Date night in Catford: Sapporo Ichiban and Kaspas Dessert Bar, Catford

Chicken gyoza

Last summer when I was coming home from an Assembly League race, the crowds spilling out of Kaspas in Catford caught my eye. Where could be so pumping on a Thursday night in Catford that there were queues out of the door?

A little bit of research and I discovered that it was a dessert bar / ice cream parlour. I joked with Becks that we should go on a date night to Catford and have a Nando's over the road before we hit up the dessert bar. Six months later and the jokes had turned into reality, it was time for date night in Catford!

I met Becks at Catford Brdige station and as we were walking towards Nando's, Sapporo Ichiban caught our eye. I had a vague memory of hearing there was a good Japanese near Catford station so we decided to go in. It wouldn't be a real South London date night without the chicken shop, but we were prepared to live on the edge....

Sushi platter

I've got mixed feelings about dinner at Sapporo Ichiban. The food was all really enjoyable and tasted fresh. The chicken gyoza came served steaming hot. The freshly rolled soft shell crab, asparagus tempura and tofu sushi rolls all came with fillings that had obviously been cooked to order. The salmon and avocado rolls were good too.

However, the service really let the place down. All of the staff were very friendly, but it was hard to attract their attention. Front of house seemed to be be organised chaos and at the end of the night we got the wrong bill because the person who took our order had written the wrong table number down. The kitchen didn't seem much better with our sushi rolls taking nearly an hour to arrive. I was still hungry when we finished, but didn't dare order any more as I wouldn't have been able to stand the wait.

I don't think their problems are anything an experienced restaurant manager couldn't fix very quickly, they just need to find one. I'd happily go back for the food, but it could be a frustrating experience service wise.

The bill came to a very reasonable £28 including drinks. Being very British we still gave a small tip, although I don't know why.

Inside Kaspas!

And then it was onto Kaspas! The place is bling with sparkly lights, pink high back chairs, a pink metallic wallpaper type arrangement and a Disney movie being projected onto the wall! The crowd was an eclectic mix of families with young kids, teenagers and couples on dates.

I went for the M&M waffle with vanilla ice cream on the side. The waffles were lighter and less greasy compared to some that you get, but didn't have a lot of flavour. I was quite surprised that the ice cream was of the soft serve variety as they also advertise their wide range of gelato.

I also ordered an extra scoop of lemon sorbet which came served in a separate glass. The sorbet had a very sharp taste of lemon and helped cut through the richness of the waffle. I enjoyed the sorbet and it made me think that their range of gelati might be pretty good.

The bill came to under £14 for two waffles, the lemon sorbet and a tea. Again great value.

M&M waffle

Date night in Catford. It certainly was an experience!

Sapporo Ichiban
13 Catford Broadway
London
SE6 4SP

Kaspas

97 Rushney Green

Catford

SE6 4AF

Hanging out at The Speakers House in Parliament

On the green benches (trust me, it was dark)

On Wednesday night I was lucky enough to be invited to an event at The Speakers House inside Parliament. Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting, was holding an event for 'Community Heroes', celebrating the work of charities and community groups in his constituency.

I was there in my capacity as 'official photographer' for the hyperlocal social network Go Earlsfield.

It turned out to be an excellent evening. The Speaker has some beautiful official apartments which John Bercow has actively opened up for such events. The highlights of the apartment had to be the grand staircase and the Monarch's bed (below). Apparently the Monarch used to stay in Westminster the night before the State Opening of Parliament.

I got the impression that John Bercow is the first speaker to open up the apartments to public events. It was mentioned a couple of times that he felt it was his duty to allow us tax payers in.

The Monarch's bed

The evening was designed as a networking event for local community activists, culminating in speeches and a short awards ceremony. I really enjoyed John Bercow's speech. He and Sadiq clearly get on well and their was quite a few jokes around who was the shortest of the pair.

There were also some presentations and inspiring stories of what some people are doing in the community. 'Official Photographer' for Go Earlsfield really doesn't take up much time and I felt challenged to do more.

Happy Mondays @ Amersham Arms, New Cross

After years of seeing the Happy Mondays comedy night plugged on Brockley Central, I finally summoned up the energy to go out on a school night and booked tickets.

The gigs take place in the old school venue at the back of the pub. The room was bigger than I expected and filled with folding chairs for the audience to sit on. Some of the rows had less legroom than Ryanair, but we managed to get a couple of more spacious seats near the back of the room. A good move unless you want to be picked on! I couldn't help notice the original parquet floors that are in pretty good nick considering the hammering they must have taken over the years.

Local Brockley resident Holly Walsh organises and compares the night. She started the evening with some audience interaction and a few local jokes. Thankfully she didn't bring up the shipping containers which have just landed in the Conservation area...

There were four acts during the night, who were progressively more experienced and amusing. The main draw was Josh Widdicombe from one of Becks' favourite shows, The Last Leg on Channel 4. I was wondering how New Cross could attract such a big star on a Monday night and Josh answered the question when he said he was practising new material for a tour he's doing later in the year. Despite Josh having notes with him on stage, and referring to them between gags, he was still the funniest performer of the night. If you've got it, you've got it I guess.

A good fun and relaxed night for a Monday and at the end of the night we were able to easily stroll home. Most civilised!

Tip for Josh's gigs, don't go if you are under 30. There were quite a few 80s references in his routine that you might not get if you are any younger!