It's On Sale.
YOU WANNA BE CAREFUL WITH WAREHOUSE SALE. It can do things to you that can leave you with 4 extra German knives, another pressure cooker, a whole set of colanders just like the ones commonly used in the Asian Food Channel. And a bundle of spatulas, ladles and cutting boards in different shapes and colors; one for meat, one for chicken, one for fish, and the other for vegetables..
I have a thing for kitchen items. Can never get enough of them. And I need help. But I'm not willing to go see a shrink for this because it's kinda embarrassing to tell the good shrink about my predicament. The last shrink I went to left me with having less money in the bank that I had to negotiate a discount by agreeing to cook the good shrink Tajin Chicken. It was my mistake because it must have slipped my mind during one of the sessions that I confessed that a pilot friend of mine brought me a Tajin from Maghribi. Wait, now I remember. I think it started like this;
He said something about chicken. Me being a big mouth that I was, told him the best way to enjoy chicken is by cooking it in a Tajin. What's a Tajin? And me being such a big mouth, explained the whole thing to him. I even drew the picture of Taijin for him and the next thing I know he said something like; okay, I see you next week. You can leave your check with Mrs Chong outside and bring the rest of the payment in your next session.
Mrs Chong, a sweet and plump of a girl with singsong voice, showed me the invoice that very nearly gave me a heart attack. I took the invoice to go back in the room to have a word with the good shrink so he can explain to me about hidden charges that I might be unaware of.
He put me down to a sofa and started talking about his childhood which I didn't understand it all that well because he used a lot of big words that got me all muddy in the head. But me being a sympathetic patient that I was, listened to him like a goat bloated with gas and has no where to go. In the end I agreed to cook him a chicken dish to make up for the deprivation he suffered as a child because his dad was too poor to afford chicken for dinner.
I'm on my way to a warehouse sale. The advertisement says it's one-in-a-lifetime kinda sale because the guy doing the selling is gonna go out of business supplying kitchen items to hotels and restaurants. You can expect a lot of high quality stainless steel and more German knives and colanders and nice pots and pans. I'm not sure about you but I firmly believe that these things can make your cooking taste better. And with equipment like this, you can whip up restaurant quality dishes just like a real chef.
I need help. A psychological kinda help to solve my utensilingitis. After I'm done at this warehouse sale, that is.
posted by Bergen at
9:40 AM
40 Comments:
Salam Bergen
I remembered a long time ago when my parents were watching a cooking show, my mother will say, "Hmm, kalau tak ada periuk macam tu, tak kan jadi resepi ni" to my late father.
He will go out to get her the periuk or whatever she mentioned, if not the same but similar to it.
And she'll cook.
My mother loves her pots and pans and crockery.
One time, when her brother was going for his Haj, she asked whether she could kirim something from there."
Pinggan mangkuk lagi?" was his reaction.
That cracked us up but it actually put a stop to my mother's buying spree, warehouse sale or not.
Fauziah Ismail: LOL, I like the way your mom put it '...tak kan jadi resipi ni.' to get her utensils.
Salam Bergen:
I am wondering why wound anyone need a different knife and cutting blocks for meat chicken and fishes?I remember Mak used the same knife to cut meat,chicken.siang ikan and veges. As far as our family was concerned the foods Mak cooked were superbly delicious.
Nah, I think thats the psywar by the marketing department of those German companies.
Now,this Tajin chicken,I think I tasted it once in some upstairs Maghribi restaurant in Bukit Bintang.But I like Sahara chicken at Sahara tent(Fortuna Hotel Bkt Bintang )better.
InsyaALLAh tomorrow I might try Haneed Lamb at Hydramaut of Raja Chulan.Or maybe Mendi Lamb at Raisha in Jalan Damai off Jalan Ampang.
Everyman have their own hardware mania.Some are crazy about electronic gadgets some are manic to the latest handphone models,some towards fast cars or big bikes, some are crazy like hell over hi-fi stuff. I think you are the only few who got kitchen-utensils-mania.
Don't waste your money on shrinks. Just go to the warehouse sale and you'll feel better in no time.
I don't buy pots and pans or kitchen utensils. I angkat apa yang ada from my late granny's house - the periuk that she used to cook in and the sodip that she fried ikan with - because that will remind me of how she cooked for us with penuh kasih sayang and everytime I use the periuk, I feel good - the periuk that Tok used to cook for us.....tetiba my cooking taste good walaupun hanya masak mee maggie...ha ha ha.....
And the set of pots that my sister gave me about 10 years ago, masih lagi bersinar2 and berkilat2...ha ha ha...and dia akan sentiasa impressssssssssss dengan kekilatan berikutan kekurangan penggunaan itu...:)and she enjoys buying kitchen utensils for me yang I will end up asking "err...what is this for again?" :)
-me-no-pots
Tokasid: You are so right about your Mom using the same knife for all the cutting, slicing and chopping when cooking and the food tastes nothing close to the one prepared by the best chef in the world. And I couldn't agree with you more about all this crazy idea about having all kinds of kitchen utensil is purely psychological. But what to do, like you said, some men go crazy over electronic gadgets, motorcycles, cars etc. But me, I find solace in kitchen utensils, tapi bukanlah the kinda solace yang you'd get from Yoga he he.
Anonymous me-no-pots; Tu yang paling best. Utensils handed down from one generation to the other. I like the idea of making full use of something that isn't broken. And pots and pans memang jarang rosak if you take care of them nicely. Lagi pun pots and pans from family heirlomm ada history of the dishes once cooked in them. Not to mention the person do cooked them. I'd keep them for as long as I can. Tapi sayang, I only have a few of Aunt and Grandma's utensils - mostly tembaga which I cook only certain food.
Good morning Bergen..takper.Do not feel disdained of your very interesting passion.In fact you can advise and suggest to many what sort of cooking utensils yang bagus or murah etc.This topic is never boring when intermittently used anywhere.Kenapalah you pergi jumpa shrink?Suka kumpul benda2 macam ni is your hobby je..macam kumpul stamps..bukanlah bermakna you sakit jiwa!hahaha..boleh pinjam tak some of your collection?
Mamasita: I gotta stop collecting, ma'am. Have ran out of space to arrange them. hehe
Bergen - of you dah run out of space, bak sini. my kitchen plenty of space still, maklumlah duduk only pak abu and I... hehehe.. btw, this is the first time i am hearing all these strange-sounding dishes yg you and tokasid mentioned. i must go and try them lah.. bunyi mcm sedap aja..
typo..."if you dah..
Mr.B,
i only hv 1 knife in the kitchen to cut off everything.. and the 3 set small periuk from ikea to cook everything ( basic survival stuff i know..) and 1 flat pan to gorenng telur n bakar roti..
if u hv too much, u can send some to me. ir id u cant stop buying pots n pan, keep on buyng n donate it ( ..to me?) - hehehe, kidding sir.
u need to find a cure. maybe stop going to wharehousesale.
bergen, I love browsing through the kitchen department too but my culinary skills or lack of it is not worth the investment.
My grandma once told me, If you see a shrink you must be weak or crazy or lonely or gullible or whatever.
Sir, utensilingitis ?
Sir,
My mum (and grandma) loves to collect those cooking utensils and when she went to any shopping malls, we know where to find her if she gets out of our sight. :)
Utensilingitis? Hehe..I think its better if you stay away from the shrink. It shrinks your wallet only, so it's better if you spent it on utensils. *wink*
dear mr bergen,
i have a little bit of your syndrom. am always looking for the perfect baking tray, the perfect pots and pans, the 'bestest' knives. but one day i found an rm3 knife in a "pasaraya ekonomi" in shah alam and i think it is probably one of the best purchases of knives i've ever made. that sort of slowed my activity of scouring household departments of grand supermarkets every so often and during sales.
enjoy your warehouse sale!
Incidentally, i'm a first-time commenter to your blog though have been reading it for some time. have been enjoying it immensely.
Bergen
Thanks for your blog entry! For once it makes me feel normal. Or at least I have a kindred spirit. The problem with me is that my drawers and cupboards are all bursting with all the kitchen gadgetry that they are all spilling out.
Whats your solution for that if you don't mind sharing? :)
Bergen:
Went to KL today with a friend and we had a late lunch at restoran Hadramaut at Chulan Square( near LTAT and Pavillion).
Both of us had Haneed Lamb.The rice is soft and sweet with spices and lamb juice.The lamb(ribs) was tender that I dare not swallow but kept in in my mouth for a long time to savour the taste. Ahh....
I can help you with your utensilingitis but its gonna cost you a Tajin chicken. What say you?
Kama at-tarawis: Actually 'of you...' sounds more poetic than 'if you...' I love serendipity. Boleh lah juga pass kat my utensil to you tapi hmmm...nok tengok angin dulu. he he
Nadya: Actually one knife dah cukup - either a santoku or a chef knive, 8". What you've got is enough actually. About donating tu...can we talk about battleships and helicopter? he he
Kak Teh: Kitchen Dept can make me spend hours he he. Same thing with hardware section. And the sports section. And the stationery section. Alamak, I'm revealing to you all my ...ingitis like a billboard. he he
Anonymous 3:49: You're grandma's got it right.
Zackzara: I've arrived at the same analysis too, he he.
Auntida: Thank you for visiting. Actually, ma'am, about the RM3 knife. Most people has similar experience. Cheap knives are actually made of hardened stainless steel, they stay sharp a long time eventhough it's harder to sharpen them. The manufacturer produced by the hundreds using template blocks. This way they can sell a lot of knives, at RM3. Compared this with expensive knives, they are sharp no doubts but taking care of them is rather tedious, and being expensive you tend to control using it. With cheap knives you can cut the banana leaf, use it to cungkil lengkuas, or potong serai off its brush, siang ikan, potong daging (difficult but it does its job if you patient), and potong ayam.
Between you and I, I keep cheap knives too for the same purpose as I would use the expensive German/Japanese knives. he he
Sunflora: He he, I tried to re-arrange, re-prioritise the utensils in my kitchen drawers. I started with:
1. used most frequent
2. used less frequent
3. hardly use
4. never use
After 3 hours, I'm back to square one. Because I love them all. he he
Moral of the lesson is: Let It Be.
LOL.
Tokasid: Oh sungguh kejam. LOL. Anyway, glad that this entry has revealed the dark side of you. LOL i.e making friends to feel really deprived. he he
Kata Tak Nak: Are you going to do the alternative theraphy on me, or just mandi bunga, or cold turkey or jirus dengan air telaga pukul 3 pagi. LOL
sounds like me too but my hubby cure of that bcos laa ni dia yang duk shopping!!
u need only 3 knives said Chef Micheal (k chef lain??)..
tok said ni buat orang terliur aje..
saya cuba buat dari buku resepi yang menimbun aje..
Bergen,
Well said on the Yoga fatwa issue on marina's blog.
Anything to come out of the mouths of islamic scholars or not in tune with the Nafsu of the muslim "liberals" (whatever that means) is instantly shot down and our ulamaks belittled.
Why do they bother being Muslims then? Islam is a total way of life and we cannot simply adopt practices for the sake of assimilation and for the sake of being "accepted" or "acceptable" in the eyes of the westerners/non-muslims simply because they cannot telan what is ordained by Allah and what is required of us as Muslims in order to protect the purity of our faith, ie: Aqeedah.
People like Marina and Zainah Anwar are mere apologists who seem to feel ashamed that their religion is not acceptable to the "liberal" minded ie: who prefer to use they much prided on logic rather than the Wisdom of Allah.
Intellect is a blessing from Allah, but oftentimes it clouds the heart. Faith in itself is not something that can be explained by logic, because we are worshipping the Unseen (Ghaib) as in the earlier part of al Baqarah.
And no, I am not such a good muslim, but I will always stand up for my Islam and will not argue with what is RIGHT.
Well said, again, I say, Bergen.
Once upon a time, my 2 sisters forced me to go to Sogo 'members only' sale with them. The kind of sale that made you feel like you could swim in the ocean of people! But I'm glad I went, because I got the perfect knife for peeling tomatoes! Yeah, made in Germany kind of knife that could empty your wallet in no time. Ha. But I'm so in love with it! Ahh.. tomorrow I must make egg frittata so I could use the knife to peel the tomatoes again...
Btw Bergen,
Shrinks are overrated. And overpaid, definitely.
How can anyone understand what is in our heads but ourselves?
Heheh...
Brighteyes: Yes, that chef-at-home is right. But he has a collection of knives that he never used too. he he. Every chef has secrets like this.
Malaysian Tigress: You say nice things, ma'am. Thank you.
Farah: German knives will last you forever. Buy it once and you won't have to buy another again - if you can actually control yourself, that is. he he.
Malaysian Tigress: You say it, ma'am. LOL
Bergen - that was a 'mean' piece you wrote at Marina's. It helps put things in its proper perspective. kalau tak nampak lagi, buta mata dan hati lah dia orang.
I am a trained shrink by training and I am suffering from Utensilitis myself.
I guess in life, some addictions are imperative to make you 'normal'.
And please. We shrinks were train to bullshit alot to our clients/patients. Hence one of the reasons I become a teacher instead.
Earn enough to buy utensils without bullshitting ( that much, anyway ) :)
Sir,
thank you for the comment on the yoga fatwa. u made it all crystal clear. owh and thank you for doing so too (dropping the comment), cause starting from there, now here i am, waiting for u to update your post day by day.
Cheers to u too, sir!
:)
Sir,
I have to admit that I have the same interest with yours. I watched AFC more often than any other channels, and I'm getting interested with all those cooking utensils. Wish I could siang ikang like a pro. Slash, slash, woosh, slash, kedebuk! There you go, a nice cut salmon for today's sushi.
Where is this warehouse sale Mr B? I need some steak knifes... I think!?!
Ada steak knifes baru boleh buat BBQ. hahaha....
Sir,
sorry i hv copied and pasted ur comment on yoga fatwa (in MM's blog) in the yoga teacher blog who seems to hv no clue abt what this is all abt but keep on making false remarks and may mislead her reader especially non muslim. i hope u don't mind
Bergen i really dont think there IS a cure for utensilingitis ekekeh.. you're probably in for life!!
love ur writing, as always :)
Salam Sir,
I'm impressed with your writing, sir. Just discovered your blog last week and finally managed to 'khatam' your blog today. Stay true to yourself,sir and keep on writing...Hmm, just realised that men from Trengganu could really write...must have something to do with the 'ikang's...hehehe
Bergen,
I love anything with the 'Made in Germany' stamp especially the Schliper brand with the eye logo. I have knives, chisels and axe made by them. They are sharp and a pleasure to work with.
From England nothing beats the 'Record' brand. Will buy anything from that two brand as long as I can convince myself that I have some use for them in the future. Same problem as yours just that I don't go and see the shrink hehehehe.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Perhaps I should make a confession like ina. I'd 'khatam-ed' your blog few months ago. So ummm.. where are you now, mate? Got too busy with buoh liang?? I'm waiting for your never-ending updates. Y'hear?
lama betol lah warehouse sale kali ni...
Sir,
Are you in India now? Visiting your favorite superstar RAJNIKANT?
Brilliant posting!
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