When we laid out the kitchen, we wanted lots of counter-top workspace. That turned out well.

 As time passed, we bought more and more sauces, vinegars, cooking oils, etc. Before we knew it, a large section of the counter-top was taken up with storing this stuff. With everything crowded together, finding what I wanted was a real nuisance.

So we decided to get things organised. Wall mounted racks were an obvious choice, as they would free up counter space below. We ended up getting 3 racks as well as 3 wooden trays to hold stuff like cooking oils, salt, bottles of dried chillies and the like.

 As you can see, with everything lined up it is much easier to locate whatever I need. The smaller rack in the upper right hand corner of the photo is used for holding commonly used spices. The ones that I use less often are in a pull-out cabinet.

We did not go for the brand name racks; 1 rack cost twice as much as the total we paid for our 3 racks. Quality is good, and we figure even if the racks need replacement at some point, we are still way ahead by not paying so much.

I recently popped in to the Central Chidlom Department store to have a look at the household department.

 I was pleasantly surprised to see a decent selection of good quality (read heavy-duty) bakeware. So, if you are on the lookout for this, you do have an option besides the Emporium Department store.

Both places have easy BTS skytrain access.

My smaller Smeg oven gets fairly regular use, and I have become quite comfortable with it by now. The only thing I wish is that I could broil with the door open, but it will not work that way so I do not have a choice.

With regular use, no matter how carefully, there is a build-up of oil and grunge on the top and bottom plates. Left and right are self-cleaning liners, so they are not a problem, but what gets on the top and bottom plates gets baked on really well, and cannot be wiped off with soap and water only.

My wife called the local Smeg distributor to enquire about the oven cleaner they recommend. The person who took the call had no idea what she was talking about. Next, my wife called up the sales-person who sold us all our Smeg equipment. She was quite helpful and suggested that as the equipment was still under warranty,we could get it cleaned by their service personnel. Sounded good.

So, my wife then calls the service department. Yes, of course they would be pleased to clean our oven, but we would have to bring it in to the shop where they would clean it. I nearly had a fit when I heard that. It’s a built-in oven and it took 2 strong men to lift it into position and hook up the wiring. Now they expect my wife and I to disconnect the wiring, take it down, and lug it in for cleaning? Talk about crap offers that are made for the sake of sounding good, with no real sincerity behind them - this definitely belongs in that category.

So, the oven was just getting more and more grungy. Looking at the local supermarkets for oven cleaner yielded nothing. Your typical family here apparently does not use an oven.

Finally, I was talking to my buddy about it and he mentioned that I could get it at the Villa Supermarket on Sukhumvit 33. Well, I had looked there before without success, but decided to try again since he was so sure. As yesterday was my weekly pub crawl day, I gave it a try on the way home. Yes, the supermarket is open 24 hours.

All the kitchen cleaners were on 1 shelf, and I could see BBQ cleaners, counter-top cleaners, sink cleaners, but no oven cleaner. On the verge of giving up, I gave a final try near where the detergents were, and on an upper shelf well above my head,  saw “Easy-Off” heavy-duty oven cleaner. The blurb “America’s #1 oven cleaner” caught my eye, but frankly it was the only oven cleaner available so it could be #2 for all I care.

So now I have oven cleaner. This is pretty caustic stuff and my buddy emphasised that I should be sure to wear rubber gloves when using it. I should have bought them last night, but I was so delighted to get the cleaner my brain shut down and I did not think of it. That or the beer was doing its job. Well, I’ve waited so long a few more days won’t hurt.

I’ll update on how it goes when I use it.