Katzy's Food Factory

Katzy's Food Factory
Shop 2
113-115 Hall St
Bondi
NSW 2026
Ph: (02) 9130 6755

Sometimes I go through a sandwich phase. It's as though I can't get enough of bread filled up with whatever I crave at that time. It had also been a little while since I'd eaten at Bondi, so it was off to the well-established Katzy's Food Factory to satisfy a bit more of the sandwich "need".

I was there for the "Hot Beef on Rye" ($16.95), which you can order with salad or chips.

There was an oddly endearing quality to the partially missing crust, and the rather large serving of chips were also somewhat appealingly varied in shape, though a little on the dry side, tastewise. This  sandwich comes with a generous serving of chopped up pickles, which you can see behind the pile of chips.

The hot beef was generous in quantity, the bread coated in a thin smear of Dijon mustard, and this was the sort of sandwich that is pure uncomplicated comfort food. Nothing elaborate about it, but I enjoyed it sufficiently that I went back a week later and had another one.

An evening at Vendôme Woollahra

Following on from our Vendôme Woollahra teaser last month, the evening finally arrived for our private viewing with Alex and Grant.

I shall let the photos do the talking. Some of the brands I've already shown in the post linked above.

 The champagne served on the night.

 Globe-Trotter luggage

A Vendôme Woollahra teaser

A little while ago, we mentioned a new boutique that was about to open in Sydney - Vendôme Woollahra. After they'd been open but a week, I was invited to pop by for a visit to meet Alex Simon and Grant Breen, and to get a glimpse of this new luxe shopping destination, which stocks a number of brands making their Australian appearance for the first time.

Here are a couple of teaser photos:

 

Hautlence HLS 02

Specifications :

Case : Ti2
Movement : Hand wound. Caliber HL. Power reserve 40hours. Jumping hours, retrograde minutes.
Bezel & Bumpers : DLC scratch-resistant, polished steel
Bezel flange : Brushed 18 carat pink gold.
Screws : Ti5
Oscillation: 21600 bph. 
Diameter : 45mm
Thickness : 12.5mm 
Water Resistance : 5ATM
Bracelet : Rubber, folding clasp
Limited edition of 88

Hautlence HLQ 08

Specifications :

Case : Titanium G2 case with polished crown

Buckle : Ardillon, Titanium G2

Dial : Black opaline with hand applied "HAUTLENCE" lettering.  Intermmediate dial with laser cut minutes.

Movement: Dedicated Calibre HAUTLENCE HLQ. Jumping date, Jumping hour, retrograde minute and running second.  Manual winding mechanical movement.

Power reserve : 40 hours

Oscillation: 21600 bph.

Diameter: 43.8mm 

Thickness: 10.65mm

Water Resistance : 30m (3ATM)

Caseback : Fine brushed galvanic treatment black gold. Manually angled bridges.  Identification and numbering plate on the back. Black varnish in the engraving.
Limited edition of 88

Romain Jerome Moondust DNA

Model: Steel Mood MG.F1.11BB.00.BB

Calibre:  C22RJ51

Bezel: carbon fibres evoke solar panels of spacecraft – Steel comprising fragments of the Apollo XI spacecraft,  5N pink gold
Case: Steel
Dial: Mineral structure containing moon dust - silver

We are hoping to have a small evening there soon, and I will share some more photos of the event and their watches in particular, afterwards.

In the meantime, do pay a visit to the very personable Alex and Grant at Vendôme Woollahra. I spent a really enjoyable hour or so there looking mostly at watches, but also at the Roland Iten belt buckles. They have also just launched their facebook page if you want to see some more photos and sign up to keep updated about their incoming goodies.


[AP]

Peter Speake-Marin 2010

How time flies. Just a year ago we'd been fortunate enough to meet Peter Speake-Marin, wondering whether he would even come to our shores again, only to receive an email from him about his impending return to Australia.

Our new friend RJW has already posted on Purists about the dinner at Buzo Trattoria (many thanks to Traci, Roddy and the Buzo team for their always amazing hospitality) so here are just some photos taken on the night.  Much has already been said about the horological star of the evening, the Thalassa, so we shall not repeat the plaudits it has garnered, but direct you to this wonderful interview of Peter by AndrewD in Melbourne as a must-read.

Tony, RJW, Peter.

Vendôme Woollahra

(2007)

Built in 1702 as a monument to the armies of Louis XIV, Place Vendôme is not only one of Paris' most beautiful and iconic places, its name synonymous with luxury, it was also the home of Frédéric Chopin (no.12), Coco Chanel (no.15) and Franz Mesmer (no.16).

For those of a horological bent, Breguet (no.6), Jaeger-LeCoultre (no.7), Patek Philippe (no.10), Hublot (no.11), Chaumet (no.12), Piaget (no.16) Blancpain (no.20), Dubail (no.21), Van Cleef & Arpels (no.22), Cartier (no.23) and Boucheron (no.26) should occupy you for a little while, and this is just a sample of the watch boutiques in the area.

So, what's the relevance to Sydney?  Well it lies in the heart of the suburb of Woollahra, 5kms east of the CBD, down an unassuming street.....

...on the corner of Jersey Road and Moncur St.

This corner shop is soon to be the home of Luxury Goods Australia's boutique Vendôme Woollahra.

More details can be found at their website, but timepiece-wise, they will be carrying Boucheron, DeWitt, Franc Vila, Hautlence, Maîtres du Temps, Romain Jerome and the horologically inspired Roland Iten, brands not currently represented in Australia.

Both their website and a mention in the Sydney Morning Herald in September indicated an October opening date, but construction work is still visible, so we await its opening with great interest and anticipation!

Dish Pizza & Gelato

Dish Pizza & Gelato
Shop 5a
19-27 Cross St
Double Bay
Sydney

Ph: (02) 9328 9000

Early in December, HG and I caught up in Sydney for a meal at Prime. Rather unexpectedly, she came up to Sydney again, this time en famille, and so the hunt was on for somewhere in Double Bay (where they were staying) for a smackeral of something.

I don't really know the Double Bay restaurants, so the inevitable twitter SOS was sent out.  This arrived back in the form of suggestions for Una's and two pizza places. The decision was left to HG, and so it was that four adults and two under 5s found themselves at Dish, as recommended by @grooviegal. 

There was some reference by @grooviegal to the identical name shared by the co-owners, and of the bald one being known as "cute X", but twitter time being what it is, I've already forgotten the details, apart from the fact the bald one is apparently the cute one.

At any rate I didn't see any bald chap.

What I did see were children.

A lot of children.

In fact there was only one table there without a token child or five. It seemed that every child that lived within a radius of a kilometre or two was at Dish, an indoors/ outdoors pizzeria located amidst a group of shops, including a toy shop, whose "closed" status didn't deter some of the children from window shopping. 

Kibbeh - middle eastern beef meatballs ($9.50)

Why did I order kibbeh at a pizzeria? Because it was somewhat incongruous, and because I felt that three adults and two under 5s sharing two regular sized pizzas was just not going to be enough. Plus I felt like having some meatballs.