Sunday, December 25, 2011

Tori-ichi Restaurant

I have to blog about this before i forget - it was about 3 weeks ago that i went to eat here and it was only by chance!
Was meant to go eat at Masuya's but with their 2 sittings, i missed out. I was catching up with some friends so was waiting on O'Connell St and stumbled across Tori-ichi Restaurant!
Right next to Masuya, I decided to take a punt and try it out....and what luck!
The most amazing carppacio, wagyu beef skewers, the freshest of sashimi and an extremely extensive list of sake.
They have a tasting of 5 sake for $20! awesome :)

Unfortunately being so new, they didn't have a dessert menu but they assured me in a few weeks, they will have something ready. Service was fabulous, friendly and very helpful with suggestions.

The only down side is i wanted to come back on a Saturday and called them up to make a booking and they're closed on the weekends.

Details:
Ground Level, 12 O'connell St
Sydney NSW 2000

Hours

Lunch
Mon to Fri 11:30am - 2pm
Dinner
Mon to Fri 5pm - 9pm


Pictures coming up soon :)


On another note, wishing you an amazing festive season! What a year it's been :)

Love and grace,

Van-Anh xo

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Poplin and Panache!


Ola ola!
It's been forever since i've last blogged amidst travels and catching up to do in Sydney since i've been back for a month now - this is much overdue but this would appeal to you business peeps! Christmas is around the corner! order some for your friends. your boyfriends. your flat mates. Not even business peeps but just plain rockin' shirts that won't put a hole through your pocket.

I've had a feel of the material. a try on even ;) comfy as! Girls, you'll love them if you want to want to steal them to wear on those Sunday mornings ;)

Here's what Tim, the founder of Poplin & Panache had to say when i had a few minutes with him:

1. How did the label come about?
There are some fantastic shirtmakers who make high quality business shirts. However, we thought outside the sales that they conduct, they were gouging customers (given that most of our competitor's shirts are made overseas and are imported at a time in which there has been an approximately 25% increase in the AUD to the USD in the past couple of years).

2. Why is it called poplin & panache?
Poplin & Panache spawned from the desire to create well designed clothing products. In a nutshell, Poplin & Panache is not just about creating high quality products, but about taking an interest in the community at large. We do this through our support of charity organisations, which currently is Challenge House. The philanthropic element to our business is a point of difference to a number of our competitors, but we hope our competitors follow our lead in the fullness of time!

Poplin is a weave of cotton used in clothing and is a common weave for business shirts. Panache has it's origins from the French language and is defined to mean, inter alia - dash or verve. We combined the two together to create Poplin & Panache.

3. What sets these shirts apart from what else is out there?
From a cosmetic perspective, we use contrasting inside collars and inside cuffs which contrast subtlety with the body of the shirt. Another important point of difference is our adjustable french cuffs, which allows the person wearing the business shirt to adjust the length of the sleeve to suit their length of their arms. Also, when you buy a Poplin & Panache shirt, not only are you buying a shirt that is comfortable and has panache, but you are also helping out Challenge House - a charity organisation that supports kids with cancer.

4. Three words to describe P&P?
One word sums our business shirts - panache!

5. How long did it take to get the label up and running?
Poplin & Panache took about 9 months to get up and running. We spent a lot of time being perfectionists with the cut of the shirts for our target market. This involved a lot of samples being flown back and forth to make sure we got it right and sampling different manufacturers to ensure that there would be no supply issues once the business started.

6. What background does the designer come from?
The designer has a somewhat strange background - he is a lawyer. That said, he has a great eye and because he works in the industry and has an intimate understanding of what is acceptable in the workplace and what our customers want.

7. Where can we get our hands on P&P?
You can purchase our shirts from our online shop - http://www.poplinpanache.com.au/
Our shirts are also available through our network of contacts in professional service firms and through our contacts in universities. If you want to try one on for size, please let us know where you work and we will send you out samples for you and your colleagues to try. Contact us on contact@poplinpanache.com.au

8. What are the shirts made of?
The shirts are made from high-quality, 2-ply 100% cotton. We are also experimenting with other fabrics and fabric combinations which if they meet our standards, we will release to our customers in 2012.

9. What's the next plan for P&P?
Poplin & Panache aims to be at the cutting edge of new fashion trends. We want to bring our customers clothing products that reflect the latest trends faster than our competitors. Our collections will be constantly updated and refined to reflect these trends. Our Fashionistas will be updating on Facebook, Twitter and through our website www.poplinpanache.com.au to ensure that our customers know exactly what is happening on the fashion scene. We also plan to make quality accessories and/or collaborate with high quality brands which compliment our business shirt range.


You can also check them out on facebook: www.facebook.com/poplinpanache

Go have a squiz! :)
til next time,
mwaaaah!!!
Van-Anh xo
 

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