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EIGHT FIABCI PRIX D’EXCELLENCE AWARDS World Record Holder of The Highest Honour In International Real Estate Home News is published by Far East Organization Centre Pte Ltd (Registration No: 197001007E). Copyright of the material contained in this newsletter belongs to Far East Organization. Nothing in here shall be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written consent of Far East Organization. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Far East Organization and no liabilities shall be attached. All rights reserved. For enquiries, change of address or other subscription matters, please contact [email protected]. Printed by Allegro Print. THIS ISSUE This issue of Home News opens with a gives an overview of our various integrated showcase of back-to-basics, non-electric housing developments with modern, well- gadgets for greener ways to prepare food. designed townhouses set within a gated, Find out how you can hand-crank ingredients landscaped compound. Home buyers for a good meal with these highly functional looking for spacious and exclusive landed yet easy to use tools. homes with full condominium facilities would get a good idea of the choices available. Speaking of shopping, have you checked out the amenities in your neighbourhood For those who prefer stylish, SOHO-style yet? There are a good number of village- abodes, there’s also a feature on Bijou – style malls that have come up across where you can read up on this freehold, Singapore recently, and there could be low-rise mixed-use development in Pasir one, if not more, in close proximity to where Panjang – highlighting units with voluminous you’re now living. Turn to page 7 for our living spaces and high ceilings. feature on selected Far East village malls, and explore some of the interesting retail Finally, do remember to turn to the second stores and F&B outlets. half of the magazine for the construction status of your new property. Details We then turn the spotlight from cosmopolitan provided are based on the latest information village malls to townhouses. This article available at press time. provides a brief account of the legacy of prestige behind the term ‘townhouse’ and Happy reading! 1 Contents features THE WARM AND LAIDBACK VIBE of Cosmopolitan Village Malls 7 CHARMS OF 10 THE MODERN TOWNHOUSE BIJOU Latest SOHO-style residences 14 by Far East SO/HO specials MY NEW HOME Snapshots of developments that recently received TOP 18 regulars 3 1421 PROJECT UPDATES HOUSEWISE INFORMATION Go back to basics DESPATCH with kitchen tools unplugged 32 Cover Image: Altez 2 HOUSEWISE COOL TIPS Kitchen Appliances Unplugged Back to basics with non-electric tools When it comes to household appliances, the kitchen dominates. The problem is many of such hi-tech equipment are seldom used to their full potential – and frequency. So before you get tempted to stock up on yet another underutilised appliance, why not try non-electric alternatives? We’ve picked out some beautifully crafted appliances for ideas. HANDBLOWN SERIES CHEMEX COFFEE MAKER The Chemex hand-blown glass coffee brewer is the perfect example of why electricity isn’t needed to make great coffee. Essentially an hourglass vessel, it has a funnel on top to hold the filter and the coffee grind, and a bottom canister to collect the aromatic drips. Gently pour hot water over the grind and let gravity take care of the rest. Within a few minutes you can enjoy an evenly flavoured, freshly brewed pot of low sediment coffee. The Handblown series is so effective yet simple in construct that it is kept in permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the US. SPECIFICATIONS • Includes a polished wood collar with leather tie • Available in three, five, eight and 13 cup versions (5 ounces = 1 coffee cup) 3 HOUSEWISE COOL TIPS DESIGN LINE MARCATO ATLAS * PASTA MACHINE If you make pasta from scratch, you’ll appreciate having a good tool to cut up the dough, like the hand-crank Atlas 150 Color from Marcato’s Design line, a beautifully constructed product that is also easy to use. Just secure it onto the side of the table with a specially designed clamp, and then insert the crank handle into the hole with smooth rollers – and you’re all set. SPECIFICATIONS • Anodised aluminium alloy • Length/Width/Height: 19 x 19 x 15.5cm • Weight: 1.37 kilogram • Available in light blue, black, blue, copper, red, gold, green, pink, and silver PARTYWARE PREPWORKS LINE * * GSI VORTEX BLENDER PROGRESSIVE CHOPPER The Vortex Hand-Crank Blender is a stylish and functional kitchen tool This hand-pulled Herb and Veggi Chopper comes from the very casual GSI Outdoors, a small outdoor gear maker from with blades to chop and mince small quantities of Canada that is big on good looking, ruggedised designs. Its blender has fresh ingredients – from walnuts and carrot chunks a firm base and a strong C-clamp for securing to the table, and a two- to tomato slices and mint leaves. speed gear system to crush ice or process food. The blades will start spinning and slicing when you To use, just put in reasonable volumes yank on the rotation cord, and before you know it, of ingredients into the pitcher, cap the the chopping’s done. Instant salsa, anyone? lid and rotate the crank handle until you get the desired consistency. SPECIFICATIONS • 500 ml container SPECIFICATIONS • Doubles as a serving bowl • Durable 1.5 litre pitcher and shot cap • Non-skid base made of tough BPA-free resin • Exclusive pour-through locking lid design • Separate C-clamp 4 DONVIER® CUISIPRO ICE CREAM MAKER* Make delicious ice cream in the comfort of your own kitchen with Cuisipro’s Donvier Ice Cream Maker. Simply freeze the Chillfast cylinder overnight, add in your favourite ingredients, and turn the handle occasionally to slowly freeze liquid into slush. Instructions on the website say that it makes up to a litre of ice cream in less than 20 minutes, but independent online reviews suggest freezing and churning at least once more to get consistency closer to store-bought ice cream. This contraption also makes frozen yogurt, fruit sorbets and non-dairy soy desserts. SPECIFICATIONS • Patented Chillfast cylinder • Double-walled freezer cylinder holder for extra insulation • Size: 30 x 27 x 20 cm • Available in green, white and pink SPOTLIGHT For a small serving of freshly made chilli paste, it can be a hassle to bring out the big guns like an electric food processor or a wet grinder. That’s why it’s good to have a trusty pestle and Pestle & mortar in the kitchen (the grey granite kind). There are two basic actions to using the pestle and mortar – Mortar pounding and grinding – and these are the motor skills you would need to make your favourite sambal. Throw in the ingredients a little at a time, and then pound them all into a paste. You need to scoop out each small batch before starting anew, so the process does take a while. Your effort will be rewarded by the wafting fragrance of rehydrated chilli peppers, freshly peeled shallots, dried shrimp paste and other aromatics being amalgamated as you work, an experience that no amount of electric processing can ever replicate. The pestle and mortar is also ideal for quick cracking or grinding of seeds and spices. * All hand-crank products and parts are susceptible to breakage, especially if you try to process too much at a time. So exercise moderation when working with ingredients, and they should serve you well for many years. 5 HOUSEWISE COOL TIPS Beef up your knowledge of kitchen knives The Cleaver Rules Cutting Edge Ceramics If you only have one knife in your Second in hardness after diamonds, ceramic knives keep their sharpness for a kitchen, make it the medium weight long time. Being relatively non-porous, they are generally odourless and easy to Chinese cleaver, a staple across clean and of course do not rust. Asian kitchens for centuries. The downside however, is brittleness, making ceramic knives far less versatile. In her book Shark’s Fin and Sichuan While they perform well in everyday cutting and slicing – it’s a definite no to Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of picking at bottle caps or hacking on frozen meats. Eating in China, chef and food-writer, Fuchsia Dunlop wrote: “The everyday cleaver, It’s Got Holes! the cai dao (菜刀) Ever wondered why some kitchen knives have or vegetable knife, is holes in them? This is to prevent food from unexpectedly light and sticking to the blade during the cutting action. dexterous, as suitable If you’ve ever had to slice up volumes of large for slicing a small raw potatoes, you’ll know how significant this difference is! shallot as a great hunk of meat, and used by everyone.” Chopping On Bamboo Dunlop’s observation seems to be Wood or plastic? The chopping board debate shared by a growing number of goes on inconclusively – though the general cleaver fans in the West – so much so opinion favours wood. If you’re sceptical of both, that Victorinox – of Swiss Army Knife Cuttingboard.com suggests trying bamboo instead. Here’s why: fame – manufactures its own “Chinese chef’s knife”, and gives it the same 1. Bamboo is quite water resistant and so doesn’t warp or crack easily. international assurance of quality as 2. It resists knife scarring and water penetration so germs don’t get a foothold. other Swiss Army products.