As with the Airfryer, this was a product that took a bit of deliberation before a decision was made to buy. Not that it is expensive, but I wouldn’t buy something I don’t need just because it’s cheap. And it is actually quite cheap for what it is, setting me back by 118 Yuan (S$24). This was the cheapest price i found on Taobao, from this seller. I also bought pouches for vacuum sealing from the same seller. Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – vacumm food sealer
Tag: Product Recommendation
Product recommendation – Kuissential Evengrind coffee bean grinder
I’ve finally received the coffee bean grinder i ordered from Kickstarter last year, after a delay for more than half a year, plus another half a year wait for friends from the US to bring it over. Continue reading Product recommendation – Kuissential Evengrind coffee bean grinder
Taobao product recommendation – cooking torch
This is the most badass kitchen equipment I own. Well, Kenji says it’s badass. I bought a cooking torch for the sole purpose of charring steak. I can probably use it for other meat preparation as well I suppose, but like Kenji said, there may be a lingering smell of the fuel if not used in conjunction with cooking on a pan. I know that is true because i’ve seen the torch being used at some restaurant and thereafter there was a noticeable smell of the fuel.
The Iwatani cooking torch is a popular cooking torch sold on Amazon and it is made in Japan. Iwatani makes the cooking torch (probably the exact same design but with a different model name of course) in China as well and obviously you can find it on Taobao. At 110 Yuan (S$23), it is cheaper than the one on Amazon (US$23.95 or S$32.30). Besides, the item is not eligible for free AmazonGlobal shipping, so shipping will be additional cost. Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – cooking torch
Taobao product recommendation – Sous Vide temperature controller
As promised, I bring you a report of the temperature controller i have purchased from Taobao for doing Sous Vide. It costs only 40 Yuan (S$8.30) including the domestic delivery. I bought this out of anger that the Anova Precision Cooker broke down the very first time i used it. Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Sous Vide temperature controller
Taobao product recommendation – Airfryer
I’ve debated with myself over the need to get an Airfryer for a long time, since i generally don’t eat deep fried stuff much, and knowing that an Airfryer is nothing but a mini oven with a turbo fan, but all along, I’ve pictured a scene in mind – eating home-made cheese fries with fried chicken wings while sipping home-made beer. Yes, I dream of recreating a cafe/bar at home. I finally succumbed and bought an Airfryer to see if this would bring me one step closer to my dream.
Deep frying is quite a hassle, everyone knows that. I should say that is the main reason i avoid doing it. You need to use a lot of oil, and often bits of the food stays in the oil until they’re burnt, rendering the oil useless for further use. Not to mention, your kitchen gets greasy after doing just very little deep frying. Using an automatic fryer would help, but that usually means using even more oil, and it takes a lot of justification to get such a machine (eating deep fried stuff every day isn’t a good excuse). That’s where an Airfryer fits in i guess. I’ve gone through enough reviews of the Airfryer to be convinced that the result it produces is close enough to real deep fried food. Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – Airfryer
iHerb product recommendation – supplements
I know it sounds lame, recommending supplements from iHerb. Supplements is almost entirely what iHerb is about. I suppose when iHerb started, they were selling mostly supplements, from which they probably derived the name iHerb, rather than the literal herbs (for cooking). Well, they’ve expanded their product offering a lot since then, selling toiletries, snacks and even toys.
Well, i have recommended getting fish oil from iHerb, and to date i am still taking fish oil as supplements everyday. No harm since it’s a very small cost. We (my wife and myself) have slowly expanded our daily supplement intake to include other things now, which is probably needful as we age. The other supplements that i have felt helpful are the ones for joint (knee) support. Continue reading iHerb product recommendation – supplements
Qoo10 product recommendation – mobile phone
Gone are the days when you had to rely on the Telco to offer you handsets at a discounted prices when you sign on a contract with them. Now that Telcos are forced to slash prices due to competition, it is even more so, because their margin doesn’t allow them to dangle handsets to lure business anymore. In fact, i think the business has turned the other way round – they’re hoping to make money from selling the handsets along with the plan.
This bodes well for consumers, who are finally free to buy any phone they wish at any time without being psychologically influenced to think that a phone upgrade is a necessity upon every contract renewal. In any case, i have been free from that kind of mentality since more than 5 years ago. Continue reading Qoo10 product recommendation – mobile phone
Taobao product recommendation – suction pump
I think most people will be wondering what a suction pump can be used for. This one is actually meant to be used for vacuum packing blanket, comforter, bedsheet and the like, to reduce the space needed for storage. As such, it is quite a heavy duty pump, designed to draw a lot of air out in as few strokes as possible.
I bought it for a completely different purpose. The Ziploc vacuum kit which i have been using to vacuum seal my mason jars is showing signs of wear and might break down any moment, so i thought i should get a replacement, and i was wondering what i can find on Taobao to do the trick, and i stumbled on this. If you look at the double chamber on this pump – the combined volume is probably about the same as that of a pint sized mason jar, which means it draws out the air in a mason jar in just a single stroke to create a very strong vacuum! It works so well that i’m retiring the Ziploc vacuum pump already.
Amazon product recommendation – beer kit
This is my second time buying the Coopers beer kit from Amazon. As expected, I received a dented can. This is the price you pay in exchange for a 25% discount. This time round, the sachet of yeast was missing as well, which was what also happened to some other Amazon product reviewers. Thankfully the yeast and the instructions sheet wasn’t missing when I received my very first beer kit. Why did I buy a second time from Amazon, you might ask, if I knew I was going to get a dented can and possibly missing yeast? Mainly it is because it is cheaper, even if only slightly. Continue reading Amazon product recommendation – beer kit
Taobao product recommendation – multi egg frying pan
I wasn’t going to recommend this frying pan, until now. Well, i was expecting it to be non-stick enough to require little to no oil/fat when frying eggs, which isn’t the case. It only works when you use a small amount of oil/fat (as you do with the typical non-stick egg frying pan), which i now feel is acceptable, since fried eggs taste better with a bit of oil/fat anyway.
The main advantage of this frying pan is of course being able to fry up to 4 eggs at a time, which is a major time saver when you’re preparing a meal for a few people. I like the size of the eggs you get – small (as pictured above) and slightly tall (the photo above is deceptive – you won’t get the straight edges). To make sure the top part of the eggs are cooked, you need to cover the pan when frying the eggs. A cover is not supplied, but you can just use whatever pan cover you already have. Continue reading Taobao product recommendation – multi egg frying pan
