Kream bar was for me a totally bizarre experience. It was honestly as if being in another world. A fantasy world. I don’t think it felt like being unaccustomed to another culture, it felt as if I was within the creation of another persons dream. Not having been to South Korea I can’t say if this is a normal form of bar or if it would be as equally strange and unique for anybody there, as it was to me in Singapore. You can’t just walk into Kream accidentally, you might come across it unintentionally but after looking within, you’ll either make the decision that this really isn’t for you or you’ll partially embrace your inner child whilst partially coming to the realisation that life doesn’t have to be taken that seriously. Sometimes going into a bar can be like entering into a fairy-tale.
Kream isn’t particularly challenging to find although the internet does try. On Google Maps it is listed at KREAMS, on Untappd it is entered as Kream and the bars very own logo says Kream Beer so be diligent, it is worth it. I’m sure for all the thousands working in the Singapore CBD it’s just a brisk walk away. If you’re coming from a little further afield you can also jump on the bus, take a taxi or Grab. I myself was in “On Foot Discovery Mode” and getting my steps in for the day. Plus I really find it enjoyable walking around these large cities, flowing from one area into the other, you can get a much better understanding for what it’s like to live there and you almost always make a rare find along the way that you otherwise would not have. I’d just made the walk from the north side of the river, it’s about a forty-five minute walk through downtown from the Singapore Art Museum (I was taking in a little culture, it has been known to happen). I walked between all the large skyscrapers, all the banks and amongst many hundreds of people rushing left and right in their white or blue shirts and fine suits. Everyone had somewhere to be, no-one was quite strolling from A to B as we were, I’m pretty sure we got in more than a few peoples way but they work there and I’m just a tourist so what can you do. The streets did eventually become a little emptier of suit wearing individuals but that’s only because all the bars and restaurants began to fill up with them. It was apparently the end of the working day. You have to love when you’re travelling and you get to the point where you loose sense of the time of the day that things happen, like not trying to walk through a major cities CBD at the end of the work day. Anyway, we got through the crowds and found the right street, now it was a matter of finding the right place.
“it felt as if I was within the creation of another persons dream”
From the outside, unless you can see the bar sign hanging there, you really couldn’t pick the Kream bar out from amongst any of its neighbours. The façade is painted to match all the other buildings in the terrace row, and it has a high bench with a couple stools right at the street, for any smokers and people getting some fresh air. This is a long, curved street made up almost entirely of tale terrace buildings on both sides, the vast majority being restaurants, bars, eateries and the like. All sharing the common exterior setup that we’d seen now at practically all the gastronomy and drinks places in the cities. A high table outside, possibly a stool or two next to it, directly on the edge of the road and usually a sign somewhere saying ‘no smoking’ with a person or two smoking. Once you tilt your head inside however, this is when the magic starts. The first thing you’ll notice is the tree. There are a great many things going on inside this place, once you’ve sat down more and more of them will become apparent to you but the first thing you’ll see is going to be the tree. An artificial cherry blossom tree is growing out of the side wall, trunk, branches, the whole lot. This extends over much of the ceiling, and from the front of the bar all the way down to the back. It is like a small cherry blossom lined dell that invites you to enter. Fairy lights are intertwined with the tree branches so that the entire thing receives a low, warm, mild, yellow glow. The lighting is very atmospheric, it takes nothing away from the the hundreds of pink cherry blossoms that are engulfing the room.
I took a seat on the side of the room, about halfway between the back wall and the entrance. There were a good seven or eight tables along the side suitable for two or three or four people. At the back were a couple more tables, some slightly larger and at the front, just inside the door, was a more group friendly/oriented bench where six to eight people could get comfy. I took up my seat, and was simultaneously presented with a menu from the nice lady working there. The menu here isn’t very long, it doesn’t need to be. They do a handful of drinks and they do them well. They offer food as well, which seemed to be very popular from looking around but I’d just gone crazy with chicken satay not too long before so I was well sorted there. The menu starts with the three beers you can get, Light, Lager and Stout. It then goes into the Soju section and back into the beers, this time mixed with different flavours and there are cocktails, long drinks, bombs and a few shots. I was going to be working my way through the beers.
1 – Kream Light – Kream Beer
2 – Kream Lager – Kream Beer
3 – Kream Stout – Kream Beer
4 – Kream Passion – Kream Beer (Mixed drink)
For those of you that aren’t already aware of Kream Beer or frozen beer foam, soft serve beer, and I know there are a few of you out there, you don’t need to be shocked or surprised by it’s existence. It’s been around for many years already. The first evidance I found in my research was actually from Kirin Ichiban in Japan doing frozen, soft serve beer foam back in 2012. I’ve seen it done at a number of bars and by a number of breweries (most notably for me Omnipollo) and have been serving beer in this way myself at beer festivals since 2017. Still to some people it is new and amazing, that’s ok, the first time I had it I was blown away. If you feel like having something a little different then go to Kream, sit down under the cherry blossom and have a soft serve beer. For the Light and the Lager the foam is almost light a beer flavoured ice-cream only lighter. It sits perfectly on top of the cold beer underneath, keeping it all just right. It’s definitely different sipping beer out from under a slushie foam head but it is fun. The Stout works as well, although you loose the majority of the smooth chocolate and lighter coffee notes you get a real kick of dark, bitter chocolate and roasty, nutty, burnt flavours come out. The beers do come accompanied by a small plate of puff rice or puff corn crisps, these are good and spicy and my little bowl was empty is seconds but was, promptly and happily refilled moments later.
Once you have made your initial decisions and are sitting, sipping your drinks you’ll have the opportunity to have a look around, check out your surroundings properly. This is when you notice all the plushie toys around the bar, all the ‘love’ and ‘welcome’ signs, all the other small toys and curiosities dotted around. This is why I say it’s like being inside the imagination of someone else. It’s straight up bizarre and fun. The one small touch that I think is just really, really cool, practical and a nice touch is that each and every table has a universal, multi cable phone charger cable so you can charge basically any phone, right there at the table. I know that’s not new and a few places do it but still, it is nice and worth mentioning. I’m sure there is more here than I’ve explained, I’m pretty sure I’ll have missed something or possibly some of the finer details and/or intricacies. There’s just so much going on here, it is so very different, you have to swing by and dive in to it. Soft serve frozen beer foam, spicy crisps, mad friendly and expedient service all wrapped up under a ceiling of glinting cherry blossoms. What a fun place to go visit. The pursuit of hoppiness continues…
In The Pursuit Of Hoppiness 