Camberwell news and chitter-chatter

[golightly]

The joy of mobile computing is that I can type lying down.

Why don't you try it then? It might help to improve your state of mind.

Whether Khan's in Camberwell survives or not will depend on a number of factors such as location, presentation, service and quality of food. The thing is that Khan's has built up a reputation in Brixton which may help its branch in Camberwell to attract clientelle; however, it has plenty of competition here. Will its signage and appearance put people off? Well, Tadim has suffered over recent years since changing its appearance twice, so maybe it will. If the food s good then people who give it a try will spread its reputation and that may overcome any affect created by the signage. We'll see. Personally, I'm only interested in it surviving if I like the food that it serves.

 

[Get Involved]

"Colouring free cuisine" would convey the point that they are wishing to convey better than "colour free cuisine". When I saw the latter on their signage it immediately made me think of plates of grey, tasteless food.

 

[George & Bill]

Why don't you try it then? It might help to improve your state of mind.

Whether Khan's in Camberwell survives or not will depend on a number of factors such as location, presentation, service and quality of food. The thing is that Khan's has built up a reputation in Brixton which may help its branch in Camberwell to attract clientelle; however, it has plenty of competition here. Will its signage and appearance put people off? Well, Tadim has suffered over recent years since changing its appearance twice, so maybe it will. If the food s good then people who give it a try will spread its reputation and that may overcome any affect created by the signage. We'll see. Personally, I'm only interested in it surviving if I like the food that it serves.

Er, yes, thanks for the precis.

 

[golightly]

Er, yes, thanks for the precis.

Oh, you're a prick. I did think that might be the case, but cheers for clarifying.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

Apparently Camberwell Green is getting one of those public ping pong tables - is it there yet?

http://pingengland.co.uk/

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/more-free-table-tennis-tables-turn-up-around-town.295464/

 

[Orang Utan]

I shall cycle by in the next 30 minutes - will take a look

 

[BoxRoom]

Aye, it's been there for a bit now (not sure how long a bit is).

 

[Orang Utan]

A wino was lying on it

 

[Maggot]

A wino was lying on it

 

[Greebo]

A wino was lying on it

I don't blame him, probably cleaner than the other options.

 

[Orang Utan]

I doubt cleanliness was at the top of his agenda.
Convenience more like.

 

[George & Bill]

etc etc

Love the old-school insult-smithery - almost tempted to reply, "Yeah, I know you're a prick. Full stop."

 

[George & Bill]

Apparently Camberwell Green is getting one of those public ping pong tables - is it there yet?

http://pingengland.co.uk/

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/more-free-table-tennis-tables-turn-up-around-town.295464/

Been there for a couple of years now; something to do with Mayor Johnson's pre-Olympic wiff-waff initiative?

 

[Onket]

Love the old-school insult-smithery - almost tempted to reply, "Yeah, I know you're a prick. Full stop."

Well done.

'almost tempted', eh?

 

[George & Bill]

Well done.

'almost tempted', eh?

Almost tempted, yes. Need that explaining?

 

[George & Bill]

The house/chef's specials take up more than half of the Khan's menu. So you can get you lamb/chicken/prawn/veg jalfrezi/madras/balti etc. there are all sorts of interesting dishes too.

The specials do make up perhaps a third of the menu in the window of Khan's in Camberwell, but at least half of them - including the first two, murgh jalfrezi and murgh tikka masala - would be at home on any curry-house menu in the land.

 

[Crispy]

Whatever. It's good. Go.

 

[George & Bill]

Whatever. It's good. Go.

I'm planning to, since people here have recommended it. That's not at odds with me thinking it's a shame they're not presenting themselves better. Fact is, everyone who's getting snotty here is doing so from the pov of a Khan's Brixton customer. Like me [until recently], most people walking past Khan's Camberwell will not have the benefit of knowing they already have a pupular and succesful branch down the road.

 

[golightly]

Fact is, everyone who's getting snotty here is doing so from the pov of a Khan's Brixton customer.

The fact is, it's from the pov that you're a prick.

 

[golightly]

A wino was lying on it

You sure that wasn't slowjoe experiencing the joy of mobile computing?

 

[Onket]

Almost tempted, yes. Need that explaining?

It would appear that you do.

 

[George & Bill]

It would appear that you do.

If that is how it appears to you, then feel free to act in whatever way you think is appropriate.

 

[Maggot]

The specials do make up perhaps a third of the menu in the window of Khan's in Camberwell, but at least half of them - including the first two, murgh jalfrezi and murgh tikka masala - would be at home on any curry-house menu in the land.

And?

 

[Onket]

If that is how it appears to you, then feel free to act in whatever way you think is appropriate.

Last word?

 

[George & Bill]

And?

As far as you're concerned, nothing.

 

[Maggot]

As far as you're concerned, nothing.

So you're not gonna explain what point you were trying to make?

 

[George & Bill]

So you're not gonna explain what point you were trying to make?

Crispy said that Khan's Brixton menu was more than half specials; I replied that the one in Camberwell was only a third specials, and that many of those were actually generic dishes like chiken tikka masala. All this was in response to Brixton Hatter suggesting that 'colour-free cuisine' could be a good differentiator in a area with lots of curry houses; I wanted to say that I thought a much better differentiator would be to have a menu that was mostly different to those of the competition.

 

[golightly]

I replied that the one in Camberwell was only a third specials, and that many of those were actually generic dishes like chiken tikka masala.

I wanted to say that I thought a much better differentiator would be to have a menu that was mostly different to those of the competition.

Oh, if only you ruled the World!

Many restaurants provide recognisable generic dishes, be they Italian, Thai, Chippies, Indian or whatever and seem to do ok. Ever wondered why? Having something familiar will actually attract custom because people have a fair idea of what they are letting themselves in for. A wildly different menu isn't without risks.

 

[George & Bill]

Oh, if only you ruled the World!

Many restaurants provide recognisable generic dishes, be they Italian, Thai, Chippies, Indian or whatever and seem to do ok. Ever wondered why? Having something familiar will actually attract custom because people have a fair idea of what they are letting themselves in for. A wildly different menu isn't without risks.

Crikey, you're actually advancing an opinion rather than just sniping from the sidelines!

The chippy (Flying Fish) and Italian (Caravaggio) in Cambwell both do ok, but they don't really have any competition in the immediate area (not to say that they're not also good - they are IMO). On the contrary, there are a number of Indian places, some quite good, but they all struggle for customers IME. As I've mentioned, the site of Khan's previously hosted two other Indian restaurants, both of which did terribly in spite of serving good food.

In contrast, Silk Road, a Chinese restaurant that opened about 3 years ago, focuses on dishes (indeed, an entire regional cuisine, Xinjiang) that you wouldn't find elsewhere in the area, and has been a spectacular success.

 

[Maggot]

Crispy said that Khan's Brixton menu was more than half specials; I replied that the one in Camberwell was only a third specials, and that many of those were actually generic dishes like chiken tikka masala. All this was in response to Brixton Hatter suggesting that 'colour-free cuisine' could be a good differentiator in a area with lots of curry houses; I wanted to say that I thought a much better differentiator would be to have a menu that was mostly different to those of the competition.

So Khan's caters for people who like standard Indian food and people who like to try something different. Sounds like a good formula to me.