Kim's Kitchen Tingkat catering

Lately we been very busy with work and wanted to have proper and less unhealthy dinner during weekdays. The tendency for us was to grab something either delicious but sinful for health or to buy the usual cai fan whichis quite oily and salty. Gayle did a review of local tingkat catering services and we decided upon Kim's Kithen due to better feedback about food taste, variety etc. We like that their food is not oily or salty and one doesn't get any thirsty feeling which means less MSG is used? Although a few reviewershave said that their soup isnt nice(doesn't mean that is less MSG? which should be good), we beg to differ and find the soup 'cheng' , soothing soup. Like all tingkat caterers, you can order a trial package for 5 days at $40 for dinner meal at 2 pax. During the trial period, they wil pack our food in microwaveable containers intead of metal tingkats which will be used once you confirmed permanent order after the trial period. The one meal for 2 perons (for lunch or dinner) tingkat package comes with 1 meal set for 2 persons for 20 weekdays at $202 inclusive of GST. You can drop by their website to find out more at http://www.kimskitchen.com.sg/whatotherssay.html

New Storage Bedframe for our Master Room

(Above)Our new divan storage bedframe
To create more storage space and to have a easy maintenance bedframe, we bought a new PVC covered storage bedframe( Model: Virgo Divan ) from Furniture Club at the International Furniture Centre at Sungei Kadut. As the bedframe is made from scratch, we could customised the colour, we chose grey (PVC 16) with Rome model PVC cushion headboard for the luxurious comtemporary look.


(Above)Comtemporary design headboard with soft PVC cushion.

We asked that the bedframe be built to provide height spacing of 12 inches from the base to the start of the headboard cushion so that the mattress can fit into the headboard recess nicely. The bed base is divided into two equal storage areas and fitted with maxcoil hydraulic spring mechanism to ensure sturdy opening and closing of the storage space.




(Above)Practical Storage spacing

The bed took about two weeks to deliver. What we like also about the bed is that it is compact and our room is now much bigger than before as previously, our thick bedframe took up a lot of room space.For readers who are asking for the price, the bedframe alone with the headboard was $910. It may be cheaper if you buy a package with their matresses.

Sale of bedside lamp

We have also decided to sell our bedside lamps on our master bedroom since we don't really use them and someone else can put them to better use. They are from Lightcraft and are in good condition. They use halogen blubs which can be purchased either from Lightcraft or from any good DIY shop. They made a good addition to any room with their avant garde design. Many of our friends mistook it for a designer speaker. Email us at blissndreams@yahoo.com.sg if keen.


(Above) Light is cast towards ceiling.


(Above) Powerful bright light.

Minor improvement works to our apartment

Removal of curtains and installation of roller blinds in master bedroom
After living for close to 5 years, we have chosen practicality over initial decor thoughts. We removed all our curtains to cut down on dust and ensure cleaner air within the room since we found that curtains attract dust mites. Also Gayle is quite sensitive to dust too si it was the right move. We replaced our curtains in the master bedroom with roller blinds - both day and black out roller blinds. After the installation, we were wondering how come we had not thought of doing it last time given that maintenance upkeep is easier, less dust, room looks much more spacious and the room is really much darker with the blinds down which is condusive for a better sleep. We ordered the blinds once more from Chicks and Blinds after our good experience with them through their sales rep - Pauline who can be contacted at 98460626 if you are interested in their blinds or curtains. It took four days from site visit to the delivery and installation of the blinds.


(Above) Roller blinds unpacked for installation. We like the slim design of the roller mechanism.


(Above) A stark contrast with the glare coming in with and without the day roller blind.


(Above)Comparison shot of glare without Roller blind at lower section of window, with day roller blind in centre section of window and with black out roller blind upper section of window


Replacement of coffee table.
We also replaced our existing coffee table in the hall with a brighter and colourful table piece that blends in with the main colours of our hall. Purchased for $290 from Star Furniture.

Putting up our existing queen sized designer bedframe for sale(SOLD!)

To increase the walking space of our master bedroom and also to have more storage space, we have decided to change our bedframe to a more compact one with bottomed storage space. Thus, we will be selling our used but in good condition designer bedframe from Furniture Club at a giveaway price of $100 as the buyer will have to disassemble and self collect. The bedframe is 238cm in length and 184cm in width.
Material and colour is in suede grey with a spilt recliner backrest that can recline flat or at different inclines. Suede material is in very good condition and cleaned once weekly. Fits all standard queen sized mattress.


(Above) Spilt Recliner backrest that can incline or fold flat.

Update: Sold to a nice fellow Volkswagen driver!

New Watches for Us

Wanting to pamper ourselves, we splurged on new watches for ourselves. I got myself a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 16 Chronograph while Gayle got a Marc Jacobs analogue watch which she had been eyeing.The TAG was bought at an authorised dealer at Lucky Plaza basement that was recommended on watch forums for providing better discount than the main retailers like Hour Glass etc. The standard discount is 10 to 15% but with persuasion and of course payment in cash, you can get at least 20% discount. I decided to buy the TAG before the main agent revises prices up again for the second time this year within a space of three months. I had been looking for a rugged and classy watch and found it in the Calibre 16 Aquaracer.


The TAG Heuer AQUARACER 500M AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH (44MM) is the first chronograph in the AQUARACER 500M series. It has a robust, fully functional design that addresses very specific demands — great visibility and easy handling under water, extreme resilience, and safety features professional divers can count on in even the most severe conditions.It is also a sophisticated work of contemporary design.

The wide diameter case (44mm) is in polished and fine-brushed steel. The unidirectional turning bezel is in fine-brushed steel with a “soft touch” black coating on the top. The bezel’s polished “easy-grip” studs are grooved on the sides to facilitate handling, even with diving gloves. An automatic helium valve is integrated into the case at 10 o’clock. This one-way valve is activated when the differential between the inner and the outside pressure reaches a critical level.The 3 counters on the vertically streaked black dial give chronograph hour (6 o’clock), chronograph minute (12 o’clock) and running second (9 o’clock). “AQUARACER 500M” is written above the date window at 3 o’clock, which has a magnifying lens for easier legibility. The name of the automatic chronograph’s famous movement — “CALIBRE 16 – AUTOMATIC” — is written at 6 o’clock on the chronograph hour dial. The Calibre 16 fully automatic movement mechanism has a balance frequency of 28800 vibrations per hour (4hz) and has a power reserve of about 42hours.


Gayle's watch(above) is model # MBM3085 Marc Jacobs ladies' Miss Marc bracelet watch. It is a Valentine's Day Limited Edition that features a fun and striking Marc by Marc Jacobs for ladies. We got it at 20% discount, above the standard agent controlled 10% discount for Marc Jacobs watches at a watch shop at harbourfront basement.

This design features a carbon coated matte stainless steel case and a carbon coated stainless steel bracelet strap that employs a butterfly deployment clasp.The round dial has a scratch resistant mineral crystal cover and has white with black and grey accents, has three hand movement and displays the Marc by Marc Jacobs logo in addition to the Miss Marc character Band width is 15mm and circumference 22.5mm. The watch is water resist to 5ATM.

DIY plumbing of rinser valve and replacement of bin chute cover

(Above)Rinser valve

With our apartment reaching it's fifth year since renovation, wear and tear of certain items have set in so it's always good to keep aside some spare cash for on and off perodic replacement of these worn out items in the apartment.

Recently, we had to replace our rinser valve in our common bathroom.The valve just started leaking and soon became a full blown water spout flooding the common toilet floor until I shut off the main water supply valve outside our apartment. The cause was the rinser valve switch that usually holds back the water supply had failed and water was just flowing out.


(Above)Remember to turn off the main water supply valve tap and watch where the pipes run to identify which is your valve tap. Don't turn off your neighbor's valve by mistake.

We initially wanted to call a plumber but with some advice by Gayle's dad,we were advised to save ourselves from a potentially expensive bill and try to see if we can DIY to fix it ourself. Based on his advice, we went to Sim Siang Choon to purchase a rinser valve for less than ten dollars.

We also got a new hand rinser spray for about $35 ( bought a top of the line model with better feel and hardier trigger)to replace the current one that was dripping excess water. this meant the rubber lining had worn out and that was why water was dripping out. The current rinser was removed and then Eugin used a wrench to remove the defective rinser valve attached to the common bathroom waterpipe.


(Above)Removal of defective rinser valve using wrench.


(Above)Rusted screw grooves of the defective rinser valve


(Above)New and shiny screw grooves of the new rinser valve

After it was removed, the screw groove of the opening to attach the rinser valve was wiped and cleaned dry of recess water.


(Above) New rinser valve screwed back with PTFE Thread seal tape (white tape seen)wrapped around the screw grooves where the hand rinser spray hose attaches on.

The new rinser valve was then screwed onto the screw grooves of the opening. Prior to that, Eugin covered the grooves with PTFE Thread Seal tape to prevent water seepage. This was also done to the screw grooves of the rinser valve where the hand rinser spray hose attaches on.


(Above) PTFE Thread Seal tape. Bought from hardware shop.


(Above) Old hand spray rinser


(Above) New hand spray rinser


(Above) Fixed rinser valve. As good as new.

Thereafter the main water supply valve was turned on and the rinser worked as good as new once more. A solution that cost us less than $10. Thanks to Gayle's dad advice.

A week later, the bin chute cover jammed and this time we had to call in the experts as this was not DIY possible since it involves removing and taking out the whole bin chute cover. We were told that the latch design of the current bin chute covers with their locking device was prone to jamming due to wearing out of the spring and latch.
We called a contractor from C.BOREALIS Consultancy & Marketing Pte Ltd as he charged among the cheapest for $190 for a new bin chute cover with features such as self-closing, insulation to keep out smell and water during chute cleaning, non corrosive stainless steel and fire rated. The insulation also prevents banging and damaging of the bin chute cover should you lose grip of the bin chute cover when opening.You can call them at 92704493 if you need a bin chute cover.




(Above)Newly installed shiny chrome plated bin chute cover.


(Above)Chrome finishing even on the inside.

Service was prompt and the installer arrived earlier than appointed time. The whole removal and installation took over 30 minutes.