cannot(although I am told there is one rounded surface induction hob in japan). The halogen and induction hobs really have a sleek look that would go well in any kitchen, but after some thinking, I thot the cost not worth it and also wasn't sure if I can cook things properly on induction or halogen, which seems better suited to western food. I am also scared that if there are young children in my kitchen they will put their hands on the vitro/halogen hob and get burnt. Of course the induction hob won't have this danger. In the end, I decide to stick with gas, but maybe consider the "domino": style with one halogen or induction burner just to see how it is.

Hi chunky monkey, We decided that if we can't get a nice glass hob, we'll get the ariston one even if it is SS. As u said SS is probably better wearing than glass, but glass looks a bit better. Having used SS for most of my life, I thot a change would be nice. I thot glass u just wipedown and it is OK liao???? SS will scratch and then won't look so nice and I am lazy to polish...... What I find disappointing abt the glass hobs I have seen so far is that most of them don't have thick cast-iron grids but use thin coated steel grids that look very flimsy to me. I have this in my old kitchen and want a change. I was willing to go with the tecno glass hob but my spouse not so happy with the brand......prefer to be "safe" and go for the euro brand. Wishing u a happy CNY.

No worries and no point in arguing. In the end it is just personal preference. As I said, we handled as many products of both brands as we could and I formed my opinion based on that. People are not clones and will always have different opinions. If u buy Grohe and are happy with it, then what more is there to say? I reiterate that I find Grohe overpriced and Hansgrohe, while it is expensive, I find it OK if u want a high-end shower. For the low end, I find the taps/showers from Poh Joo to be generally good value for money, their metal is thick and solid and the levers are smooth. Sorry, I can't agree with the honorable contributor who said that Hansgrohe feels inferior to Grohe. From my handling of the models, it was quite clear to me that Hansgrohe is far superior and I feel that Grohe is a greatly inferior product for the same price. If the Grohe is priced 20-30% cheaper, then it is OK. I understand that Grohe also jacked up its prices 30% just a year or so ago. Wish all a happy CNY and happy showering.

One problem I see is that many singaporeans have the mistaken idea that Grohe is very high-class because they see it in hotels and so on. Then suddenly they become aware of Hansgrohe and start to ask, how come got these two? Yet, a manual-handling and detailed comparison of similarly priced items clearly shows that Hansgrohe is far superior in quality and technology than Grohe anytime. That is only my personal opinion after handling dozens of both the products. It is almost as if the overpriced Grohe is trading on the reputation of its parent, Hansgrohe. As a last note, consider two similarly priced taps from both brands, and we have one made in germany(Hansgrohe), and one made around here, maybe in china for Grohe. Feel for yourself. Tap the steel, move the movable parts, feel the smoothness. Grohe is OK, but Hansgrohe at the same price is far superior anytime. I have no hesitation at all in saying this, and have bot $4K worth of Hansgrohe products.

After visiting Teka, I go to ariston(MAYER). This time, I see the products not bad, but their basic glass gas hob is also nothing special. I am beginning to suspect that our local brand "tecno" has the best basic glass hob, because they give solid cast-iron support and variety of glass surface and solid turning knobs. The ariston glass hob has the thin coated steel support for cooking vessel that I dun like. But we see another stainless steel gas hob with solid cast-iron support and vitroceramic/halogen heating area in centre.....glass is ceran(brand-name) vitroceramic. Altho it is stainless and not glass, we think this one maybe more useful. Turning knobs also quite solid. Can give variable fire, small or big from the each burner. My spouse say, the vitroceramic halogen burner in the centre can use to keep sauce or food warm. So far, this one seems the best gas hob we have seen, unfortunately it is SS instead of glass.

Went to Teka showroom and was a bit disappointed as the ones I was interested in turned out to be nothing great compared to other brands like tecno, rinnai, cuizino, ariston, etc. We were looking for a basic gas hob with glass surface, but the teka ones did not impress.....rather standard, no different from others. Also when I mentioned that their basic glass hob did not have cast-iron support, the salesperson quickly dissed cast-iron supports by saying they will break if dropped accidentally. Then how come all the high-end teka hobs got cast-iron supports, then? No good, ahhh? I wanted to say like this, but maintained politeness. Then I saw the ovens and asked how come teka got no catalytic or pyrolytic oven(this is to clean it more easily). The sales person say this feature is actually no good because it waste a lot of electricity.....then how come all the high-end ovens got this feature????? By this time I feel no confidence in teka brand and politely say thank u and leave. Very disappointing.

I have bot the Raindance AIR from Hansgrohe and also some taps. I understand if u buy the smaller rainshower below 200mm(mine is 180mm), u usually will have no problem with water pressure, as long as u have a storage water heater tank. This is for HDB. I prefer the Hansgrohe to Grohe because I think Grohe is overpriced and Hansgrohe Rainshower AIR mixes 3 parts air with 1 part water to give a very soft shower......this is the original rainshower in my opinion....Grohe just gives a normal shower, but with equal and widely dispersed droplets, they do not mix it with air. Might as well get those high-end in-house brand from PJ , HK or SSC like that, for one-third the price(I also have bot tap and shower from PJ, toilet from HK, basin from SSC and seen and handled everything in PJ, HK and SSC) Also since Hansgrohe Raindance AIR mixes 3 parts AIR with 1 part water, obviously less water(and thus less pressure is needed). Looking at the history of Hansgrohe and Grohe, Grohe is the offshoot of Hansgrohe, bot over by other people and now the bad-blood competitor to Hansgrohe. I understand all Hansgrohe things are still made in Germany whereas Grohe has many parts made in this region. This is not bad in itself, but I have handled dozens of taps and mixers and showers of both brands and IMO, Hansgrohe is clearly superior in price, quality and design. In the beginning I also was quite confused between the two but this is my conclusion. If Grohe is 20-30% cheaper, then it is OK. Handle it yourself and decide for yourself.

Recently we purchase some rainshowers and taps from Hansgrohe, the Raindance "AIR" type(some are Rainshower but not "AIR"). I understand this type mixes 3 parts air to 1 part water to give a very gentle but encompassing shower. I am told by the staff that the smaller Rainshowers up to 180mm for the head size will work OK in most HDB estates, except that u must have a storage water heater tank to back up each unit. Those above 200mm will have trouble. For those above 200mm(I saw some 300mm and above), they recommended a booster valve. I dun know whether this can be fitted in HDB. We bot ours from Home and Bathroom Building Products, Balestier Road. There is also one showroom at Mohd Sultan, I think. Remember to ask for 20% discount on list price. I also advise against buying Grohe, because I think it is very overpriced and IMO, not as good as Hansgrohe. The 180mm head cost abt $500+, and the concealed mixer(no thermostat) abt $400+ -------------------------------- For our kid's bathroom, we decided to put a non-branded shower and after visting Hoe Kee and SSC, we decide to go with Poh Joo because their metal quality is better(thicker), their pipes and showerhead is more solid. Our set of showerpipe, concealed mixer, plus big showerhead, plus extension plus handshower costs about $400. Looking at their taps and sinks, I generally find their in-house brand taps and sinks to have better(thicker) metal and better quality than those in-house brands in Hoe Kee and SSC. Like their tap with the joystick on top stops in the centre to close water and does not travel everywhere. This is like Damixa. So far I don't see this in HK and SSC. Thus for the non-branded taps, IMO, Poh Joo is best. Their kitchen sink also has thicker metal than those house brands in HK and SSC. Not to put down HK and SSC, because we bot some toilets and basins from them. But not taps and metal things.