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| 6kg+ worth of cloth |
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| lovely red cloth for my kimono |
Saturday 29 March 2014
cloth from taobao
yeah... my 1st batch of taobao items had arrived!!! 6days ahead of the estimated arrival date!!!! anyway, as mentioned previously, i bought some stuff from taobao which are mainly cloth to sew kimonos.... so this batch comprised of 95% cloth....
haha... really quite a large amount of cloth i have over there.... actually the top roll of cloth are the one that are responsible for the weight, those at the bottom roll are actually pretty small & light.... but my favourite is still the red cloth i bought for my wedding shoot kimono!!!
the print is pretty much the same as what i saw on the website, perhaps slightly on the darker side but still really lovely!!!! the small flowers just make the cloth look super pretty!!!! shall embark on cutting & sewing the cloth soon.... running out of time ar!!!
Thursday 20 March 2014
some views on buying resale flats
i have been searching online for potential HDB flats for quite awhile but only commenced on physically checking out the units recently due to some stupid law issue which didnt apply to us but we were mislead by the bloody XXX staff who know shit about anything.... argh!!! anyway... long story to short, currently i am actively searching for resale flats & want to share with you guys some of the tips/important points that i experienced
1. punctuality... this is very important esp for the property agent... i mean 5-10min late is acceptable but dont freaking MIA... thats super rude especially when i could be your potential customer.... i must really share this incident which happened 2wks ago... i arranged an appt with the property agent to view the flat at 3.15pm... i arrived earlier & messaged the agent but no reply after 10min so i called him & then he told me that he isnt around... & make it worst... flat owner also not around... i was like OMFG!!! the owner supposed to have open house from 3-4pm & you are not around!??!?! was so damn pissed so i just ignore the bloody agent & go for next appt.... for this kind of people, no matter how nice & wonderful the flat is, dont bother doing business with them.... you wont know when they will play u out
2. grants.... for people who purchase the first HDB flat, the couples are entitled to $40k grant if the flat is near parents or $30k if not near parents.... the income ceiling is $10k.... i think this amount of $ is important especially for young couples as the $ can be used to pay for the flat 10% down payment
3. locations.... personally i think convenience is very important cause traveling from one place to another takes quite a long time even for a small place like SG.... of cause staying near town area will be nice but those flats prices are insanely expensive!!! so i think the next best alternative will be to stay near mrt/bus interchange.... currently, my parents' flat is 3 bus stops from mrt.... the bus journey is about 5min but waiting time could be 30min.... so even just 1 bus stop will waste a lot of time... so i have decided must buy flat that is within walking distant from mrt....
4. flat age..... one problem with resale flat is the age issue.... normally flats near mrt will tend to be more than 10yrs.... so convenience may have to compensate with old flats..... the facade aside, the main problem with old flats is the piping.... due to age, majority of the piping will rust, resulting in "dirty" water..... my mama actually suggest us to purchase a resale flat which is less than 10yrs such that if we stay in that flat for say another 20yrs, when we sell off the flat, it is still 30yrs = not super old flat.... but of cause, if you purchase an old flat, the chance of having en-bloc will be much higher....
5. view & directions.... these points are very subjective & based on personal preference.... normally you wont want to get a flat which faced south cause the afternoon sun is really grilling hot..... my mama also suggest us to avoid staying near schools, temples, church & mosques cause those are more eerie places so it may bring bad luck... but this is more of a superstitious view.....
6. prices & loans.... this is very important because buying a flat will spend ALOT of $ & one must be sure they can afford the flat before making the purchase.... currently, the resale flats prices have gone down quite abit but the star buy will still cost quite a fair bit.... so it is time for bargaining skill to come in when negotiating the price... personally i feel that if the family can get $500k loan... then try to get a flat within/around that budget... dont try to keng & appeal for more loan to buy a $700k flat... or borrow $ to pay for the difference.... cause you will end up paying like hell for the loan.... dont try to be too ambitious especially for the first flat....
7. renovation..... it will be great if the resale flat comes with nice renovation so that you can save an amount on that... however, there are pros & cons for renovated flats.... pro is of cause you can save $ on renovation.... but if you dont like the renovation, you will have to spend extra $ to tear down the place & rebuilt it... & the renovation will become a con....
8. floor level..... of cause in general higher flats are preferred, not only because of the view & wind.... staying at low floor makes me feel lack of privacy as passer by can peep into your flat.... i think above 8th floor will be acceptably nice....
9. corridor vs corner unit..... normally people will prefer corner unit due to privacy.... but nowadays due to the building structures, many flats are located along the corridor...... one superstitious point by mama is that avoid staying in flat which face a flight of stairs that goes down... cause it will mean $ flowing out = lose $....
10. neighbours.... this is very hard to control.... i find it very irritating when i pass by a corridor with people hanging out their laundry... i mean one or two pieces of rags of cause is fine... but i have seen people like opening a laundry store along the corridor... that's ridiculous... same goes for plants... the corridor isnt your own garden lea... dont need to open a green house outside your flat lo.... those are really inconsiderate people cause it will block off majority of the walkway which is common property... selfish shit!!! so if during house viewing... your potential neighbours are selfish shit... try to avoid the house... cause next time will sure get into a quarrel.... UNLESS you intend to go down to hdb/town council to complain about the selfish neighbours everyday....
above are some of the points that i feel are important or useful to take note when purchasing a flat... of cause those are just personal views.... but just want to share some insights that could potentially benefit others =)
1. punctuality... this is very important esp for the property agent... i mean 5-10min late is acceptable but dont freaking MIA... thats super rude especially when i could be your potential customer.... i must really share this incident which happened 2wks ago... i arranged an appt with the property agent to view the flat at 3.15pm... i arrived earlier & messaged the agent but no reply after 10min so i called him & then he told me that he isnt around... & make it worst... flat owner also not around... i was like OMFG!!! the owner supposed to have open house from 3-4pm & you are not around!??!?! was so damn pissed so i just ignore the bloody agent & go for next appt.... for this kind of people, no matter how nice & wonderful the flat is, dont bother doing business with them.... you wont know when they will play u out
2. grants.... for people who purchase the first HDB flat, the couples are entitled to $40k grant if the flat is near parents or $30k if not near parents.... the income ceiling is $10k.... i think this amount of $ is important especially for young couples as the $ can be used to pay for the flat 10% down payment
3. locations.... personally i think convenience is very important cause traveling from one place to another takes quite a long time even for a small place like SG.... of cause staying near town area will be nice but those flats prices are insanely expensive!!! so i think the next best alternative will be to stay near mrt/bus interchange.... currently, my parents' flat is 3 bus stops from mrt.... the bus journey is about 5min but waiting time could be 30min.... so even just 1 bus stop will waste a lot of time... so i have decided must buy flat that is within walking distant from mrt....
4. flat age..... one problem with resale flat is the age issue.... normally flats near mrt will tend to be more than 10yrs.... so convenience may have to compensate with old flats..... the facade aside, the main problem with old flats is the piping.... due to age, majority of the piping will rust, resulting in "dirty" water..... my mama actually suggest us to purchase a resale flat which is less than 10yrs such that if we stay in that flat for say another 20yrs, when we sell off the flat, it is still 30yrs = not super old flat.... but of cause, if you purchase an old flat, the chance of having en-bloc will be much higher....
5. view & directions.... these points are very subjective & based on personal preference.... normally you wont want to get a flat which faced south cause the afternoon sun is really grilling hot..... my mama also suggest us to avoid staying near schools, temples, church & mosques cause those are more eerie places so it may bring bad luck... but this is more of a superstitious view.....
6. prices & loans.... this is very important because buying a flat will spend ALOT of $ & one must be sure they can afford the flat before making the purchase.... currently, the resale flats prices have gone down quite abit but the star buy will still cost quite a fair bit.... so it is time for bargaining skill to come in when negotiating the price... personally i feel that if the family can get $500k loan... then try to get a flat within/around that budget... dont try to keng & appeal for more loan to buy a $700k flat... or borrow $ to pay for the difference.... cause you will end up paying like hell for the loan.... dont try to be too ambitious especially for the first flat....
7. renovation..... it will be great if the resale flat comes with nice renovation so that you can save an amount on that... however, there are pros & cons for renovated flats.... pro is of cause you can save $ on renovation.... but if you dont like the renovation, you will have to spend extra $ to tear down the place & rebuilt it... & the renovation will become a con....
8. floor level..... of cause in general higher flats are preferred, not only because of the view & wind.... staying at low floor makes me feel lack of privacy as passer by can peep into your flat.... i think above 8th floor will be acceptably nice....
9. corridor vs corner unit..... normally people will prefer corner unit due to privacy.... but nowadays due to the building structures, many flats are located along the corridor...... one superstitious point by mama is that avoid staying in flat which face a flight of stairs that goes down... cause it will mean $ flowing out = lose $....
10. neighbours.... this is very hard to control.... i find it very irritating when i pass by a corridor with people hanging out their laundry... i mean one or two pieces of rags of cause is fine... but i have seen people like opening a laundry store along the corridor... that's ridiculous... same goes for plants... the corridor isnt your own garden lea... dont need to open a green house outside your flat lo.... those are really inconsiderate people cause it will block off majority of the walkway which is common property... selfish shit!!! so if during house viewing... your potential neighbours are selfish shit... try to avoid the house... cause next time will sure get into a quarrel.... UNLESS you intend to go down to hdb/town council to complain about the selfish neighbours everyday....
above are some of the points that i feel are important or useful to take note when purchasing a flat... of cause those are just personal views.... but just want to share some insights that could potentially benefit others =)
Wednesday 19 March 2014
taobao
havent been blogging for awhile cause the passed week was so busy..... not exactly busy with work but more of busy with online shopping... as i mentioned before in my earlier post that i am a fan of taobao, you really can find almost anything under the sun on the website... furthermore, the cheap prices make it even more attractive to shop on taobao... so that's why i actually stop shopping in SG for at least 2yrs other than getting the necessities...
due to the vast amount of items selling on taobao, i practically spent weeks looking through all the items to get the best deals... for my upcoming project, i am going to sew 3 kimonos... 1 for cosplay, yes... i do cosplay but not the pro kind.... the other 2 will be for my bf & I to be used for our wedding shoot.... i know that some of the bridal shop do kimono rental for photoshoot but i would think the selection will be limited... so may as well get 1 that i like.... i did consider getting the ready made kimono online but a nice & good quality kimono will cost SGD1k or evenmore.... of cause i wont spend the $ just for a shoot... so... DIY will come in.... so after spending the passed few weeks looking at the different cloth on taobao... i finally decided my kimono cloth....
it is definitely not the ideal material/design for kimono but this is 1 of the best that i can find.... this cloth cost about 12SGD/m.... i think is cheaper than what you can find it SG but it will take time to ship to SG....
personally i had sewn 3 kimono before... is really simple to do it cause is just straight lines... so much simpler than sewing a dress or what.... but you will need quite a large piece of cloth... for kimono, you will need a min 4.5m cloth (110cm width)....but i havent sew a hakama (japanese pants) before, from picture it actually looked not too hard..... so after i gotten my cloth, i will post up some pic & tutorial of how to sew the kimono.... hopefully the final product will be nice =)
due to the vast amount of items selling on taobao, i practically spent weeks looking through all the items to get the best deals... for my upcoming project, i am going to sew 3 kimonos... 1 for cosplay, yes... i do cosplay but not the pro kind.... the other 2 will be for my bf & I to be used for our wedding shoot.... i know that some of the bridal shop do kimono rental for photoshoot but i would think the selection will be limited... so may as well get 1 that i like.... i did consider getting the ready made kimono online but a nice & good quality kimono will cost SGD1k or evenmore.... of cause i wont spend the $ just for a shoot... so... DIY will come in.... so after spending the passed few weeks looking at the different cloth on taobao... i finally decided my kimono cloth....
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| tada... my kimono cloth... i gotten the red 1 |
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| this is what i intend to sew for my bf |
Sunday 9 March 2014
sukiyaki recipe
another simple recipe that i just tried recently... sukiyaki is somewhat like a mixture of stew & steamboat but just that the soup base is soy sauce.... really simple to cook especially when you get the off the shelf sukiyaki sauce.... my version is improvised from the traditional sukiyaki method but i think it tasted equally nice
ingredients (for 3pax):
beef slices 1 pack (400g) can get the sukiyaki cut from NTUC which cost about $8, or if you are skillful enough, can always just get a slap of meat & cut it yourself....
leek 1 - 2 stalks, personally i like to eat leek so i added more... normally 1 stalk is more than enough
golden mushroom 1 pack
other fresh mushroom 1 pack.... shitake mushroom is one of the choices... you can use any kind of mushroom you like
tofu 1 block, preferably the harder kind... cause silken tofu may disintegrate while cooking
sukiyaki sauce 1 bottle about 155mL
steps:
1. wash the beef.... i know some people dont do that cause will wash away the beef taste but personally i think it is necessary because the meat has been frozen for so long & dont know how hygienic was the butchery.. it will take quite a few wash to get rid of all the bloody liquid & after that the meat will become slightly pale but thats fine & normal.....i will also remove some of the fats on the meat... again... this is personal preference
2. chop/slice all the ingredients
3. heat up the pan with about 1 tbsp of oil.... preferably a non-stick pan like the japanese use...
4. lightly cook the beef.... let the beef turn slightly brown... DONT fully cook the meat yet
5. add in leek & other ingredients... i prefer the leek to absorb more taste so i added in earlier... if you prefer the crunchier leek... then add it later
6. add the sukiyaki sauce.... after pouring the bottle of sauce... i added in additional 50-80mL of water as the sauce seem a little too salty for me....
7. let the broth simmer for afew min & add seasoning to taste if necessary
normally the japanese eat sukiyaki on the table just like the steamboat, so they will keep topping up with ingredients.... but i am lazy so i just dump everything inside the pot at 1 go.... you can also in udon later on & use the sukiyaki sauce as soup base which is also yummy =)
ingredients (for 3pax):
beef slices 1 pack (400g) can get the sukiyaki cut from NTUC which cost about $8, or if you are skillful enough, can always just get a slap of meat & cut it yourself....
leek 1 - 2 stalks, personally i like to eat leek so i added more... normally 1 stalk is more than enough
golden mushroom 1 pack
other fresh mushroom 1 pack.... shitake mushroom is one of the choices... you can use any kind of mushroom you like
tofu 1 block, preferably the harder kind... cause silken tofu may disintegrate while cooking
sukiyaki sauce 1 bottle about 155mL
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| all the ingredients |
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| sukiyaki sauce i gotten from Daiso = $2... can get it at NTUC at slightly higher price but a bigger bottle |
steps:
1. wash the beef.... i know some people dont do that cause will wash away the beef taste but personally i think it is necessary because the meat has been frozen for so long & dont know how hygienic was the butchery.. it will take quite a few wash to get rid of all the bloody liquid & after that the meat will become slightly pale but thats fine & normal.....i will also remove some of the fats on the meat... again... this is personal preference
2. chop/slice all the ingredients
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| chopped ingredients |
3. heat up the pan with about 1 tbsp of oil.... preferably a non-stick pan like the japanese use...
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| ideal pan but dont have to specially buy one for sukiyaki... normal 28cm non-stick pan will do the trick too |
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| heating up the pan |
5. add in leek & other ingredients... i prefer the leek to absorb more taste so i added in earlier... if you prefer the crunchier leek... then add it later
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| leek |
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| mushroom & tofu |
7. let the broth simmer for afew min & add seasoning to taste if necessary
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| sukiyaki done =) |
normally the japanese eat sukiyaki on the table just like the steamboat, so they will keep topping up with ingredients.... but i am lazy so i just dump everything inside the pot at 1 go.... you can also in udon later on & use the sukiyaki sauce as soup base which is also yummy =)
rosti recipe
this recipe is contributed by my bf.... the steps involved are really simple but just tedious....
ingredients (make 2 pieces of 6inch rosti):
potato 3 large
cheese 1 slice (optional)
Steps:
1. peel the potato.... this is just preference as it will be difficult to peel a boiled potato
2. boil the potato for about 10-15min, dont heat too long till the potatoes are too soft.. you dont want to make mashed potato instead
3. shred the potatoes, you can add some seasoning here if you like... just a dash of salt & pepper if you prefer
4. heat up the non-stick pan with about 1tbsp of oil, make sure the pan is really hot then spread about half the shredded potato onto the pan
you must wait patiently for the rosti to be cooked... it will take at least 5min per side... wait till it turn golden brown then turn over to fry the other side
5. serve rosti with a scoop of sour cream which is my favourite =)
if you prefer, can always add cheese on top of the rosti just before serving... the choice of cheese if up to your preference...
ingredients (make 2 pieces of 6inch rosti):
potato 3 large
cheese 1 slice (optional)
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| this is everything u need to make rosti |
Steps:
2. boil the potato for about 10-15min, dont heat too long till the potatoes are too soft.. you dont want to make mashed potato instead
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| boiled potatoes |
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| shredded potato |
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| frying the pan |
5. serve rosti with a scoop of sour cream which is my favourite =)
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| final product |
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| rosti with cheese |
Saturday 1 March 2014
fried shishamo recipe
another simple recipe that i want to share.... i love to eat shishamo but it is always so expensive to eat in restaurant... 3-4 pieces of fish will cost $5+... so i decided to DIY....
ingredients:
shishamo 1 pack
for shishamo, you can get them from NTUC for just $5.30/pack... inside you have like 20+ pieces... so much cheaper than eating at restaurant....
potato starch as required
you can also use normal flour but i feel the crispy texture is better with potato starch
steps:
1. it is very important to thaw the fish completely so that you can remove the intestine easily
2. remove the intestine....
3. gently dap dry the fish with some kitchen towel & roll it evenly with potato starch
4. heat up a pan of oil... personally i do shallow frying because i dont want to use too much oil.....
5. fry the fish... it will take a few min
6. let the fried fish sit on some kitchen towel to drain off the oil & cool down slightly before eating
i would recommend drizzling some lemon juice onto of the freshly fried shishamo... it will bring out the flavour of the fish =)
ingredients:
shishamo 1 pack
for shishamo, you can get them from NTUC for just $5.30/pack... inside you have like 20+ pieces... so much cheaper than eating at restaurant....
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| shishamo |
potato starch as required
you can also use normal flour but i feel the crispy texture is better with potato starch
steps:
1. it is very important to thaw the fish completely so that you can remove the intestine easily
2. remove the intestine....
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| open up the sides to expose the gills |
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| grab hold of the gills & pull out the intestines... it is important to remove everything or else there will be a bitter taste |
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| de-guted shishamo |
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| potato starch |
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| shishamo coated with starch |
5. fry the fish... it will take a few min
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| frying shishamo |
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| dada.... yummy shishamo |
onigiri recipe
today i will blog about onigiri (japanese rice ball) recipe... is really simple to make....
ingredients (for 3-4pax)
japanese rice 2cups
furikake 1-2 bags depending how many flavours you want to make
japanese rice vinegar 6-8 tbsp
PS: furikake = Japanese condiment meant to be sprinkled on top of rice
Steps:
1. cook the rice....
2. in my case, i have 2 different flavours of furikake so i split the rice into 2 portions & to each bowl of rice i added approximately 3-4 tbsp of vinegar (volume can adjust to your liking)
3. sprinkle the furikake on the rice & mix well.... you will probably need about 1/2 to 3/4 of bag... DONT add the whole bag for this amount of rice, it will be super salty...
4. roll the rice into onigiri.... it will help if you use the onigiri mould... can also get them from daiso... i couldnt find mine so i just roll into rice balls.... it is important that you wet your hands/mould with water before moulding onigiri... it will prevent the rice from sticking
really simple right?? of cause you can add other ingredients inside the onigiri, like plum, tuna flakes, seaweed, etc.... is up to your imagination =)
ingredients (for 3-4pax)
japanese rice 2cups
furikake 1-2 bags depending how many flavours you want to make
japanese rice vinegar 6-8 tbsp
PS: furikake = Japanese condiment meant to be sprinkled on top of rice
Steps:
1. cook the rice....
2. in my case, i have 2 different flavours of furikake so i split the rice into 2 portions & to each bowl of rice i added approximately 3-4 tbsp of vinegar (volume can adjust to your liking)
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| furikake = 2 bags at the bottom, i gotten them from daiso so is $2 each, cheaper than getting it from NTUC |
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| rice with furikake |
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| onigiri mould |
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| onigiri |
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