The Begging Bowl?s Kickstarter Campaign

[JohnL]

Is there a size limit then or could Starbucks use this to open a coffee house on Peckham Rye ;)

[Jules-and-Boo]

It's a crowdfunding initative for creative ideas to be brought to life - shouldn't really apply to an established business who want to raise capital without going the normal corporate funding route.

not interested for a variety of reasons.

[pa2ita]

I don't set foot on the begging bowl because I am close to some of their ex-staff and I know first hand about the treatment they've received.

[ruffers]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> It's a crowdfunding initative for creative ideas

> to be brought to life - shouldn't really apply to

> an established business who want to raise capital

> without going the normal corporate funding route.

>

> not interested for a variety of reasons.

Leaving aside the Begging Bowl specifically I don't get this. Why shouldn't an established business use crowdfunding?

I got involved with a chippy in New Cross wanted a new fryer and premises via crowdfunding.

Also a street food business wanting to set up a permanent base.

And a goat leather tannery wanting to expand its business.

And more.

What are you objecting to?

[Jules-and-Boo]

Kickstart is a campaign specifically for new startups. There are other crowdfunding initiatives but the one chosen isn't appropriate for an established business.

[cella]

Looking at the Kickstarter mission statement it seems to be for creative stuff like musicians etc but definitely for new startups who may not have any other pathway to funding so starting another restaurant, on the face of it, seems inappropriate?

[fonread]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> Kickstart is a campaign specifically for new

> startups.

such as those wannabe musicians De La Soul, for instance?

Your statement is 100% incorrect.

[Jules-and-Boo]

Yes De La Soul album was a creative project, that is in the kickstart bandwidth.

[Sue]

Leaving aside any other issues, I can't understand why The Begging Bowl are not publicising this campaign themselves.

[JohnL]

Looks like as long as its a project with a goal (and obeys the rules - no spam for instance) it's OK :)

[fishbiscuits]

Sue Wrote:

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> Leaving aside any other issues, I can't understand

> why The Begging Bowl are not publicising this

> campaign themselves.

Perhaps they are. But I would assume they've taken the rather wise decision to stay away from this forum.

[cella]

Why would they need to?

[Penguin68]

It seems from the OP that the desire is, in part, to change the offer, such that this might be taken as a new enterprise being funded, sitting as part of an established enterprise. Nobody is being obliged to offer funds, and there are alternative ways of participating where you do get something (courses) for your money. If Kickstart have accepted the funding proposal presumably it does fit with their mission.

[fonread]

Sue Wrote:

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> Leaving aside any other issues, I can't understand

> why The Begging Bowl are not publicising this

> campaign themselves.

They are.

There are details on their website, and their Instagram and Twitter accounts.

[Sue]

fonread Wrote:

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> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Leaving aside any other issues, I can't

> understand

> > why The Begging Bowl are not publicising this

> > campaign themselves.

>

> They are.

>

> There are details on their website, and their

> Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Ah OK, presumably they are publicising it only to people who already use them then, fair enough.

[cella]

Maybe we could be updated by the original op whether any pay issues have been resolved? Don't necessarily have to know the detail but personally I would want to know about this sort of stuff if I were to get involved.

[bsand]

I only went there once in 2013 and that was once enough - I wrote a review on a blog at the time - I hope it has improved since then - if you want a farang authentic Thai experience try Som Saa in Commercial Street - Andy's food there really hits the mark. Or Eysarn Kheaow in Sheperd's Bush for authentic Thai cuisine. Most Thai food in the UK is bland rubbish cooked by substandard chefs press-ganged chefs who have few other choices to earn a living and they despice the food to appeal to a western palate destroying the delicate balance of flavours in the process.You'll get a better tHai meal from M&S ready meals than most Thai restaurants in the UK. The best chefs never leave the country as they can earn a fortune there if they are half business minded and cook 'aroy' (tasty).

I have been a long term resident of Thailand and am a frequent visitor and seeker out of authentic Thai food and so was very interested to seek out the hyped claims of the Begging Bowl as it is pretty local to my wife and I. Basically don't believe the hype - all of our dishes failed to hit the mark and the best I can say is that the ingredients were fresh and well presented and the staff are friendly and efficient in a cool space. The Thai fish cakes seemed liked canned tuna dressed up as deep fried barbequed chicken nuggets. Wet and rather pointless. The duck curry was too hot and lacked coconut milk and any sort of delicate flavours to have balance and was too effete in those that it had to be regarded as anywhere near 'street authentic'. The pork belly which replaced the menu pork belly option was like eating soggy cardboard - it's hard to make pork boring and tasteless but they did. By the time the last course came I wasn't expecting much and they didn't disappoint - it was steamed sea bream with a jug of some sort of watery sauce. No flavours at all to speak of and so we asked for chilli sauce and got some sweet bottled variety to try and spice it up a bit. In the end we came away rather sad - because if this is a restaurant from an acolyte of David Thompson then he should dissociate himself forthwith. I have tasted a couple of dishes of his at London's Taste Festival and they were amongst the very best food of any cuisine that I have ever tasted. Here it was a confused, bland attempt at Thai food that missed the mark by miles. The place on Friday night was heaving and folk were having to queue for up to and over an hour so they were busy as they will ever be and most folk seemed to be enjoying themselves so what the heck. The staff were friendly and efficient and the place had a welcoming buzz but sadly if it's delicious food with Thai heritage you are after then try somewhere else because the Begging Bowl is definitely not it.

[landellsrd]

By the way guys it?s not a ?donation? have a look at the link, you can buy cocktails and bar snacks for two at ?20, a Thai cooking class for ?50, dinner for 10 for ?500 - there are Kids Group Cooking classes, a Cocktail Tasting session etc etc.

Most things are ?20-?50 with a few big ticket items.

You get something in return for your money, IF they make their target.

The B.B. have arguably helped kick off the foodie scene in Peckham, they regularly get reviewed fondly in the press which in turn helps all the businesses in the area... if you?d like to contribute and be part of it, check out the link below. There are some great treats and experiences on offer and it?s gone live today.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1037748257/the-begging-bowl-kickstarter-campaign-modern-thai

[Mscrawthew]

This campaign is also being pushed in east dulwich mums on fb. Its like an advertising push. If the bb is so sucessful why is it not reinvesting its profits into it's planned expansion?

[dan b]

bsand Wrote:

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> I only went there once in 2013 and that was once

> enough - I wrote a review on a blog at the time -

> I hope it has improved since then - if you want a

> farang authentic Thai experience try Som Saa in

> Commercial Street - Andy's food there really hits

> the mark. Or Eysarn Kheaow in Sheperd's Bush for

> authentic Thai cuisine. Most Thai food in the UK

> is bland rubbish cooked by substandard chefs

> press-ganged chefs who have few other choices to

> earn a living and they despice the food to appeal

> to a western palate destroying the delicate

> balance of flavours in the process.You'll get a

> better tHai meal from M&S ready meals than most

> Thai restaurants in the UK. The best chefs never

> leave the country as they can earn a fortune there

> if they are half business minded and cook 'aroy'

> (tasty).

>

>

> I have been a long term resident of Thailand and

> am a frequent visitor and seeker out of authentic

> Thai food and so was very interested to seek out

> the hyped claims of the Begging Bowl as it is

> pretty local to my wife and I. Basically don't

> believe the hype - all of our dishes failed to hit

> the mark and the best I can say is that the

> ingredients were fresh and well presented and the

> staff are friendly and efficient in a cool space.

> The Thai fish cakes seemed liked canned tuna

> dressed up as deep fried barbequed chicken

> nuggets. Wet and rather pointless. The duck curry

> was too hot and lacked coconut milk and any sort

> of delicate flavours to have balance and was too

> effete in those that it had to be regarded as

> anywhere near 'street authentic'. The pork belly

> which replaced the menu pork belly option was like

> eating soggy cardboard - it's hard to make pork

> boring and tasteless but they did. By the time the

> last course came I wasn't expecting much and they

> didn't disappoint - it was steamed sea bream with

> a jug of some sort of watery sauce. No flavours at

> all to speak of and so we asked for chilli sauce

> and got some sweet bottled variety to try and

> spice it up a bit. In the end we came away rather

> sad - because if this is a restaurant from an

> acolyte of David Thompson then he should

> dissociate himself forthwith. I have tasted a

> couple of dishes of his at London's Taste Festival

> and they were amongst the very best food of any

> cuisine that I have ever tasted. Here it was a

> confused, bland attempt at Thai food that missed

> the mark by miles. The place on Friday night was

> heaving and folk were having to queue for up to

> and over an hour so they were busy as they will

> ever be and most folk seemed to be enjoying

> themselves so what the heck. The staff were

> friendly and efficient and the place had a

> welcoming buzz but sadly if it's delicious food

> with Thai heritage you are after then try

> somewhere else because the Begging Bowl is

> definitely not it.

Odd view and comparison given that the chef you acclaim, Andy from Som Saa, used to work at the Begging Bowl, at around the time you went in 2013 (he did his pop up van at the back of Bar Story at that time too). The head chef at Farang is another who used to work at the Begging Bowl. Thai chefs of their pedigree obviously think that Jane is a good chef. Maybe you had an off night that one time you went five years ago, and you should give it another go?

[cella]

Seriously - this post started ostensibly from an enthusiastic customer. Various posters have expressed views on whether Kickstarter funding is appropriate for this already established businesss. The business itself hasn't seen fit to get involved on this a local forum so if they are seeking funding via an alternative route, e.g. Facebook, then let them do that. Personally, I'm more interested in konowing whether the pay issues have been resolved before I visit.

[JoeLeg]

Mscrawthew Wrote:

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> This campaign is also being pushed in east dulwich

> mums on fb. Its like an advertising push. If the

> bb is so sucessful why is it not reinvesting its

> profits into it's planned expansion?

Because there isn?t actually a lot of profit in the restaurant business! While I see why people might think otherwise, please believe me when I say it?s like expecting a young person on a tiny salary to save up for a house deposit. A small place like BB that lacks heavy backers needs to raise funds in other ways.

Restaurants are not a licence to print money, despite what some people believe.

[bsand]

An odd view it may be but my wife is Thai her mum ran a restaurant in southern Thailand for 50 years and my wife was brought up cooking now for personal pleasure for over 50 years so we know our food. We sadly missed Andy when he was at Bar Story. A lot of restaurants lose their touch when the owner becomes successful and stops cooking in the kitchen. The word on the street from gourmet Thais is Namh ain't what it used to be. My wife knows Andy and has chatted with him on number of occasions about his cooking and prep and the som tam chef comes from her hometown. Sadly we don't live in ED any more so probably won't be trying the Begging Bowl again. But like I said the kitchen in our considered opinion was sending out largely flavourless fare that night whilst all around us others were raving so something must have gone seriously wrong in the preparation or maybe this style of bowdlerised 'thai' cooking appeal to western palates. If so then just not for us. Found the Smoking Goat whilst better than the BB somewhat underwhelming.

[fonread]

bsand Wrote:

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> An odd view it may be but my wife is Thai her mum

> ran a restaurant in southern Thailand for 50 years

> and my wife was brought up cooking now for

> personal pleasure for over 50 years so we know our

> food. We sadly missed Andy when he was at Bar

> Story. A lot of restaurants lose their touch when

> the owner becomes successful and stops cooking in

> the kitchen. The word on the street from gourmet

> Thais is Namh ain't what it used to be. My wife

> knows Andy and has chatted with him on number of

> occasions about his cooking and prep and the som

> tam chef comes from her hometown. Sadly we don't

> live in ED any more so probably won't be trying

> the Begging Bowl again. But like I said the

> kitchen in our considered opinion was sending out

> largely flavourless fare that night whilst all

> around us others were raving so something must

> have gone seriously wrong in the preparation or

> maybe this style of bowdlerised 'thai' cooking

> appeal to western palates. If so then just not for

> us. Found the Smoking Goat whilst better than the

> BB somewhat underwhelming.

Some real stream-of-consciouness Pseuds Corner drivel here.

You visited the restaurant once - once - and based on that single experience, a full five years ago, you wouldn't return? Wow.

[fishbiscuits]

I once had a flatmate who'd been on holiday to India. When he got back home, he insisted on ordering his takeaway curry with some sort of pseudo-Indian accent. When the food arrived, he'd changed into his "kurta", and proceeded to eat the food with his hands, mushing it up into balls. While telling me how it was nothing like real Indian food.

I don't know why some people feel the need to "educate" others when it comes to food, in a vaguely condescending way. Authenticity is not the be all and end all, and I'm sure the BB isn't the best Thai restaurant in London - I certainly wouldn't consider it a "destination" restaurant. And yeah, I've had a couple of disappointing dishes there over the years, but overall it's a decent local option.