Mission Impossible

[zihui 7]

congrats zihui! and yeah kudos to sarah and Vanessa!

Thanks oldskool! If my reno process can be half as successful as yours, I'll be thrilled!

And you're right - both sarah and vanessa have been awesome role models for me to leech upon

Congrats zihui & kenn!

Thanks Vi!!

Our reno projects are starting around the same time!

[ProjectH 0]

Haha ya mine starts this Thursday!

U need to teach me how to use flickr to upload pix on t-blog.. Haha.. Can't stand one until i learnt how to upload pix

[zihui 7]

Haha ya mine starts this Thursday!

U need to teach me how to use flickr to upload pix on t-blog.. Haha.. Can't stand one until i learnt how to upload pix

Outstanding!

Can't wait to start supporting your t-blog.

actually, i don't use flickr.

i use imageshack

[oldskool 2]

projecth in Flickr u just need to copy and past the BBCode into your post the pic w appear when u post.

lemme know if u need help cheers

[ProjectH 0]

Oh sounds easy to upload pix! Shall try tonite! Tx oldskool!

[ProjectH 0]

How come ur fsm didn't do the house open door ceremony tog with u? Shld be part of their services..

Anyway, hope ur audit won't change much of ur plan.. We have audit as well n had to shift our stove accordingly n certain colours that we can't use..

[zihui 7]

How come ur fsm didn't do the house open door ceremony tog with u? Shld be part of their services..

Anyway, hope ur audit won't change much of ur plan.. We have audit as well n had to shift our stove accordingly n certain colours that we can't use..

hahahhaa

because we didn't see the need for the FSM to do the door opening ceremony with us

that's why we've set the appointment with him to come to our place this Saturday to do the audit.

you're right... we're crossing our fingers and really hoping that the audit won't result in too many unwanted changes

[soonliew 2]

Congra Zihui, after a long wait, hope your reno will be a smooth one.

Remember to post more pic.

[zihui 7]

Congra Zihui, after a long wait, hope your reno will be a smooth one.

Remember to post more pic.

Thanks soonliew!

We are soon-to-be neighbours

if you were in our area yesterday and smelt the burning incense, that would be me

[ProjectH 0]

Icic.. Mine's a all-in package so comes with door opening audit etc.. Enjoy ur reno process babe

[soonliew 2]

Haha I think you will smell my incense when I have my door opening ceremony.

[sarah833 3]

congrats Zihui!

the portable side table/bar looks cool! very handy during big gatherings

Thanks to sarah833 who has instilled the online shopping bug in us (*kowtow*), the HTB and I scour gumtree & ebay on a daily basis to see if we too can find good bargains on items that we want.

Thus far, we've managed to get the following loots from online sellers that we're very happy with:

1) A BNIB portable side table / bar with storage for 34 cans in white ($100):

2) A BNIB Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo in white ($120):

3) A coffee table in white (with glass top) in pristine condition ($120):

A huge thank you goes out to online shopping gurus like sarah833 & vanessa for inspiring us!

[zihui 7]

With the advice from well-meaning friends and families ringing in our ears (coupled with very strict budget constraints - Mission Impossible, remember?), we've spent a fortnight checking out the prices of hoods, hobs and ovens from the usual suspects - EJ, HL, Mega and Paris. It's interesting how one shop would recommend a brand A while pointing out the flaws behind brand B and then when we go over to another shop, the 2nd place would recommend brand B while vigorously pointing out the flaws behind brand A. All a matter of commission and the need to clear inventory stocks, methinks.

We actually started out wanting a 3 burner glass hob (which certain friends vehemently advised against ("When will you ever use all 3 burners?", "The placement of the centre burner so ugly!" and my personal fave "The pot handles will banging into each other if you use all 3 burners")), a chimney hood with a decent enough suction to suck up the fumes from the burnt cooking of the HTB (acting on the advice of our resident RT chef, vanessa!) as well as a built in oven so that I can pretend to bake once in a while and indulge in my dreams of appearing on Top Chefs Just Desserts ("Fan or no fan?". "Top level heating or bottom level heating?", "Self-wash function needed?" and my new fave, "You buy this oven, you can cook EVERYTHING")

I swear I'm not making this up but at one particular stall, the sentence coming out of the salesman's mouth most often was, "Your budget, IMPOSSIBLE lah". Has he been reading my t-blog?

In the end, we finally decided to exercise our Manhattan credit card and plonked for the following:

1) Fujioh 2 burner glass hob FG-792 GL ($380)

2) EF Slimline Cooker Hood ($350) [We wanted a chimney hood but they were too expensive. We were also very hesitant about getting a hood from EF but in the end, we caved because of the chimney hood motor and the strong suction]

3) Bosch Built In Oven HBN331E2J ($620)

Total damage - $1,350

Budget constraints are a huge pain... but I guess the HTB summed it well when he said, "You think if we buy De Dietrich appliances, you'll become Nigella Lawson har?"

Now it's time to head over to the Sia Huat sale over the weekend!

Edited September 11, 2013 by zihui

[greglhc 30]

haha nice to hear the story about hood and hob

i also faced the same problem since i am no expert chef/cook but want to cook simple stuff from time to time

from the differences based on technical specs and some online review, it seems like cannot really differentiate between the brands very well

[zihui 7]

haha nice to hear the story about hood and hob

i also faced the same problem since i am no expert chef/cook but want to cook simple stuff from time to time

from the differences based on technical specs and some online review, it seems like cannot really differentiate between the brands very well

hahahaha that's a very good point. I'm not at that stage where a difference in specs makes a huge difference to me.

Cooking simple stuff from time to time is perfectly fine.

Just don't be like my HTB - he makes an entire production out of cooking. He watches too many reality food shows and starts to fancy himself as some sort of expert on cooking. It's like backseat driving - when I'm making pasta for example, he walks into the kitchen suddenly and goes, "Remember to use some of the water that you boiled the pasta in for the sauces. That's what David Rocco says to do." or "Make sure you don't double dip when you're tasting the food. Gordon hates that." (Now he's on a first name basis with the celebrity chefs?)

When it's his turn to cook... oh my god... the mess that he creates. He makes such a big deal out of 'preparing the required ingredients beforehand', slaves over the stove, sweats buckets... only to produce a simple aglio olio pasta. *facepalm* The way he goes on about it, I half expected an entire 8 course feast hahahahah