Almost Famous is a movie starring Kate Hudson (could be revealing my age), and a craft beer bar located at CHIJMES.
I think part of the reason why it attracts people, is its minimalist approach and aesthetics.
While you could imagine a craft beef bar that is full of colours, purplish-pink neon lights or with dim lighting, Almost Famous takes on a ‘simplistic’ almost monochromatic approach.
Everything is just in shades of grey, from the walls, furniture, to tableware.
It felt both futuristic-chic yet a sense of urban-loneliness, depending on your perspective and mood.
I liked the design of the coasters, with little messages that made you reflect more about life than many Facebook statuses.
Also, I noticed the lighting changed subtly as I diner there from late afternoon to early evening. Beautiful space.
In terms of craft beers, there is a selection of 16 rotational beers on tap from up-and-coming local and overseas breweries.
They include Brewlander & Co. (Singapore), Pasteur Street Brewing Company (Vietnam), Young Master Brewery 少爺啤酒廠 (Hong Kong), Pirate Life Brewing (Australia), Stone & Wood Brewing Co. (Australia), Heretic Brewing Company (USA), BrewDog (Scotland), and Pilsner Urquell (Czech Republic).
The food menu is kept rather lean, with bar bite offerings of Chicken & Waffles ($14), Poutine ($10), Crispy Kai Lan ($8), Tom Yum Gyoza ($10), Encierro Garlic Wings ($14), Onion Churros ($10) and A.Famous Duck ($10).
A couple of online reviews raved about the Tom Yum Gyoza ($10), which I thought was decent and worth an order.
The Tom Yum creamy aioli-type sauce on its base was not as spicy-tangy as imagined, but with that slight tingling that differentiated this from the others.
The sauce was the key appealing factor, but the dumplings on their own could be fairly average.
The house specialty Encierro Garlic Wings ($14) also stood up due to the tasty garlic bits (tip: bring your mint), though I wished the chicken on their own could have been juicier.
In terms of the “wow” factor, the Crispy Kai Lan ($8) gave me that added surprise, especially the crunchy almonds and delicious honeyed-cheese parts you would get a sprinkling here and there.
The Craft Beer Bar would appeal to a certain demographic – I can just imagine my friends in the ad agencies and graphic design houses hanging out here.
Great place to just chill out and have conversations. Or have a beef and think about life.
Could be lacking in that needed marketing push, to turn this from an Almost Famous place, to a Famous one.
Almost Famous
CHIJMES, 30 Victoria Street, #01-06, Singapore 187996
Tel: +65 9772 1787
Opening Hours: 3pm – 12am (Mon – Sun)
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