I honestly don't know when this trend caught on, but one thing to notice is it all began on instagram. We give a wooden touch on the cutlery to make our food post swoon worthy. The next thing I know there was also this kind of trend that took off: wooden cutlery sets considered as one of gift ideas to newlyweds. And no, I was never given a wooden cutlery set in advance. I only have matching wooden chopsticks and spoon for me to bring everywhere, in an attempt to live a less waste lifestyle. It is more lightweight than the stainless steel one and fit the cutlery case perfectly. However, the only downside of it is they are easily covered with mold. To an extent, I figure out later that it requires high maintenance, more info see here.

I think wooden cutlery is best for professionals in food photography/food bloggers. It also works for people who enjoy taking care of their special things, or in this case, wooden cutleries—putting certain oil in it and sun-drying it periodically—and unfortunately I was not both of them.

A day after I found out the sugar jar was full of ants! O.M.G. I thought my kitchen AND the jar itself is ant-free. Therefore I stick to tupperware or re-use a jam jar to store spices as an alternative.

As a person who loves eating veggies, I always store greens in the fridge. Carrot, broccoli, bok choy, green beans, chili, soybean curd has always been my staple. There are a lot of options for vegetable containers in e-commerce, and sometimes I reuse the plastic container package from take outs—you know, the one that says ‘microwave oven safe’ on the lid even though it does not look like it is safe 🙈, but somehow the vegs only last a day or two and they begin to wilt.

That is when I started to use lock n lock and tupperware to store veggies. For me, a secure, tight lid is much needed to make the vegetables last longer. For instance, using lock n lock, broccoli can last for two weeks and chili can last up to 3 weeks if I put tissue beneath it. That is why I’m being skeptical with a clear food container raved by home decor lovers or ‘microwave oven safe’ containers I’ve mentioned before. Even though it depends on the temperature set on the fridge too.

However, if someone happens to cook everyday, a less secure lid container works well for them since their food stock in the fridge rotates faster. And for someone who only cooks on the weekend or whenever in the mood like me, a lock n lock container is really helpful to avoid producing food waste.

One thing that I’ve always wanted when I was a child is to have a cooktop (is it really the right term for kompor tanam in english?) since it could make the kitchen look effortlessly clean and tidy. So there’s no surprise that the kitchenware section was the first place I’ve visited in Electronic City. 

Pic by Beazy on Unsplash

The naive me realized later that gas cooktop requires a lot of work. The effortlessly clean image in my mind was actually earned by 1) cleaning meticulously right after I used it, 2) by wiping the grease and dust in every inch of it—or else, the stain will stay forever, 3) by filing the purchase receipt somewhere safe so that if it doesn’t work, I could have the serviceman do it for free just by showing the receipt. If I could turn back the time, I would purchase the usual stove and save my money for a kitchen set instead 😂.

Ok, this one is off the topic, but it is kinda trend among boomers in my office. One day I mindlessly flipped through the IKEA catalog and one of the boomers caught me. An unsolicited advice came along within our conversation, suggesting me to buy teakwood furniture because it lasts longer than IKEA products, and mentioning the home depo he knew was selling teakwood furniture. Teakwood material is well known for its durability, strength, and who can refuse the natural warm color to spice up their home? As much as I want to fill my house with teak wood furniture, I realise that :

1) teakwood offers financial consequences since it is quite pricey 💸

2) teakwood furniture requires larger space since it mostly comes in a bulky shape. Even though I’ve seen some sleek one yet they're way out of my league. And for the one who works in greater Jakarta and has a limited budget, I do not have many options in purchasing teak furniture, let alone spacey landed house. Meaning that once I put a dining table from teakwood in the dining room, I have no money space left to put another stuff 😅

3) the shipping fee! The legit one I knew is teak from Jepara. But only God knows how much I should spend to purchase and send a dining table set all the way from Jepara 😖

With that limit, one thing to admit is that it doesn’t have to be teakwood, although teakwood material is not wrong either. IKEA or Fabelio products would be just fine, as long as the material is from a responsible resource 😌

So, what kitchen trends that might did not work for you? 

XX,

Z