BENRINER - Japanese Mandolin... (tapi kok tak ada string?)

When I first saw the name on the box, Japanese Mandolin... my mind immediately pictured a small, semi-egg-shaped musical string instrument (like a mini gambus), the one that would be played by people from either Mexico or Spain (I don't actually know the origin of this instrument, but somehow my mind goes to these countries :P). But that's just the thing... A Japanese Mandolin? Kok bagimana? Ghupa-ghupanya... it's the kitchen utensil mandolin thinggy. Sebelum ni, I never knew it was called a mandolin, but a quick image search through Google confirmed it... A Mandolin Slicer!

The website hosting this image can be found here... (ni kira free advertising ke? Or am I simply committing digital-image-theft?)

This is the mandolin slicer... also rembatted.... from here...

Anywayz... my wife just bought this kitchen slicer utensil mandolin thinggy yesterday. At first I was quite surprised as it costs RM77!!! Tu dah nak lapan puloh hengget dah tu weh??? But since sometimes, my wife makes quite wise decisions, I decided not to pull a fit... and just berdiam diri. At the same time, I was very2 de excited also, because I liked the fact that something new was bought (doesn't happen very often in my household...)

Balik rumah, I opened the packaging. At first sight, I immediately agreed that the RM77 price tag was worth every penny. Most quality kitchenware selalunya mmg mahal-mahal, but the hefty price tag is normally justified by the quality and durability.

The product's name is BENRINER - Japanese Mandolin (Slicer). Japanese Mandolin, but with a USA patent... Ok la kot... I don't know how other countries' mandolins look like, but I reckon almost the same. I read somewhere that Rachel Ray uses this product (on her show I guess?) Anywayz, ini lah dia rupa benda alah tu. Actually it's the same brand as the mandolin pic above, only ours is white :) It's the new wide type also (dunno if the previous one was too narrow?)

64 m/m dia tulis... 

First impression... from the (plastic?) material used for the body, I was convinced that it had quality. I've used mandolins before and most of them had the normal, plastik-keras biasa body. But this one... Walaweh... it actually feels quite hard and strong! Like very2 susah to break one. It also has a textured effect, which I believe was intentionally designed to stress the sturdiness. 

 

Provided are three slicing blades, FINE, MEDIUM and COARSE. Each with their own unique slicing/cutting abilities.

  

  

The slicer blades of course, can be easily interchanged :D  The main blade... looks very2 sturdy, like can cut anything from onions to shoe-soles (I am exaggerating of course). The slicing thickness can also be easily adjusted. And I pretty much like the safety-holder (finger guard) thinggy... the design is quite nice aye?

 

 

 

  

And of course, they provide handling instructions and safety precautions so that you don't wreck the thing during use and keep your fingers in tact at the same time  :)

 

syok tengok mandolin dot com

I look forward to be using this thing ASAP. My wife of course, akan guna dalam jangka masa terdekat. Pasal kalu tak, takkan dia beli ye dok? (Kalau dia beli saja-saja, nanti aku upah orang karate dia... hehehe).  At the moment, I myself have too much work to do and little time to do kitchen work (hence using kitchen utensils). Alhamdulillaah, ada maid dah sekarang, so no need to headache2 thinking of household cleaning n joint kitchen management with the wife. Tapi takpe... sikit lagi PhD ni nak habis dah. When that time comes, insyaAllaah I will start using this thinggy. Lepas tu, another post pulak :D Orait... Assalaama aleykom!!!

[click the above image to view this item on Amazon.com]

AND... enjoy the demo video below. Don't work quite well on cucumbers I see... hehehe.