Got a new haul of 'old design' Corelle plates / Corningware pots last weekend :
This is the 'Floral Bouquet' range from Corelle. Can you see that of the two plates, one is fainter and the other is brighter? That's cos the fainter plate is from my existing collection of Floral Bouquet Corelle plates and Corningware pots which we've been using for the last 18 years! My mum had bought a huge collection for us when Mike and I first moved out of her place in Seletar Camp into our own Executive Apartment in Pasir Ris. Back then, a single plate cost around $10 so I was really glad that she had helped 'build' my collection. What I am in awe is how lasting they have been.
My former FDW (Foreign Domestic Worker) didn't care much about handling them properly (thank goodness for Corelle!). You could always hear her plonk them down very loudly, be it on the table, into the sink or on top of each other. They'd be knocked around and dropped. Most of them remain in good condition, well, except for two or three plates which suffered minor chipping from the time she dropped them to the floor (yes, they didn't break entirely, only chipped at the ends), and some corningware pots which needed to have their glass covers replaced (breaks courtesy of 'couldn't care less' FDW again). Overall, they meet my needs and I still find the pastel flowers so soothing to look at. I would definitely suggest anyone hiring FDWs who have the 'bochap' (couldn't care less) attitude to use Corelle plates!
I had discovered I was pregnant with Tessa just after renovating our apartment and I recall already using these plates so they should be slightly more than 18 years old. They're so easy to use. Not too heavy so that washing isn't too much of a hassle and they're microwaveable. Remember the ang-moh TV ad with the jingle, 'From the freezer, to the oven, to the table?'. For Asian customers, they didn't discern that back then, we used the stoves to reheat our food more than microwave ovens.
I got so excited seeing this range on sale (as you can tell, so excited that I had to blog about it). I couldn't contain myself and had told the young sales assistant that I was so glad they were selling this range again. She said that the distributor was testing the market to see how receptive people were to this 'old' design. I really hope they start selling this set again although I already have limited space left in kitchen cabinets. When I was queueing up to pay, an older sales assistant stood beside me, took a look at my set and told me these were very good. I readily confessed that I had an entire set at home and they were already so old. She smiled and told me they weren't as old as the previous design which had tiny fruits and I told her, yes, I have those too (from my mum's own collection). She said practically everyone had those back then (I think it was some 'spice' range). Ha ha. Enjoyed my conversation with a complete stranger.
Anyway, thank goodness hubs wasn't beside me when I had decided to buy a set of plates and bowls and a gigantic sized Corningware pot (which I, ahem, already have). He only found me after I had paid for them. He and the boy were happy they'd bought their Cat 6 ethernet cable and I was super duper happy about my haul. He only wondered why I had bought a duplicate sized Corningware pot. I didn't have a good answer. Told him it was a useful size.
Sigh. Yes, kitchenware. Drool. Such a turn on.
