If u can wait then see if you can Blanco at better price in the coming Christmas or Home Expo sale. I remember Blanco Metra 9 was about RM1800-2000. It is still out of your budget unfortunately but you are talking about long term buy and the extra RM500 is worth it if you can move some fund from other items.

If u don't mind ss, there should be plenty more choices around. I bought a Kraus from US for my seldom used dry kitchen. It has thicker gauge and much better sound damping but it still scratches. It is good but my advice is don't pay too much premium for it. It is also made in China anyway (under strict quality control though).

You can consider Teka (at least those made in Europe), Franke, etc. Kohler I think is over your budget.

You can look at HCE and Teka.

SS sinks?
1. Decent one should be 304 grade. Those made with 316 will be better against chemical and corrosion but will be expensive.

2. The thickness or gauge of the steel. 1-1.2mm is average. 1.5mm is thick and thus “better”

3. Sound damping materials and area covered. This will determine how much noises you reduce when the water hits the sink.

4. Depth of the sink. The deeper you have less splash. 8in is standard. My Kraus is 10in.

5. Assessories such as sink scratch protector, etc.

316 is better. Sink generally cannot go too wrong, but do be aware of no name cheapo so called SS 304 that is actually made from cheapo grade that still rusts just by looking at it.

Undermount or top mount, the former is harder to do maintain as the silicone can and will grow mildew over time. Top mount easier to maintain and install in comparison, but aesthetic wise lose to undermount.

The choice of tap is important. I went and bought ikea tap instead of reusing a dismantled teka mixer, technically new from developer that my friend was remodelling and donated to me. that one keep on leaking and dripping into the cabinet. Ikea one super easy to install and come with very long metal flexi hose for the water inlet, properly gasketed and doesn't leak at all.

This is a Kraus Bolden model if I remember correctly. I was looking at this last time when I was looking at the Kraus sink. There is no 3 inputs. Just the usual hot and cold water inlets. That’s provided you have water heating system to supply hot water to the faucet. If no you can connect both inlets to cold water and just use it without having hot water.

My Grohe also similar and I don’t bother to connect it to hot water source. Note that this model has fancy motion sensor activation. Some like this but I think it is just a gimmick and you need to change batteries frequently and an additional point of failure.

Yes just connect both inlets to cold pipe using a T joint and a L joint (so what happens in the end it will look like a letter F and = these are your two inlet pipes). The reason for the T+L is so it looks like F and it doesn't put unnecessary strain on the inlet hoses as compared to stuffing them into the T joint direct .. one at 12 o clock and another at 3 o clock strains the hoses)..the F joint there makes for a neater connection.
When you buy the tap also check the length of the hoses. Some brand like teka give short hose which is a bit tricky to install given that the sink blocks 20cm of length already. Ikea tap give 80cm long hoses so anyhow very easy to install.

Top mount or undermount mostly depends on the specific model although you can do either way but it may affect long terms durability. Generally, top mount is not as nice looking but much more durable and hence lower maintenance.

Blanco Metra9 is essentially a top mount model and hence should be top mounted. Plus it is very heavy and undermount you need special braces to support.

I undermounted my Blanco Subline in my dry kitchen. It looks better but the risk of leak is higher unless your sink is a smaller and hence lighter one.

I wonder which model you can get with 1k budget for the brands you mentioned

Hi fleur_cherie, I do have a Kraus faucet which I wrongly ordered in Nov (too tall for my liking) that I'd like to let go. If you're interested, do get in touch. The model is 2522 (https://www.kraususa.com/kraus-kpf-2522sfs.html). Thanks.

depends on which brand u are comparing with and wait for Blanco discount. they have yearly promotion.  I will PM u

ok can
no need , local store..  but u have to wait for the month to come

I got this model, black colour, don't remember the actual name but until today it's still very good.. just like first day.. don't worry about mould or stuff like that, just clean and dry it well.

I bought mine from rumahku marketing. I think there are some kind of agent/dropshipper because the product was delivered to my house by Top Idea.

may i know which one you went for and the damage as well? haha