Tag Archives: Chris von Ulmnstein

Launch of 24ct online luxury jewelry and bullion bar boutique a sparkling affair!

24ct Jewelry Tree Whale CottageOn Thursday evening I attended the launch of the new online luxury jewelry and bullion bar service 24ct, not being very sure what the event was about until I arrived at Bizerca Bistro, the function held in the semi-covered and impressively decorated courtyard of Bizerca, sparkling with a bespoke collection of jewelry, and gold and silver bars in different sizes.

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Clicks and Bantry Bay pharmacies Sweet Service and Camps Bay Primary School Sour Service Awards!

Clicks pharmacyThe Sweet Service Award goes to Clicks Glengariff Road and Bantry Bay pharmacies for their excellent service on Easter Sunday.  Despite our housekeeper Teresa having spent most of the day at the Somerset Hospital clinic to obtain a monthly doses of medication earlier in that week, they had run out of her medication.  Having helped us once before, pharmacist Arthur at Clicks Glengariff Road assisted us with the prescription bar one set of tablets.  They were available at Diskem, but they would not supply them to us without a script.  Our doctor’s rooms were not open and their telephone was not answered, to obtain a script.  We drove to Bantry Bay pharmacy, where we were given a generic equivalent of the medication which Teresa needed, without a script. Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Palma on Bree Street authentic Italian family-run, but no passion!

Palma Interior candles Whale CottageAbout ten days ago Orphanage Cocktail Emporium co-owner Katie Friedman introduced me to new eateries Mother’s Ruin Gin Bar and Palma in the next street block on Bree Street, being landlord to both.  My experience of Palma on that evening differed vastly from that of our dinner last night.

I had invited my friend Whitney to join me, and we chose an outside table, given how hot it still was when we arrived.  It was lighter than on my previous visit, and the ‘less is more’ interior design impressed.  General Manager Roberto Carluzzo did not seem to recognise me, or to react to the Facebook posts and the blogpost I had written about the 26 eateries on Bree Street subsequent to my first visit.  The doorman did however welcome me back, a nice touch.  Mama Palma Carluzzo was in the bar, putting on finishing touches to leaving, and I was disappointed, as we had been told that she is the chef, in charge of Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Kyoto Garden Sushi over-priced, over-salted, over-slow service!

Kyoto interior 1 Whale CottageFrom having been low key for eight years since opening, 2014 has been kind to Kyoto Garden Sushi, in it winning a 5* Smart Casual accolade in the 2015 Diners Club Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide, as well as Best Asian Restaurant in the 2015 Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Awards last month.  As a result friend Whitney Wentzel and I had extremely high expectations when we had dinner there last Wednesday evening, which sadly were not met at all!

I was surprised that I could book a table for the following day when I called, being the week after the Eat Out Awards, the Japanese chef taking the booking.  I had seen a parking sign with an arrow to the left outside the entrance, and had thought that parking was available behind the building, but was told thatKyoto Interior 2 Whale Cottage it was for upstairs tenants and that we should park at the school down the road, not great on a rainy night.  The waiter I asked had no clue about the parking sign outside.  Luckily a parking bay became available across the road.  At the entrance to the restaurant a candle is lit, and two Noren cloth dividers hang in the doorway.  We were shown to a table, sitting next to another couple, so close to each other that we could hear each other’s conversations.   There seemed to be some uncertainty about our booking, Continue reading →