Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A guide to choosing a good hob, hub and oven?

So, if you are bored of listening to me talking about my house, or more specifically my house extension already, then best to leave now because this is yet another post about just that.

However, if you have plans to do renovation, particularly the kitchen, or maybe you have experience in this field, do read on. At the end of the post, I'd hope those with some experience would hit the 'comment' button for some tips. I'm always eager to learn from you guys/girls.

If you have not known yet, I am extending my kitchen by four meters (13 feet) outwards due to the 'open-style' kitchen of my house. The extension does not come cheap, and I have decided to go all out and fix whatever is needed for a good kitchen once and for all. Heck, I didn't even ask a discount from the contractor as I said 'All I want is for it to be done well and nice', and so far, I think I am more than happy with how everything is going.

The thing now is equipping the kitchen with a hob, hood and oven. The three main things one need to cook in this modern era. I've done some reading and surveys, but I think the lack of knowledge on these thing limits my ability to make the best choices, and so I turn to you all. Those with Asian kitchen experience.
For the newbies, below is a good idea of what a hood, hob and oven is all about.

[caption id="attachment_134" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Hob, hood, oven Know a hoob, hod and oven[/caption]

So, now, there's branding. There's like so many brands out there, Rubine, Tuscani, Rinnai, Elba, Electrolux etc, but brand is the least of my concerns because history has proven that my BeeBest water heater, still provides me warm water early in the morning despite it being 5 years now.

For the hood, I was told to get one with the 'ultimate suction power', and so my survey around Kuching lead me to this Rubine hood (image below) which has a 1400 m3/h suction power. However, a Tuscani seller pointed out that the 'diamond shaped' hood sucks less if compared to the 'flat' or boxed type. He also pointed out that Rubine hoods were lighter in comparison to Tuscani, which means Tuscani is better. All that input left me more confused.

[caption id="attachment_132" align="aligncenter" width="500"]The Rubine Diamond shaped hood The Rubine Diamond shaped hood[/caption]

For the hob, or better known as stove, it was confirmed to be Rubine MGH-LOTOBLUE3B-BL as I wanted a three burner stove, and this seemed to be just nice with the right price. Nothing much to compare here as I believe all hobs are similar. (Do correct me if I'm wrong)

Now the most troublesome one, the built-in oven. I read in a forum about hoods, hobs and ovens that 'ovens are freaking expensive because one rarely uses it'. I guess it's true because mom does not use her oven much, but for future use, I guess I might as well get it one go. Problem is, I am not sure which is the best. They say, get the one 'easy to clean', but how do we define 'easy to clean'? Only an experienced oven user would know, and guess what I am?

Also, a friend said 'get one with a thermometer, but check out the specifications of the oven by Rubine below. See any thermometer written?

[caption id="attachment_133" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Rubine Oven specification Very general specifications from Rubine[/caption]

I downloaded the manual of the Rubine oven for reference sake, and it just hit me that using the oven is also quite something. To use the functions, you have to be well versed in where to turn and what to do. Wahh... suddenly frying chicken sounds so much easier!

But anyway, for the sake of comparison, I am torn between this two models (image below).

[caption id="attachment_130" align="aligncenter" width="338"]Tuscani vs Rubine The battle of Tuscani vs Rubine[/caption]

Okay, let's be realistic. I can't afford something costing RM5K and above, so please don't ask me to go for some huge brand which cost so much I'd cry to sleep thinking of the money I'd fork out for. Also, I am now torn between Rubine and Tuscani, and was told by the Tuscani seller that Tuscani is above Rubine when it came to quality. I know, he's biased but that does not mean he may be right.

So, if you are reading this. Share the love people, and give me some tips. Experience on the hob, hood and oven for brands you are using, particularly Rubine and Tusconi is much appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

6 comments:

  1. Got Rubine hood last year and has since served me well. Not sure about the hob and oven because I went for Rinnai.

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  2. Saya ada beli satu set Rubine. Setakat ni, tidak ada masalah besar. Rubine senang cuci juga.

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  3. Tq utk komen.. saya akhirnya beli juga Rubine

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  4. Thanks for the feedback. Definitely giving it a try.

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  5. Mr Cryril ,



    I m interested to buy a set of Rubine hood, hod & oven for my new house in Kuching. I had got a quotation from SK Lifestyle, Satok.



    In has being 2 months since you last installed your Rubine set. I m just wandering how's your Rubine kitchen set so far.

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  6. Thanks for dropping by Henry,

    So far, i don't have any complaints of the hood although my mum said it seems to be a bit noisy when she tried it out. The suction power is however fantastic.
    As for the hod, fire is good, but starting it up needs some getting used to. Since I probably got one of those 'cheaper' models - not the spiral blue flame, the flame produced is not entirely blue, but it is very hot nonetheless.

    Can't say much about the oven since I've yet to use it.

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