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Monday, September 26, 2011

My Kitchen and FAQ on your Demand- Get to know me week # 1

First of all, a big sorry to all my readers. I promised pictures of my new kitchen even before Reuben was born. Now he's hitting 4 months old already and I'm only getting the pictures out.

So, here is my kitchen. Nothing fancy about it, just a kitchen. Before that, let me clarify that I'm not rich. I just happen to stay in a small town where property is affordable and renovation workmanship costs are much lower than in big cities. I stay in a small town, where there is no McDonalds, ok.

Just in case you scroll too fast and missed my last paragraph,
Is there anything you want to ask me, for example.............
     "Wendy, do you clean the house daily with 3 kids around"
     "Wendy, when are going back to work"
     "Wendy, don't you get crazy with the kids around and staying home"
     "Wendy, what's your favourite kitchen tool?"
More info at the last paragraph


Here's the story about 'My Kitchen'.

**********
When we decided to renovate the house, we planned to extend 21 feet out to the side, with halfway the length of the house, it's like 21X17. Sounds big right? My wet kitchen will take up 80% of that extension, with the current kitchen turned into a dry kitchen. Not totally dry, just no cooking. I was planning to turn the dry kitchen into a drinks area. And a bar with high chairs will extend into the dining area from the dry kitchen. With cookie jars on the bar counter, bakes all placed there for consumption (provided the ants don't get to it :p), and we can have our drinks made there and the kids, their milk and juice.

In my wet kitchen, I planned my kitchen to have a 3X5 marble top island, if better 3X6. Then I can have friends over to bake. My husband even suggested I have the stools built to insert right under the island like how it is in the Science lab, with cabinets underneath to keep all my baking tools. Then I want to have a 3 ft round table for afternoon tea in the kitchen overlooking the garden through the 5ft tall windows.
I wanted to have a China display cabinet for my grandma's beautiful porcelain sets.

Then changes came by... and more changes ... and more changes. The dry kitchen has to switch to a different area with a smaller space, then later, even the dry kitchen had to go.  Then we had to cut the wet kitchen to make space for a maid's room because Reuben was concieved just before work started. Now, I'm left with only 40% of the original planned kitchen space. Made me wanted to cry. No island, no bar, no separate dry and wet kitchen............... My kitchen's my comfort zone, I don't think i'll move into another house and get another kitchen. The new kitchen outlay does not permit me to have an island as it is shaped like a L. And I can't extend the kitchen anymore to the side, I wanted some space to do some gardening as well. My dream is shaaaaaaaaaaaattered.
Swee San knew about the whole ordeal, about all the changes and pooor me.

When one of my friends came to visit me, she said she must look at my kitchen, and when she did, she covered her mouth and gasped. "Wendy, I am shocked. I imagined you will have a huge kitchen with an island. I never thought it will be this small, small in terms for you." Seee............ even my friend says so.

Well, my husband said, in 10 years time, we'll knock down the kitchen and renovate it again, ok. And since the maid is just for Reuben's time, we'll knock off that room later so that the kitchen can be big once again. Do you believe him? No I don't. The maid is no where to be seen even now. LOL. But then again, frankly, I don't need one. Provided, he doesn't complain about the state of the house. Hahahaha!

*****End of Kitchen Story.********

So now, please take a tour of my ZONE

A general view from different areas of my kitchen to let you have an idea of the layout




Here's where I cook. Yes I'm using a countertop stove. I don't want a built in stove top. Much to the shock of some that I used this old fashioned stove. LOL. Some can't believe that I bought this. Well, I had enough of wiping and cleaning under the stove whenever porridge overflows right into the cabinets via the small opening between the stove and the cut out hole. I totally had enough of it. The stove is Elba but it's not that good. I wanted to get a Zanussi, but the model I wanted keep running out of stock at HSL. The hood is Kelvinator. So far ok, very powerful. Catches a good amount of oil, especially after a good ole session of Char Kway Teow. Clean it often, close the windows when using it for maximum suction power and it'll be fine.





Here's my food prep area



Here's my ovens area, a built in oven and a microwave oven. The cabinets beneath the microwave oven is full of Tupperware. Scary.. LOL.
And I've got my cookbooks right above the microwave oven. Not a huge collection. The carpenter (not an ID, I just engaged a carpenter, see?) got a shock that I wanted a bookshelf in the kitchen. My hubby told me to forgive him for not seeing anyone with cookbooks in the kitchen. LOL.
And the whole cabinet from top to bottom of my oven is filled with my baking gadgets. It's a very tall cabinet :p
Oh yes, the oven's Bosch, not something from the high range, and how was it?...... hmm.. so so la.



Here's my new drinks and snack area, with the breakfast table right infront of it. No bar, no bar!!! I use the marble table for kneading and cake deco. I've got the aircond fixed there so that I can decorate my cakes without entering the bedroom :)


And another view of my kitchen. See the distance of the fridge door (or right) to the mixer? It's only 5ft. Cannot insert any island!!! See the short curtains above my double sinks? My husband hated them, saying they look like petticoats (底裙,kain dalam) and gave the excuse that he doesn't want to stand there and do the dishes. LOL.


And this is my new toy, bought from US. A bowl lifter model. I chose this because I want to bake bigger batches of bread. I'm stingy with electricity so baking one small loaf is out of the question. And if the bowl can be lifted, I can whip my eggs with a waterbath underneath.
My sister in law lugged it all the way back for me. Since its wattage is US 110V, and can't be plugged in directly into our sockets, I used a transformer. Works just as good. I don't know if you realised, I don't bake much bread before this. Hahaha.. Actually I've got a whole bunch of bread postings in my drafts, but I don't want to post them before I show you my kitchen. I'm learning to bake bread, yes proper bread.



I know, to make a good bread, one does not need a machine, like how some manual kneading gurus will tell you. But I don't have the luxury to stand there and knead for 1 hour to window pane stage. I have kids to attend to. And to have a mixer saves me time especially for big batch baking. I love it when I made triple batch of choux pastry for Reuben's full moon. My old hand mixer smelled bad with just one batch. And I could just get the machine to beat my eggs while I prepare the rest when baking sponge cakes. If I beat the eggs with a hand mixer, I need to stand there 10 minutes holding the machine and not doing anything else, what a waste of time. Time is precious to me when there are kids.

So, let me end this with another picture of my breakfast table that I eat my daily home made bread together with my husband almost every morning... And oh yes, I sewed those curtains... all of them, including the petticoat curtain, ;p


If you have any questions regarding me, my kitchen or just anything,
as long as it's not too personal, leave a comment and I'll try to answer you in another post this week. Please take note that I have the liberty to decline answering any too personal questions.
Anonymous questions will not be entertained. Leave a name.
Reason is because that I do recieve emails with questions regarding me, my kitchen and some other stuff.
So, it'll be great to share with everybody what you want to know so that others may know too.


 My Garden and Favourite 7 will be coming up next.

88 comments:

  1. i also hope that my kitchen got an island,ur look clean and bright.


    oilai

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  2. Oi Lai,
    Your kitchen is wide enough to insert an island. Knock off that aquarium and that extension table

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  3. I like ur kitchen with lots of windows, means natural light. My kitchen is dark , I need to switch on the light even during the brightest time of the day. I hate it !

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  4. modern and simple concept kitchen...very comfortable zone for you to do your cooking and baking :)...

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  5. Thank you for showing us your kitchen! Appreciate your time posting the photos and the details too. Once you are getting used to accessible to everything, it will be a functional kitchen to you.

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  6. oh, forgot to ask you...you bought the transformer from US or in Perak? and, around how much is this?

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  7. I simply heart yr kitchen! Wish mine is as spacious as yours... ;)

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  8. Sherleen,
    bought in Ipoh :) My FIL bought it for me, about 200 soemthing I think


    Mel,
    It's functional, but...haiz, the size isn't feasible for me to have friends over to bake and cook



    Angel,
    My house's a corner lot, so, I can put more windows in there


    Cathy,
    In Malaysia, it's quite usual to have it this size. Mine is quite small loooo... u should look at Swee San's once hers is ready. Crazy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the Kitchen Aid! and you got Bosch oven. It's so much more stable to bake in an electric oven. I still use Ariston gas oven (those with the stoves on top of it) I don't really know what that is called. And with tha kind of oven the result of baking cake is just different. In total your kitchen looks totaly cozy.

    Regards,
    Yuni

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  10. hi i got my kitchenaid from US as well
    can i know what wattage is your transformer?
    any idea if i can get it in singapore?
    thanks

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  11. Yuni,
    thanks
    Gas ovens are so difficult to use, in my own opinion, you must have mastered it well. Good.


    Anonymous,
    I have no idea about Singapore as I do not stay there.
    Check out Teletron's website to find out the wattage you should buy. It's different for different models with different wattage.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Envy... your current kitchen is about 2x my kitchen size and there's lots of counter-top and storage space, plus room to move about even when there's a few people in the kitchen. Getting your friends to go over for baking/cooking should not be a problem. Perhaps, you just need to get a foldable table to double the table space and store away after use.

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  13. Fong,
    Hard to compare to Singapore la.
    if put foldable table left 2 feet to squeeze thru only. some more chairs leh... cannot ler, but my hall can :)
    So far the counter space is just right, all allocated for a certain function

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  14. wendy,
    oh my, how i envy you to have a simple but it have everything in it's kitchen..the lighting, the color and the design is just so matching each other. how i hope i have a kitchen like yours..
    i notice the wall in the kitchen is full marble, i wonder is your whole house do??

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  15. Wendy, Thanks for letting us to peep into your new kitchen. I also has a white kitchen like you. Now i know you like black and white..Your black KA mixer look awesome!

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  16. Janetan,
    LOL.. no la. the walls are tiled. Cannot marble la. I'm not that rich to stick such expensive stuff on the walls.
    Just the floor in my hall is marbled.


    Sonia,
    Actually it's not that I like Black and White.
    I just walk into the fabric shop and see what is there currently and it so happens that everythng is black and white, coincidently only.
    A white kitchen is good, less mosquitoes flying around the legs. I hate mossies when I am in the kitchen.

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  17. Sonia,
    when we can we peep into ur new kitchen?

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  18. Hi Wendy,

    Be content of what you , you are very lucky already compared to others on having a 'beautiful and spacious' yet comfortable and well-equipped kitchen. I wish I could have 50% of what you have though, LOL
    p/s: Your kitchen are lovely , happy baking ;)

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  19. Lovely kitchen, but I am shocked to see all in white. Are you not afraid that they will get dirty easily and you will need to spend more time to clean them? I love white, but i avoid having any white furniture in my house. I like the idea of your stove, cos I too do not like those built in stove. sometimes the space is built for a particular model, when it breaks down and you can't find same model or satisfactory service results from the supplier, it gets frustrating. With that type of stove, when you don't want it, can just throw it away and get a new one :) - its cheaper also.

    I noticed that you have a total of 3 sinks in your kitchen?

    But as you say, the kitchen is a bit small/narrow. I will feel a bit cramped if I am there.

    Regards,
    Sally

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  20. Hi Wendy,

    May I ask how long this whole renovation process took and if you were occupying the house during the renovation?
    i plan to renovate my kitchen 100% too, but pondering on it, cos just afraid it will be too dusty

    Regards,
    sally

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  21. Sally,
    That's the purpose of having the kitchen in white, so that you know where it's dirty.
    If I have a black countertop, if there is mould growing there .. I won't know cos I can't see.
    If it's white, I can spot everything everywhere.
    The kitchen is not a place where hygiene can be compromised. Better see where all the 'dirtyness' is and you can get rid of it.
    I didn't get white sofa though, but everything in the kitchen can be cleaned and wiped so, why not white?
    See the true state of the kitchen rather than to lie to oneself behind the dark dull colours.

    That was what I felt too about the built in stove, the hole is a headache to replace another model with the same dimensions.

    Yes 3 sinks. 2 for oily stuff like cooking and baking stuff. The single sink is meant for milk prep and drinks (non oily stuff), so that preparing milk or drinks need not disturb the one who is cooking.

    Yes, very narrow. 6 ft walking space. It makes no difference if it's 3ft or 6ft walking space as I can't put anything in between the cabinets. If it's 8ft walking space, then I can put an small island there already.
    It's hard to have 3 pax working together in the work area.

    Actually there's a lot, alot of space wastage gone to walking space..but I can't do anything about it. I only have that much space to work with my extension.

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  22. Mumto4angels,
    Yes, I do have quite a good kitchen by now. It's just that I had been planning for a better one. I'm ranting about my own kitchen, of which I believe there are alot lot more better kitchens out there. It's just not what I had planned for. I'm not bragging or begging for sympathy, but just sharing the process. My good friend who came by and told me my kitchen was smaller than what she expected understood me very well. The kitchen is just not what I was expecting for especially if you've spent your whole life saving's on it. I'm broke by now but it's not my dream kitchen. I did not intend to spend money for something I did not want.

    It's just like if you only have one chance with time limit of buying a branded handbag with that 5k in your purse. And the design you have they don't have it, and you're forced on the spot to buy another design that you never want to have and when you get home, something's not right with that bag. Will you be happy with that 5k branded bag? It may be expensive and others may envy it, but I'm sure you will still complain and not be happy about it.

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  23. very clean and very bright. Not that small lah, can still fit in 20 people! haha! mine lagi small! good that you have black wall tiles in the stove area, dirty also cannot see. Mine is also countertop stove, yalah, me and you very loh toh!!

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  24. Sally,
    Mine is a new house.
    We moved in only after the house has completed it's renovation.
    The whole house was heavily whacked and rebuilt, so, it took us 5 months due to the rainy season (sept-feb). Contractors don't work if there's a bit of rain. So in a week, sometimes they only work 2/3 days.

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  25. lena,
    good to be lou tou than follow the trend and wipe inside the cabinets and headache for stove replacement.
    Can fit 20(standing but not moving) but cannot do work lor. The work area small la. Not much diff than a condo kitchen (the work area)
    Don't talk too much la, come and bake with me, then you know, if we stand together at the work area, you will feel it.
    The black tiles actually... I just put for ornamental purposes.. so that there will be contrast of colours. I didn't think about not seeing the dirt. Actually I regret, cos hoh, taking pics of things in the pot is so so susah, black is no good for bloggers.
    Actually I saw one some matching tiles in white and one in blue, but hoh, my hubby dun want, say got grain and will be difficult to clean. If I use that, then the blue one will be at the stove area.

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  26. Hi Wendy,

    It seems like you had planned everything in detail for your new kitchen, from A to Z, except that the size is too small for you.

    5 months is quite a long time though, but sometimes in renovation, these kind of things are normal.

    Thanks for sharing the photo of your new kitchen with us. I like all aspects of it, especially the fan, the air conditioner, 3 sinks, etc.

    Sally

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  27. Sally,
    Ditto!
    I planned for everything, every cabinet has its purpose. Every socket in place has its purpose of which my FIL initially asked, why are there so many sockets everywhere. But now, every socket is in use daily.
    But the size just wasn't what I planned for because the contractor also shrunk it by another 2ft by mismeasurement! The maid's room was suddenly bigger and the kitchen smaller.

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  28. very nice and neat kitchen. Mine kitchen also in white but with black countertop. I prefer to have a wet kitchen that can really do the 'tai chao' or char kuey tiao, I am just doing some boiling or simple maggie mee cooking in my dry kitchen only. It's really good to have a wet kitchen, no worries of oil splashing ...hope you can have it one day....

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  29. Hi Wendy,

    Adore your white kitchen. Spotless.
    Can't you get KitchenAid in KL or any part in M'sia? I thought it's a popular gadget since there're so many keen bakers in M'sia.

    Regards,
    Celine

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  30. May,
    I wanted to split the kitchen too, but since kitchen is this small, my hubby went against it saying that it will make the whole space even smaller. So far, ok ah, I chi chi cha cha in the kitchen, ok ah. The hood's working quite well.



    Celine,
    Can get..but why not get it at such a much much cheaper price in US?
    In Malaysia, the Artisan model which has 50% lower capactiy than this model is selling for RM2.8k at most places, so this model will cost more than 3k here. But I only got it for USD325. What do you think of the savings?
    Worth to purchase in US? I only paid 1/3 of what I would pay buying it here.

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  31. Your kitchen sooo clean and neat. I'm wondering how often you clean your kitchen.hehehe.i feel malu if i show u my kitchen. I like your oven and the kitchen top for kneading.

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  32. Wendy, I like your bright kitchen with white and black tones! I wish I can have a marble table like yours too :) ...and...first time seeing a kitchen with THREE sinks, but as a baker I know this is really good!!

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  33. Hello...what is the model of your oven:)

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  34. Jes,
    I shall answer you in my FAQ post


    Ah Tze,
    I have purpose for 3 sinks, 2 for cooking and prep, one for drinks. Actually everybody who comes into my kitchen the first time is shocked by the 3 sinks too. LOL.


    Anonymous,
    Please leave a name.

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  35. Love you kitchen Wendy. Like the black and white theme and also the marble table. I wish my kitchen is that bright and with lots of windows.

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  36. Wendy

    Speechless.. awesome.. very nice, neat. i like the color. simple and because of white it looks so so bright.

    hehehe i wanted to ask about this, i also waiting when are you sharing your kitchen photo with us as promise earlier.

    your idea and planning is great and i see a lot of cabinet which i think is very useful especially in the kitchen.

    Agreed with you on kitchen aid so much cheaper. Electric good no tax ? this product check in ka ? got extra tax. Good idea next time see anyone going there will ask them to buy. hehehe

    Thanks for your sharing, definitely learn a lot from you.

    Jo

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  37. Gert,
    I tot ur kitchen is very bright too?



    Jo,
    Haha, thanks
    All the cabinets are full oredi... I need more actually, LOL
    No tax ah, just one only ma. Can say for personal use.
    Ask ppl to buy for you? It's more than 10kg leh, they want to bring back for u?



    Echo,
    Haha... new kitchen ma

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  38. Wendy, I hope I have my kitchen of my own too...simple L shape counter with a marble table in the middle , something like Anna Olsen - fresh..from AFC ...

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  39. Wendy,
    Your kitchen is very neat even u with 3 childrens. Just want to check with u what is the height from floor to your bottom hood?Coz from picture see quite high. The maximum height should be not more than 5'6". Your carpenter & tiles workmanship also quite good.Then your all your cabinet door is aryclic or glass spray paint?My house also in renovation but it' s just an apartment so for me my kitchen even small....but I had make a very very small island 2.5' x 4' to make my baking. After make the table , I think more smaller but nvm lah at least I happy with it.....I tell u my husband Is doing design kitchen cabinet and his hometown also in mambang ....but I got ask Jim weather he know u or not but he dunno...

    Yvonne

    Yvonne

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  40. Hometown is in mambang diawan ....

    Yvonne

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  41. Angeline,
    I love Anna's kitchen, but the stove on island is not feasible for my chi chi cha cha, sure oil splatter all over.


    Yvonne,
    Who is Jim? No one in school knows me by Wendy cos that's not my IC name. I also never heard of Jim, u see. Unless he is from ACS, there's no way we know each other.
    My counter height is a higher than usual, I purposely requested, which is why you see the hood is high. The specs for my hood is 31 inch above stove.
    The doors are glass with some sort of coloured film at the back.
    L shape hard to put island la. cos walking space only 6ft.Some spots 5ft only.
    Tile work very bad la, every contractor complain abt the tiles, my carpenter, my grille man, my electrician and my marble polisher. All say no good. I complain until sien liao.

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  42. Wendy! OMG.. Your kitchen is so nice lar... So neat and tidy with plenty of cabinets..

    Just wondering, what did u put in the cabinet on top of the hood? So high to reach...
    And the utensils, do u wash them before every use? Cuz hard to stop lizards crawling by leh.

    How do u clean your marble table after each use? U know sometimes its so oily after shaping bread dough.. and how do u clean it before using?

    Love the idea of the book rack!

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  43. I like it very much, it's so bright and allows plenty of light into the kitchen. Practical too!

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  44. iceamericanos,
    Thankyou,
    answer you later, ok.


    Jeannie,
    Crucial to prvent cockcroaches. Those buggers love dark kitchens

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  45. Love the airy feel of this kitchen. Thanks for sharing.

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  46. Hi Wendy,

    I love your kitchen very much, simple, neat & bright. Like your black KA too. Hope to have that too :)


    Leeping

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  47. love the theme color as it looks neat & clean..

    I also tot of buying Kitchen Aid from US.. so now I can do it since u have mentioned its ok to use transformer for it. So much cheaper there... cannot wait as my sis is coming home from US next year!

    Love yr model.. I agree to always buy a bigger one cos I also tend to make big batch of baked stuff.. congrats on yr new kitchen.. looks fabulous (even though u didnt get what you initially wanted) and maybe future, you will be able to have it too... :D

    Psst.. I also want an island but my kithcen is too small for it also... :(

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  48. LOVE!!! how i wish i have 1 nice kitchen like this!!! i assume you did all the planning and design and selection of every single part of the kitchen? bravo! and im really admiring:)!

    so are you working?

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  49. Must say your kitchen looks cheery and very clean and tidy. A very comfortable kitchen to cook in. Thanks for letting us 'peep' into your new kitchen.

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  50. Wendy,
    Sorry i type wrong Jim should be Him. His surname is Hong.
    Ya i see that in your blog there a few advertisement, maybe just full time in blog to get more advertisement then at the same time can take care of your children.Beside can do all your baking and we can always can see all your job....

    Yvonne

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  51. Edith,
    Airy and dusty tooo, LOL. Lorries passing by quite often


    leeping,
    Kitchen must be bright. Get one urself too :)


    Food Dreams,
    It's a good kitchen for 1 pax, but not for group activities ;( That was what I initially planned for.
    Definitely get it from US, so so so much cheaper



    Veronica,
    new kitchen, sure tidy, let's look at it next year, my hubby says, hahaha



    Yvonne,
    Hong? Unless he is the same school la, if not sure dunno one ler.
    Those ads where got earn money one.. little bit only. No one clicks wer. Not even enough to buy the ingredients. Please click on it often to help me earn more.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I like the white and black theme...nice combo. You have a nice kitchen to work in :) 3 sinks...cool ! And that mixer is a dream for me. I have the kenwood one but seldom uses it. I prefer the hand mixer...coz I make small portion each time :) Can't wait to see your breads :))

    ReplyDelete
  53. Elin,
    thanks.
    I was actually contemplating between Kenwood Major and KA, but after consulting with our Pastry chef fren, SS, I took KA. Even though I can't get warranty here. She said, Kenwood very noisy compared to KA.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Whoaaaa...keep on rubbing my eyes...am i reading ur blog or reading ID mag. I luv pootih color too.. nice!

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  55. Lovely kitchen, I like how bright and cheery it looks, love the clean sleek look too!

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  56. Hi Wendy, thanks so much for giving all your precious advises on selecting a house oven, at last i bought one built in oven. I m now also planing to renovate my kitchen to accomodate the new oven. Luckily you post on your new kitchen and I got some ideas from it...thanks again... Your kitchen is very neat and comfortable...
    Ya, perhaps you can give me some advice on why all my cakes and breads bottom not brown when I bake from the new oven ? The top of my bakes were ok...perfectly brown. ....thanks !

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  57. Love your kitchen! Wished I could renovate mine but my hubby is not too keen. :(
    Btw, is your table with the marble top custom-made? I would love to have one like that?

    ReplyDelete
  58. Chah,
    Takdela ID mag... kekeke


    Happy Homebaker,
    thanks


    wvfy,
    Perhaps you put it too high?
    I too am learning about my oven, sometimes when i bake double trays, some times turn out fine, sometimes not brown on either side........... haiz.... still learning


    busygran,
    yes, the marble table is custom made.


    Ida,
    thanks

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  59. Wah cantiknya!! I like your clean and tidy kitchen, not like mine...got to squeeze in if there are 2 person who wants to bake..LOL!! Still wonder how you manage a clean house with 3 kids without a maid!!...*Salute*

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  60. From the pics, your kitchen doesn't look that small.

    I hate the cleaning stove part too, if I were to renovate my kitchen, I'll probably get an induction cooker.

    My dear bro got me a takoyaki hotplate from Japan and obviously it doesn't work in Singapore. Been wanting to get a transformer but the size deters me. Already not much counter space left. I wonder if a voltage converter is good enough to do the job.

    Can't wait to see your bread pics! I've not made bread for a loooooong time.

    Kudos to you for still being able to blog regularly despite have 3 now. I almost want to throw in the towel, don't know why but have been feeling really lazy and lethargic, no energy for anything extra.

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  61. Envy, that what I can say. Very nice & big space, well managed some more got air-cond. Wouw .... How I wish I can have big or at least a space for my kitchen. Thanks for sharing with us. I love your marble table too :)

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  62. Envy ... that's what I can say to you :) You have very nice & big space for running here and there to do all your baking & cooking. I love the marble table too, good choice :)

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  63. Hi Wendy, I'm always jump in yr house n spend sometime to admire your cooking n learn something from you.

    I'm mother of 2, but i so Solute of your energy n the willing heart to spend time for cooking n baking for family. I do enjoyed baking n cook for my family, but you're like my Coach, I do have more idea to cook or bake after i hop up here n go. Thanks ya!

    Lovely, neat, clear n clean cut design in yr kitchen, I love with all black n white design, for my view..as long as the kitchen is fully use by the owner, if not how big of the kitchen also useless N you give me a idea of store my cooked book in kitchen cabinet rather than keep in our book cabinet. Thanks!

    My kitchen still not renovation yet, will aim to do so one day, i will try to do as clean cut as yours. Appreciate of your sharing blog, May Lord bless you n family with joyful heart!

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  64. Love the black & white combo.It's simply superb!

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  65. your kitchen really look very clean and bright.very big space.i like it very much.somemore your kitchen got air-con.feel good when do baking.cos my kitchen is small and got a lot of stuff and hot.i love baking but when i want to bake a cake i see my kitchen,my mood is :( cos hot.i also like your recipes.i have try many of your recipes.it come out taste very good.my family and friend love it very much,just look not very nice :P

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  66. I really like your kitchen - modern and contemporary. You're good at maintaining the kitchen and cooking and baking, despite having 3 kids :)

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  67. Hi HHB,
    am looking for milo recipe and found you, made my day. Your blog is awesome and helpful.
    I noticed we have the same model of Kitchen Aid except my was older series. I had it many years but absolutely under use it and reason is the beater hardly able to whip up my 1 no. baking recipe ingredients. The beater barely touch either the eggs, or the butter because ingredient amount is less. I often have to lift the bowl but it's tedious and dangerous.
    May I have your tips or opinion please? Thank you

    Shou
    (what is profile? Do I have to register with you?

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  68. Shou,
    First of all, I am not HHB.

    I do not make small amounts with my KA. I use it mostly for breads and heavy duty beating.
    If I'm making butter cakes with 1 block of butter or less, I always use my hand mixer of which does a much better job.
    If you still want to use your KA to cream just a little bit of butter, get a beater that has scrapers attached, like Beaterblade.
    You have to use speed 10 if you want to beat 1 or 2 egg whites, the information is found in the manual.

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  69. hi there Wendy!

    Nice kitchen you have. Thanks for sharing with your readers.

    I am planning my dry kitchen too and wonder if you have any recommendation on the brand or model of built in oven? Some friends said Fortile is not bad. Any comment?

    Thank you!

    Best regards,
    Shelly

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  70. Shelly,
    I'm not sure about Fotile.
    I think the specs should be important too, like digital timer and temperature control with variable adjustments. You also should look at how the air is circulated in the oven.

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  71. Hi Wendy,
    I really like yr kitchen, as so well planned out, so neat & organised. Can i ask yr opinion re yr 2 tier dish drying rack. Is it better than the normal 1 tier rack. I am thinking of getting one too as it looks nice.. But am concern about how stable it can be as i love to stack things on top of one another & large items like baking trays.
    Debby

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  72. Debby,
    I can put lots of plates on my rack and still it holds up well. Of course it is better than a one tier rack as it can hold up much much more dishes, plates and bowls. For large items, I use a kitchen rack bought from Ikea, you can see from the picture how I dry my pots and basins

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  73. I only discovered ur blog last night n fell in love with it immediately...keep up the good work!!

    BTW, love ur kicthen, not that big but simple n bright n very clean n neat

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  74. I'm planning to renovate my kitchen and I really like yours. Did you use tiles as counter top?

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  75. Anonymous (pls leave a name),
    Yes, 2X2 tiles

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  76. Hi Wendy,
    I like your kitchen!! :)
    I am thinking of getting one Kitchen Aid from US. But wondering which model should i buy. Artisan (5Qt) or professional (5.5QT or 6Qt) one? I search for all the reviews about KA. some ppl saying that its better to get a pro KA instead of the Artisan. hmmm... I am just a beginner in baking. So now keep thinking "Do i really need this?". Seeing that you are using KA too, so wish to hear your advise on this. :)
    There are some ppl complaining about the motor that it will overheat when they trying to make bread dough. Is that true?

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  77. Li,
    I think the artisan is not a very good choice for kneading bread, unless you are doing 500gm bread flour and below.
    Many a times, we do not read the manuals properly and tend to overwork the motorsby using too much flour.
    I try to be safe and rarely use the amount of flour stated and always go less.
    For me, I started with a hand mixer, kneaded by hand.. then when I knew I am really into baking, only then I bought my mixer. A breadmaker will be a cheaper alternative to machine kneading if you are not ready to invest into a KA. It's not a must to get a KA.

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  78. Wendy,
    i do have a hand mixer. like yours, philip one. :)
    i start baking 1 years ago, but havent start to bake a bread yet. Will try soon :)
    Sometime its abit tiring by using the hand mixer to beat the batter. That why i am thinking of getting myself a stand mixer.

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  79. Pongli Ng,
    Yes, sometimes holding the mixer to beat sponge batter is very tiring, takes about 10 minutes.
    But take note that large models isn't 2-3 egg friendly. Baking for 1 year is considered quite long already, and I guess you've got your basics learnt. Getting a KA could be a good choice. But consider the amount of batter and eggs you normally do, then decide on the model you need based on your comsumption capacity (and oven capacity too)

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  80. HI Wendy,

    You have such an amazing skills to organize your kitchen.
    i was wondering where do you place your rice cooker or slow cooker,and even a blender? i read others blogger's, they place them on counter top! and this makes the kitchen looks untidy and messy.
    For me, last time i alwiz keep them under kitchen cabinet after used. but since they are used everyday, it become a lazy habit to keep them up and down. sometimes it will become an ergonomic issues too!

    Thanks for sharing. and i love your post so much!

    Jess

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  81. Jess,
    Haha, don't look at my kitchen now, LOL.
    I don't own a rice cooker actually (if u see one on my blog, it's a borrowed one).
    I cook rice with microwave, or I steam.
    Slow cooker is kept with the pots, under my prep area next to the sink. I rarely use it.
    My blenders are kept in the plates cabinet. I don't use it everyday, so I take out only when needed.

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  82. Your kitchen is very neat, bright, clean and beautiful... I wished I had the space that you have... :)Mine is so tiny and dark that only 1 person can work there at anytime... and I have to prepare my bakes at the dining/living room... :( urs very big and pretty already... :))

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  83. Hi Wendy!
    It is really nice reading your blogs and baking using your recipe.
    Thanks alot for keeping such a nice job!
    I just bought a house and now planning to do the kitchen design.
    Your article on your kitchen reno really give me alot of idea.
    I loves simple and practical kitchen.
    I have a few queries on your kitchen, and hope that you can answer me when you have the time:
    1. I wonder how many pots do you have and where you keep then?
    2. I notice that you put your salt and other condiments near your stove. Do you wipe then clean every time you cook? How often you clean then?
    3. Can you share the pictures of how you stack all your tupperwares and containers?
    Thanks alot again for having this blog! :)

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  84. Hui Hoon,
    1. How many pots and pans?
    2 woks, 3 pans, 7 pots with many sizes, 6 corningware vessels. I keep them in the cabinet on the left of the sink. That cabinet extends all the way to the corner and I keep rarely used pots inside, as in the larger ones.
    2. Nah.... I don't wipe all those things everyday. I'm too lazy. By the way, they don't get like very dirty unless you get splatering each time you cook
    3. Oh no, sorry can't provide you with that. Tupperwares of the same range can be stacked easily. I remove all the lids and stack the bottom parts and then insert all the lids into the 'cavity'. You will find a way one la... whatever that is smaller will be put into the bigger ones. I have too much Tupperware, regretted buying so much. Can't really use so much. My rarely used ones are under the microwave, it's another built into the corner cabinet and u won't want to see into that cabinet.

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