Back To The West

[Celtricia 6]

Good try and it does look yummy... Can share receipe??

[aluka 32]

A Thought or Two On The Oven

The oven, the want to have but not need to have. Unless you are a baking enthusiast who use it more than twice a month, else it is still after all a nice deco in modern kitchen.

Here to pen down some thoughts that cross my mind when placing the oven. Never been a fan of oven under the stove.

Main reason - pure laziness. I cant imagine keep bending over to check the cooking every now and then plus the everyday ageing didnt help either.

We went shopping for some roast ware and good lord, arent those heavy! A whatever fancy named ware is easily 1kg or more.

Throw in the ingredients and you are looking at 2kg or more up. Non issue for most guys but posing a challenge for the petite ladies.

Couple with the blazing heat, it certainly complicates matter.

So with the waist height installation, it kinda solve, if not lessen the burden and risk involved during operation.

And not forgetting most oven are pulled down type, those with mini me/mini you who are in the phase of trigger happy, may unknowingly reach for it.

Plus waist height gives you the excuse have a full height carpentry which most properly isnt goona differ much from normal cost.

And also the means to stick a "Tower" drawer unit beside it, so wont look so lonely.

So you might wonder, after penning this much, I should be a decent user who can bake or roast?

Matter of fact, I'm neither. However, I am doing the hard part - eating.

Completely agree with your thoughts "The oven, the want to have but not need to have. Unless you are a baking enthusiast who use it more than twice a month, else it is still after all a nice deco in modern kitchen."..

I also ended up buying an oven for the sake of having one - although I like to do a roast once in a while.

But I ended up putting the oven in the bottom cabinet to garner more tabletop space.

[OceanEleven 203]

Good try and it does look yummy... Can share receipe??

Here you go, Missus says she got the recipe here.

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/44497/baked-flan

http://m.allrecipes.com/video/2861/baked-flan

[Celtricia 6]

Thanks oceaneleven missus!

[Feliciachua 3]

011..nice baking..looks yummy... ...

[Guest SheenaHu]

Interest in Brick Wall is high so update a little more here. Surprisingly many still unable to find the craft brick seller.

Google it and you can get the answer already. They are known as Craftstone International Sdn Bhd located at Kulai, Bukit Batu.

They have an office in Sungei Kadut Street 1 but the price is local price and no free delivery to Singapore.

Call the JB office and Serene is the lady you should speak to.

As mentioned, they do not deliver to Singapore. They outsource the delivery to Singapore. Cost SGD250 per trip.

Delivery only to address site and not to unit. ie downstairs only.

Another alternative is to drive in and meet at the Shell station right after the JB customs.

Depending on the quantity bought, a car should be able to fit in 10 cartons.

Note : Per carton is very heavy. My guess is easily 20kg.

Please declare GST. Per pax may bring in SGD150 worth of items if out of Singapore for less than 24 hrs.

Hi OceanEleven,

Check with you something, do you still remember the model for your brick wall? Is it CSI-093?

[OceanEleven 203]

Completely agree with your thoughts "The oven, the want to have but not need to have. Unless you are a baking enthusiast who use it more than twice a month, else it is still after all a nice deco in modern kitchen."..

I also ended up buying an oven for the sake of having one - although I like to do a roast once in a while.

But I ended up putting the oven in the bottom cabinet to garner more tabletop space.

Fully understood the agony when making such decision.

The heart yearns for what one's desire rules over any rational thoughts.

Made a small post on your blog. Let's see if you wanna make some amendments or if it's too late.

[OceanEleven 203]

011..nice baking..looks yummy... ...

Yup, the taste is good indeed. Or at least suits my taste buds.

Thanks oceaneleven missus!

She says "You're welcome."

To add on, she made some tweaking on the recipe on her own.

[OceanEleven 203]

Hi OceanEleven,

Check with you something, do you still remember the model for your brick wall? Is it CSI-093?

Yup it is. Austin 093.

If you wanna have a feel, I have some balance left over. PM me.

[qianger21 0]

Brands and Pricing for Vinyl

So far I had only compared 2 brands, namely Evorich and Krono.

With laminates out of the pictures, so does Supreme, Pergo, Tarkett etc too.

Evorich as many will know is aggressive with marketing and promotion. Sponsoring TV shows and attending excitations and mind you, these cost money.

My gut feel is that what the psf price offered during exhibition can be offered during walk in as well.

Main factor deciding what price you get is the floor area you are doing. If you are doing a complete 5 room compared to doing 3 bedrooms for a 5 room, chances are you are able to bargain a better psf price.

So note this when considering, it should the same for any brand of flooring – area dictates.

Evorich import their flooring from the States but the hearsay is that the States dealer gets their stock from China.

So if this is true, at the end of the day, we are paying for made in China product.

No that I have a problem with this but simply for knowledge purposes.

Anyway, the walk in psf is approx. $7 but roadshow/exhibition prices vary which as mentioned, depends on area.

From friends and fellow reno bloggers,I have heard can be anywhere from $6 to $6.25.

The feel and texture are pretty alluring and comes in many shades of wood and grains, a worthy consideration if one like what they see and feel.

Evorich market their vinyl as HERF ie. High End Resilient Flooring. And yes, it sound sophisticated.

Next, there is Krono. A brand known more for their laminates. This was introduced to me by my ID.

They had brought in vinyl flooring as well but not aggressive in marketing. Matter of fact, you cant even find this product on their website.

I had visited their showroom; there are 17 colours to choose from, with 7 more to come in April.

Seriously, texture and feel wise, it is hard to tell them apart from Evorich. Perhaps one a little more matt while the other is slightly glossier.

The range is pretty comprehensive and enticing. I would say one or two colours will meet one's preference

Krono’s vinyl is from Korea, well that’s what I heard and their pricing is approx. almost $1 cheaper than Evorich – ranges like $5plus

Samples from both brands I had, look similar to me. When lie side by side, I cant tell them apart.

I stand corrected, both products are actually OEMs, meaning factory manufacture for them, but branding and marketing done by their own companies.

After looking thru both companies and knowing I have no beef with my pocket, I went with Krono.

HI Oceaneleven,

Saw that you are using krono flooring. Do you know details about it? my id also quote krono vinyl herf flooring for me.... but when i googled online kronos doesnt carry vinyl. From their website, it seems like they only have laminates....

do you have more information or any weblink about it?

Edited October 14, 2014 by qianger21

[OceanEleven 203]

HI Oceaneleven,

Saw that you are using krono flooring. Do you know details about it? my id also quote krono vinyl herf flooring for me.... but when i googled online kronos doesnt carry vinyl. From their website, it seems like they only have laminates....

do you have more information or any weblink about it?

Actually I do not have any more info. I am using Krono O, maybe you wanna check it up a bit more.

Anything you can PM me.

[anastasia 0]

Yup it is. Austin 093.

If you wanna have a feel, I have some balance left over. PM me.

Hi OceanEleven,

I'm Sheenahu here,

I tired to PM you but it seen like cannot get thru maybe your inbox is full. I would like to meet up to get the some balance you had to see how is it.

[OceanEleven 203]

Hi OceanEleven,

I'm Sheenahu here,

I tired to PM you but it seen like cannot get thru maybe your inbox is full. I would like to meet up to get the some balance you had to see how is it.

Yup PM box full and now cleared.

These are pretty nice looking bricks.

[Celtricia 6]

Yup, the taste is good indeed. Or at least suits my taste buds.

She says "You're welcome."

To add on, she made some tweaking on the recipe on her own.

Oooo.. tweaking of the receipe is fine.. fits ur taste buds most impt.. i will see if i nid to do tweaking to fit my family of farm animals.. hahahah

[ma5quer 3]

Spent a night reading through the wealth of info here! Thanks for sharing! Very useful for a noob soon-to-be-house-owner-and-amazon/taobao-shopper like me!