Yessss my kitchen! I know you’ve been wanting to see it! p/s- *special package deal promo for my readers from Rinnai… see details below!*

My home renovation has been completed for a while now, but we’re REALLY taking our time moving in! Part of me is like, if we move permanently, then my two aunts how? So we’re treating it like a weekend home for now…… errrr…. ok we’ll get to it.

Ok back to my kitchen. Some highlights:

We hacked the wall to create more space and a bar counter. I really love the pull-out work tops (I have three of them) so I can have more counter space. You know how tiny these BTO kitchens are. I cannot deal with having no space to put my vegetables and plates when I’m using the counter space for my chopping board. We also did away with the flap/door for the dish rack above the sink cos it’s redundant to me. I’ve never had it down cos we access the dishes etc every day. And of course, the mint-turquoise subway tiles!! Picture spam!

And because I’m a cooking mama, I’m pretty particular when it comes to choosing a hob, hood and oven for my new kitchen.

After surveying many different brands in the market, I went with Rinnai, a Japanese brand established since 1920.

These are the products that I got for my kitchen:

• Cooker hob RB-2CG
• Chimney hood RH-C209-GCR
• Built-in oven RO-E6208TA-EM

Cooker hob RB-2CG (link)

Are you surprised that I didn’t get a 3-burner hob? I don’t think it’s a necessity as I don’t cook with all three burners at the same time. When preparing for a party, for example, I can have two dishes cooking on the stove, another baking in the oven and something else cooking in the air fryer. Plus, the counter top space of a BTO flat doesn’t really give me the luxury to have a 3 burner hood, so my ultimate choice was RB-2CG, a 2 burner hob with Schott Ceran glass-ceramic top, which makes it extremely resistant to high heat and is easy to clean too.

You might be familiar with Rinnai’s inner flame technology. And if you’re not, I’ll tell you why I like it:

Saves energy and cooking time
I boiled a pot of water in my Vision’s pot, and it reached boiling point in no time at all. I love it! It is proven that the Rinnai inner burner uses less energy with its 52% heat efficiency as compared to normal gas hobs of 40% heat efficiency.

Perfect flame control
Some people I spoke to said oh wow then wouldn’t food get burnt at a crazy rate then, if I’m an inexperienced cook? Uh, lower the flame? The perfect flame control means that the Rinnai inner burner hob is suited for multiple cooking settings, cooking your food just the way you want it. The inner flame vortex allows you to turn the flame to an extremely low level without fear of it being extinguished. With my old Turbo burner, I had to repeatedly check to see that the flame is still there when I’m braising food. I don’t get this problem with Rinnai as the rim keeps the flame protected (it distributes heat from the centre) as opposed to other burners where the flame goes around the rim.

Easy to clean and maintain
The inner burner has no burner head and burner ring to wash. The inner drip pan can easily capture boiled-over soups and can be removed for cleaning.

Schott Ceran glass-ceramic top
High quality, durable and sustainable, Schott Ceran glass-ceramic can easily withstand abrupt temperature shocks of up to 700 degrees celsius, which makes it extremely durable. Read more about Schott Ceran glass here.

Chimney hood RH-C209-GCR (link)

I decided to go for a chimney hood over a slimline hood. Most people tell me that a slimline hood would do for a HDB flat. Which could be true, and I guess that’s up to your own needs. I do really frequent cooking – more than once daily – plus I hacked my kitchen wall. To prevent smells from going to the living room, I opted for a chimney hood with a higher extraction rate.

The RH-C209-GCR has a high airflow of 1100m3/hr, as compared to about 400-500m3/hr for slimline hoods. The high extraction rate effectively removes all traces of cooking smells, grease and smoke from the kitchen. The chimney hood also comes with electronic touch control with delay stop timer, three speed settings and two 20w halogen lamps. The grease filter can be removed and washable, and it’s really easy to operate. I can’t deny the fact that I was wowed by the aesthetics too! It matches my kitchen perfectly.

Built-in oven RO-E6208TA-EM (link)

The latest in Rinnai’s oven selections, the RO-E6208TA-EM is designed with a multi-function feature to provide the best results according to your cooking method. For example, the Fan & Grill function ensures that a large roast will be cooked through to perfection. The extra large capacity also gives me space to cook whatever I want and finally bake more than one tray of cookies at a time! Its main features:

• Extra-large cavity: The 70lt extra-large cavity offers you extra space for flexible cooking
• Sensor touch timer: You can use the timer to count down the cooking time, and even program your oven to start or stop at a particular time
• Removable door: The glass door can be detached easily so that the oven cavity can be cleaned more easily and thoroughly
• Multifunction: Each function is designed to give you the most ideal cooking method to suit your recipe and to provide the best results. For eg, Fan & Grill function ensure your large roast is being cooked through.
• 3D circular fan: The circular heating will distribute the heat evenly, so you can cook different kinds of food on different shelves simultaneously, without worrying that the smells and tastes be transferred from one dish onto another

Jason is particularly excited about the oven and he wants me to make pizza?! I will be sharing further reviews of my Rinnai hob, hood and oven along the way so look out for them!

Special package deal promo for budgetpantry readers!

Get the RB-2Gi 2 Inner Burner Built-In Hob Tempered Glass (Black) Top Plate + RH-S319-PBR-T Slimline Hood at an unbeatable price! Note: these two models are different from mine.

–          Pricing: $999 (Inclusive of GST and delivery) (Installation not included)

–          Deal period: Till end August (31^st)

–          Readers can call +65 6748 9011 (ext 610), email (enquiry@rinnai.sg), message Rinnai via Facebook/website, quote “budgetpantry” for the offer

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Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this review however my cooker hob, hood and oven were sponsored by Rinnai.

If you like my posts and updates, or would like to be informed of baby/cooking-related giveaways and promos from time to time…..
Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram! Yes, I just started an Insta account for CBB too!

The post Home: BTO Renovation – why I chose Rinnai hob, hood and oven for my kitchen appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

It’s been a while since my last update on getting the keys to our BTO flat! Read this post if you haven’t! We’re getting quite excited seeing the place come together. It’s been 7 weeks since renovation started, and we’re probably 50% there. I remember hacking of the kitchen walls started on 1 November and it’s now the 20 December. Progress is not the fastest cos our ID got our permission to wait for his preferred carpenter (his booking was full) and we’re not in a hurry to move anyway.

We have known since the start that we engaged Space Atelier because of their designs. There are so many IDs in the market but how many of them are designers? We didn’t want a renovation coordinator – to us having someone who’s savvy in coordination IS important, but secondary. We have met “IDs” who ARE very savvy, who can negotiate super well with contractors, can click with owners, can promise you a lot, and who are sincere in their jobs too. But we didn’t click in terms of designs, because quite simply, it’s not their background.

To be honest, our ID is not the most detail-oriented guy in the universe, but we are, so it’s something that we can let go a little. What’s important to us is that he’s not the kind of person who will inflate costs and over-promise. He’s a young designer, sincere and not out to cheat your money. Can be a bit muddle-headed though, but he has qualities that we appreciate. Thanks for handling our renovation, Space Atelier, can’t wait to see our completed home!

CBB is starting to love looking into the mirror…. I wonder who she takes after?

Here’s list of the main things we’re doing:

And here are the pictures!

CBB playing peekaboo with her two front teeth!

Our oven, hob and chimney hood are from Rinnai. I will be writing about their inner flame technology soon! The Crestar fan is for our main bedroom, which also has a false ceiling – so we can only afford up to a 32″ fan in the room (but Crestar doesn’t have 32″ so we got 30″).

Basic lights from sglightings. Not super alot of selection, but all the basic stuff plus reasonable selection is available there. I think you will like it if you’re going for the Scandinavian or industrial look. Pricing is great and transparent. We saw the same bedroom light selling 3 times the price at other lighting places (not kidding, $65 vs $195 at Chelsea Lighting at Jurong East). Our dining and balcony lights are from Design Light from Jalan Besar Plaza. Love that place too.. super good service and price. We got our crystal lamp for the dining area for $298, at a 51% discount!

Sanitary items from Hoe Kee. They didn’t have the colour for the Blanco granite sink we wanted, so we got another brand from a store in Tradehub 21. This is the Grohe rainshower that Jason can’t wait to bathe in.

The living room and balcony view:

By this time, CBB has fallen asleep:

My subway tiles for one side of the kitchen:

We’re considering installing solar films for our windows to keep the heat out, and will be having day and night curtains for the living room and bedrooms. For the balcony, we’re still looking at installing a child safety rail or barrier. Furniture shopping is the last on our list. I don’t even know what to do with the other two empty rooms yet! If have any recommendations or wish to feature your product or services, contact me! Can’t wait to see the final product although I already feel sucky that I have to move out of my aunt’s place. I have stayed with them forever!! Waaaaah!

If you like my posts and updates, or would like to be informed of baby/cooking-related giveaways and promos from time to time…..
Like my Facebook page or follow @budgetpantry or @chuabeebee on Instagram! Yes, I just started an Insta account for CBB too!

The post My BTO renovation: An update! appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

After four long years, we have finally gotten the keys to our BTO flat! *throws confetti*

We first balloted for the BTO in April 2012. At that time we only knew we were not young anymore and just wanna faster get a home. Coincidentally a new premium BTO – Skyline – was coming up in Bukit Batok, two streets away from my aunt’s place. Sounded perfect! So off we went to submit our application. Imagine our joy when our first ballot attempt was successful.. we were invited for flat selection but all the top floor units with balcony were taken up. The tallest block goes up to 38 storeys! Standing high indeed. But when it came to our turn, the only unit left that comes with a balcony was at a super low level. Yes quite FML thinking back but it’s ok, if got fire we jump down also won’t die.

So we waited! You know some BTOs complete way ahead of time like 1-2 years ahead. Or at least a few months ahead. Ours? Totally on the dot according to the estimated completed date. So we waited a total of 4.5 years for this.. plus we were also one of the last few to collect our keys.

We made an appointment with the HDB officer last Friday at 2.30pm. Took a number and waited. And took some selfies since baby girl was in a good mood!

Pardon my ugly roots. I will fix it.. when.. I dunno..

With her favourite person in the world.

CBB was super smiley that day.. she knew we were taking our keys or what?! Haha. The HDB customer service officer explained a few items to us, like the dos and don’ts of renovation, plus confirmed some money matters, like how much bank loan we took and the tenure, etc. The only thing we paid that day was a $55 conservancy charge (haven’t even move in have to pay already wtf). Our law firm settled everything else for us in the form of cheque. And within 20 minutes, tada!

(The eyebags are real.)

We also went one level up to open our SP services account. Just take the escalator in the middle of the main lobby and SP services is at your left as you reach level 2. SP Services didn’t collect any money from us that day.

From just dating to married, from er ren shi jie to now with cbb, our flat is finally ready! Quite surreal! Michelle my da sao picked us up and off we went to the new place! I’m gonna be sharing photos of our flat first, followed by the beautiful surroundings.

Super love the tuquoise tinted full length windows and the shiny tiles:

Our super tiny balcony (with cigarette butt somemore who is the culprit confess!):

The kitchen (we’re gonna hack the walls) and service yard:

Bomb shelter:

The passageway leading to the rooms:

Bedroom 1 and 2 and the common toilet:

The main bedroom (sorry not enough space to stand to take good photo) and toilet:

My first thought upon stepping in was: Need to be so small ma?! Yes the flat is smaller than I imagined but I guess that’s the case for all new BTOs now. We also decided to engage an interior designer since I honestly can’t manage with cbb still so little and I’m going back to work really soon.

After meeting with a handful of ID firms, we decided to go with Space Atelier. Their designs are fresh and contemporary, the quotation is reasonable and we are very impressed with their service and portfolio on Qanvast. Looking forward to receiving the 3D drawings. Hope everything goes smoothly!

Next step would be to do the defects check (our ID did this together with us). I stayed home with cbb that day cos of the dust and all, but Jason said the number of defects was ok and not overwhelming. I’m super in love with our surroundings!

View from our balcony:

Linkway from block to garden/greenary/playground:

Kena photobombed by my nephew Aegon.

Can’t wait to set up our new home! It is empty for now but it is already slowly filling up with love :) Hope we don’t exceed our budget when it comes to spending for electronics, kitchen appliances and furniture (and curtains!) for our living, dining and bedrooms. If you wish to feature your product or know of anywhere I can get good deals, get in touch with me. Watch this space as I share our home renovation journey!

The post Getting the keys to our new BTO flat! appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.