xaleysan

I use this too, with the green micro fibre cloth. It is good. My only complain is I have to take the cloth out, rinse by hand, and put it back again. I like to rinse the cloth often and this waste a lot of time. So I like to use it for cleaning windows and wall tiles in the kitchen and toilets. For mopping the floor, I bought the Spinning mop from Robinsons(shown on TV media) for my mum and we like it a lot. Rinsing the mop is a breeze. No more bending down to hand squeeze mops. Mopping now is so much faster. Stainless steel items My bathroom corner shelf from Poh Joo also rust. I had expected it, since it was cheap. But scrubbing with green wool once in a while removes the rust. IKEA items Generally, things that I want them to last, I will NOT buy from Ikea. I only buy things like crockery, boxes, non important stuff like batteries and light bulbs. Most of the furniture are good to look only. A note on roller blinds. I love my roller blinds, have been using roman and roller blinds for the past 15 years. Just do not get from Ikea please. Get those from reputable curtain shops. This is an area which cannot save on, IMO.

window latch means the handle is it? You can get from neoghbourhood hardware shops. I just got for my windows. There are different types, cost a few dollars each.

Nice loft unit there! I immediately thot of remote controlled blinds for the living room

Am using the Roomba and recommend it. Amazed at the dust it can pick up even after I had vacuumed and mopped the place! Not to mention it saves time. Just let it do its job when you are out. Pls do not buy the Korean brand robot vacuum. I think you can check youtube for many comparison tests. There usually is a booth at IT shows selling Irobot at a slight discount.

I was still receiving my ex-owner's credit card statement after 2 years. Before that, all the "Recipient has moved" I wrote on the returned mail were useless. I opened the letter, it was a credit card statement which he had <$10 owing to the bank. Icalled the bank, spoke to the CSO, made sure I got his name (very important), and told them the matter. Within a day, they called up the ex-owner, confirmed that he had moved, and settled the matter. For the other non-important mail like advertisements, club newsletters etc, I just kept writing "Recipient has moved" and returned the mail. After some time, most of them stopped. Those which did not, went into the dustbin.

Hi all! Haven't been in logged in here for a long time. I made this dish Baked Miso Cod Fish 2 days ago and thought I would like to share it. I have made this quite a number of times, it is easy and nice. Hope you will like it! 300g Cod Fillet 1/2 cup miso paste 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon rice wine 1/2 lemon 1. Rinse fish fillet and drain. Marinate with miso paste, sugar and rice wine for 2 hours. 2. After 2 hours, rinse marinated fish with cold water, then place onto grill rack in oven. Bake at 200 degree celsius for 15 minutes. 3. Squeeze lemon juice onto fish and serve.

Hi Powder Blue, I've a kitchenaid KSM150 and it is a super workhorse. I have heard that Kenwood is more "powerful" but I've not used it before, so I can't comment on this area. But I personally find the splashguard of the Kitchenaid rather useless, and I like the Kenwood's splashguard more (especially when you beat lots of icing sugar and don't want them flying around). Between the 2, the KA has bigger capacity though. Having said these, both brands have their own fans and I've not heard anyone's KW or KA burning out on them.

Hi ynove, I think I saw at PH Holland V. Maybe u can call them before making a trip there. Or try Sia Huat too? They might have since they supply to lots of hotels and restaurants. Ya I think you can bake in a single pan, but it will take longer, so have to monitor it.

Hey Ynove, ya Scanpan is pretty ex. Depends on how often you would use it, I do not roast whole chicken (only parts), so I would not buy it. Oh ya, I forgot, you can also use the pan that comes with the oven? Correct me if I'm wrong, for roasting, the meat is not directly on the pan, so all materials should be fine? Cake batters depend on the leavening agent and also on the technique. Honestly, the muffins I made by creaming method turn out fine even after they sat for some time. But for chiffon/light sponge cakes, they have to be baked immediately. For your 9" cake, what type of cake is it? If it is a more dense cake and would not rise too much, a 10" pan would result in a cake that's not very high. Maybe you could try a smaller version first and test out the oven at the same time? I've read about probe thermomters, think Phoon Huat has one but I don't know how good it is. I use the simple one, just put inside the oven.

Hi ynove! *warning! lengthy post!* I don't think there is any roasting pan that suits this oven size. Last time, I also searched high and low for pans that fit. But if you really want to roast, you can get a square pan (with low sides) and a metal steaming rack (the kind we put in wok/pans to steam things) and use it as a roasting pan. For some recipes, depending on the flavours, you can put sticks of carrots/ lemongrass etc under the meat and act as racks. For cookie pans, I found only Willow brand could fit into it. Mine is silver aluminium pan, u can find at some Cold Storage (item 1708/9 from this site and item 1610 from here). The non-stick ones seemed to be discontinued here. Phoon Huat also have some rectangular trays that might fit. Do bring along measuring tape to measure before u buy, because I realised that Willow's dimensions for the same product sometimes changes when they have new labelling. Also for some other brands, the dimensions listed on the box could be "internal" dimensions of the tray, so I measure to play safe before buying. I've baked cakes, cupcakes, breads, pastries, meats, baked rice, almost everything with my Tefal oven. The posts in my blog before Dec 2009 were all using this oven and I still use it now, though less often. For cupcakes/muffins, you can use those more solid cupcake cups (instead of paper liners) and put on a cookie tray. Or you can put paper liners into small aluminium baking cups and then onto a tray. That can make about 10-12, but do test the hot/cold spots of your oven and rotate your trays halfway accordingly. IMHO, getting a second rack will not help. Because the oven is small, if there are 2 racks, they will either be too near the top/bottom heating coil, other than not enough space to rise. It's true leaving your batter too long is not good, but for cupcakes and muffins, there is no significant difference from my experience. For sponge cakes, put them in a single tray and bake all at once, and then split them into layers afterwards. I would recommend getting an oven thermometer too, as manual dials tend to become unrealiable over time. Hope these help!

I think the chocolate for fondue is also different and they will not burn easily. In phoon huat, you can find chocolate that is for fondue purposes.

Hehe, sorry ah. My reply came too late. Wow. so many nice cupcakes with big juicy strawberries! Would like to share the cheesecake brownie and oreo cheesecake I made last week. The recipes can be found in my blog.

Dairy contains butterfat (usually indicated on pack as 36-40% fat), and non-dairy contains vegetable oil. Actually both can be used for filling and covering cakes, just that non-dairy will hold up better. I keep my unused whipping cream in airtight containers or in a few layers of sandwich bags tied tightly. I had no problem with them keeping up to 2 months. If you are not using a lot, can get those smaller 200ml packs. Be careful it will splatter! So start on slow speed, or cover briefly with a cloth. If you do choose to use dairy one, do not overwhip otherwise it will curdle and you will get butter liao.

No leh, I forgot to take picture of the inside. But it looks similar to the picture from the book... You can leave the coconut if you don't like it. I have eaten some carrot cakes that don't have this. I like it though. Weiwei, you can do a simple one, cover the cake with fresh cream. Buy non-dairy whipping cream (can get from Phoon Huat). Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge till they are cold. Then beat the whipping cream till they are double in volume and are spreadable on the cake (preferably place your mixing bowl over a bowl of ice while beating). A little goes a long way e.g. 200g is more than enough to cover a 6" cake and also fill the layers. Do note that cakes covered in fresh cream must be refrigerated. Alternatively, you can use buttercream. I use swiss meringue or italian meringue buttercream for my cakes. Swiss meringue buttercream recipe Hope this helps!

if you don't mind your raisins not soft, it's ok la. Last time, I used to use straight from the pack too. Then I kept wondering how come the raisins not soft... Actually if your recipe uses a lot of raisins, soak longer will be even better, they'll be more flavourful with the liquor.

raisins must be softened before you can use them for baking, so the rum is for soaking them and also to add some flavour

hello everyone! my latest bake is a carrot cake. It's a new recipe I am trying this time. I forgot to take picture of the inside, but the cake was nice and moist. I have added the recipe --> Carrot cake recipe Though quite tedious to prepare the ingredients, it is worth a try if you like yours moist like me.

Hi dmay! just chance upon this and saw that your flat is exactly the same as my parents'. They are in your adjacent block. Senja is nice isn't it? Too bad I moved out to Segar. Your kitchen looks so nice, I have to show my mum. And my dad has been saying forever, that he wants to have a projector in the living room like yours. I think when they see your place, they will be even more tempted to renovate

Hi BunBun, don't say that, so paiseh. I still have lots to learn. Hi Rondy, ya, you might have to shorten the baking time. What flavours are they? Are 2 of them pistachio and earl grey flavour? If yes, how was the taste? I've never tried earl grey ones.

I heard pple talked about Baby Belling too. I've seen an instructor used hers was a very old model and it looked bigger than the current one we see in stores. I find the current one small, and quite low (in terms of height). I think there may be some restrictions for baking high cakes, just my opinion.

Hi! There are 3 parts to this cake (sponge cake, buttercream and choc fudge icing) + about 2-3 ripe bananas A) Chocolate Sponge Cake (the recipe I used was this, but I found it too light to support the layers, so this one below is better) (taken from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials Chocolate) 220g unsalted butter, softened 440g caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 4 eggs 300g plain flour, sifted 60g cocoa powder, sifted 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 250ml milk 2 Tbsp instant coffee granules or powder dissolved in 1 1/2 Tbsp boiling water 1. Preheat oven to 160 degree celsius (I used 175-180 degrees) 2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer for 10-12 min or until light and creamy 3. Gradually add eggs and beat well. 4. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and milk. 5. Spoon the mixture into 2 lightly greased 8 inch round tins lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 45-50 min or until cooked when tested with a skewer 6. Stand in the tin for 10 min and then turn out to wire rack to cool. 7. Slice each cake in half horizontally and assemble the layers. B) Buttercream You can use this recipe here and add 40g melted chocolate to it. Or you can use non-dairy whipping cream + melted chocolate for a less fat option. DON"T add cocoa powder after the buttercream/non-dairy whipping cream is whipped, otherwise it will look "polka-dotted" and ugly like mine C) Chocolate Truffle Icing The recipe is here Hope you try and will like it!

Hi Honeygal, the Tefal takes longer to warm up. It's heat is quite even and it has self cleaning walls. But it's getting more difficult to find baking trays that can fit into it (esp cookie trays) because of its size. Since it's small, baking sometimes take a little longer (for bigger items like whole cakes, breads). Btw, the Delonghi model is AOV842, 42L. It is good so far, but it has no self cleaning walls, do might be more greasy esp if you bake whole chicken in it. For mine, there is a "cool spot" which is not as hot, but I guess most ovens has their hot and cool spots, even the expensive ones. For cakes, I don't use fan. I've only used the fan once so far, for cookies, so I can't say much about it. Oh, and there is light inside, so you can look at your food being baked (which I like to do so ) I've also heard people comment that Rowenta is not bad. But I've not used it before. My only finding was that although capacity is bigger than the Tefal, the length of the baking area is almost the same, and I don't want finding suitable sized trays to be a hindrance, so I dropped it as an option. The $1k oven you are referring to is built-in oven? I very "gian" to have built in oven actually, so much bigger! But I din reno my kitchen when I bought my resale flat, so there goes. IMHO, there are many people who buy that and then rarely use it later on. It becomes a storage cabinet for them and it's a waste. Oh if you are not in a hurry, wait for Tangs sale where they have 10% for electricals and you will surely qualify for free delivery. When I bought at Best, there was no discount and I had to pay for delivery. I needed it urgently so no choice, but if you can wait, then no harm save some $.

Hi Honeygal, thanks! I use a Tefal 26L tabletop oven (mine is the old model w/o fan). It's been serving me very well but it can a be a bit small sometimes so lately I also purchased a Delonghi tabletop oven. I can't remember the model, but the outside is stainless steel, it usually retails for abt $599 at Best Denki. That is the biggest tabletop oven I can find. Hi Rondy, Not so kua zhang, compete with breadtalk? I'm still far from expert!I really love to bake though, and recently just feel a little more confident to take a few orders from home, but still very far from the professionals, still honing my skills. I have tried a chocolate chiffon cake, the recipe is here. It's from another blogger. The texture is nice, though I would prefer the flavour to be pandan flavour. If you try her pandan flavour one, share with us on the outcome?

Hi all, I'm new to this thread. Funny how I've been lurking in this forum 2 years ago during my hse reno, but never seen this thread. I love to bake, and am happy to see so many pple here share the same hobby. I have my baking blog at www.mybakingblog.blogspot.com. Look forward to be sharing tips and info with you

when my locksmith asked me whether i want to have the same key for all my locks, my first question was the same as you "if lose the key, I have to change all the locks?". Then he told me what I said in my earlier reply, if lose the key, then just change 1 or 2 of the 3 locks....unless you still want to retain a single key again, then change all 3 locks.......and I thought..."ya hor, actually it's the same".