Hob and Hood

Did you guys manage to visit HomeDec over the weekend? We haven't been to one in yearsssss (our house is already completely furnished and there isn't space nor money for anything new)!

But we were desperate for a new hob and hood. Our two-burner Elba hob has been giving us flame problems for years - to the point that we've been depending only on one burner for as long as I can remember! Our Elba hood is a similar story too - the suction power just isn't enough to keep our goreng goreng smell from wafting out of the kitchen. Every time we have ayam penyek or sambal belacan for dinner, we would have to bear with the smell after effects, all night long! The hood is also a pain to clean, and judging from the amount of grease it collects - it doesn't do much of a good job.

Obviously we needed a new hob - one that would fit in the existing recess in our granite top, and a hood - one that is great at extracting and keeps my kitchen and house smell free!

We arrived at HomeDec bright and early; determined to make a choice and to get out of there before we made any additional damage. But of course, banyaknyaaaaa dugaan before finally arrived at the hob and hood section. Instead of starting from Hall 1 (where the hob/hood were) like everyone else, we got lost and started from Hall 5 instead! Adoiiiiii... Terus sangkut tengok swimming pool, artificial grass, wrought iron gates. Bla bla bla.

Anywayyyyy we finally arrived at the hobs and hoods. We crossed Elba (and Rubine) out of the list awal awal (although it was one of the cheapest in the lot), and narrowed it down to three which was within our budget - Livinox, Fagor and Brandt. (Kalau budget lebih I think the favourite brands are Fujioh, Teka and Electrolux.)

This is Elba. Their slanted hood (suction power 1400 m3/hr) was the most futuristic looking of all, and one of the cheapest too. Quite a turn off that the offered hob (the upper one) did not come with an auto cut-off flame system. I thought this should be standard by now!

This is Livinox (suction power 1200m3/hr). Note the German flag on the tag.

We then did our online research and crossed Livinox out. Why? Because the salesperson marketed it as being designed and made in German, even going as far as sticking a German flag on the price tag - whereas the Internet states that it was only designed jointly with a German-based company but assembled locally. Don't get me wrong - I have no issues with locally assembled products but I hate being misinformed!

Brandt on the other hand was very vocal about their local roots. They identified with their French background but were quick to point out their Singaporean roots. In the end it was a close horse race between Fagor and Brandt - same hood suction power but Fagor cheaper by ~RM200.

This is Fagor (suction power 1300 m3/hr). The sales person even offered us an additional RM100 off because it was nearly the end of the day.

This is Brandt (suction power 1300 m3/hr). They offered a free gift of either a set of knifes or a magic pan.

The Brand hob.

Finally we went with Brandt (their marketing won, hands down - we were given brownies and even a pack of cookies to take home)! As I type this, we're awaiting the delivery of our goods, so wish us luck with our new appliances!