Chijmes’ Almost Famous reopens with vibey new Korean concept, along with Korean-inspired food and cocktails

Has it been a while since you visited Chijmes? Maybe it’s time for a revisit. 

Not only has the iconic dining hotspot near City Hall undergone a tiny upheaval in the past year, with long-term tenants such as Analogue Initiative and Hvala moving out, but its popular craft beer spot Almost Famous has also launched a whole-new concept!

For those who can recall, Almost Famous first opened in 2018 and turned many eyes with its one-of-a-kind grungey industrial aesthetic.

Although it became somewhat of a cult-favourite hangout spot amongst younger beer lovers in the six years since its opening, the team behind Almost Famous thought it was time for a change.

That change sees Almost Famous reopening with a new aesthetic, inspired by the modern-retro look that’s popular in Seoul, while launching a new Korean-inspired food and cocktail menu.

This rebrand sees the space trading its exposed concrete surfaces with elegant dark wood and a suite of sleek steel furniture and lights, plushly jazzed up with three hanging paper lamps as the focal point of the dining area.

Don’t fret, beer fans: Almost Famous still keeps the beer taps from before so you can still get your fresh craft beer fix — it’s just its look, and food menu that’s changed, mainly.

Almost Famous’ almost Korean menu

With the rebrand, Almost Famous now has a menu that’s Korean — almost. 

The Korean-inspired food menu features a medley of modern Korean creations, ranging from bites that pair well with drinks to heartier mains, and one of our favourites is the pork collar (S$32).

This one is immensely luscious, indulgently fatty, and sexily enrobed in a smoky char on its skin. 

On top of that, it’s paired with this fragrant and piquant garlic romesco ssam sauce that cuts through the heft of the meat.

Another of our favourites on the new Almost Famous menu is a surprising one: The cauliflower (S$16).

Most might wonder how good cauliflower could really be but Almost Famous does some magic with the veggie by serving it up with fried garlic, rose tteokbokki, and ssamjang aioli.

It’s a flavour party in the mouth with the tender and slightly smoky cauliflower combining nicely with the soft chewy rice cakes and the rich and slightly spicy aioli.

Although the new Almost Famous menu is mostly Korean-inspired, you also find items such as an intriguing burrata (S$24) swimming in a pool of mapo tofu pork mince and gravy, crowned with chilli crisp.

The spices and the heat work perfectly with the creamy burrata and everything goes wonderfully onto the crispy sourdough that comes with the dish.

If you’re looking for other similarly quirky takes on traditional Korean dishes, there’s also the octopus (S$34), a reinterpretation of jjampong that mixes jjampong sauce with clams and octopus, instead of the usual noodles.

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Solid value lunch set

There’s another big change with this new iteration of Almost Famous — the bar will be open for lunch on certain days now and it’s also offering up a solid-value lunch sets, from S$16.

It works like this: Diners get to choose a choice of protein for a rice bowl and then two sides to go with it. It also comes with two banchan (Korean side dishes) of the day!

There are a total of four proteins, at varying pierce points:

• Budak chicken (S$16)
• Mapo pork (S$16)
• Pork belly (S$17)
• Beef skirt steak (S$18)

As for the sides, Almost Famous has seven for diners to choose from:

• Stir-fried zucchini

• Stir-fried spinach

• Chunjang eggplant

• Rose tteokbokki

• Fried chicken karaage

• Bulgogi chicken
• Spicy pork belly

The delectably chewy tteokbokki and crunchy and juicy fried chicken karaage are both solid choices, if you have issues deciding!

During our visit, we were given some fresh and crunchy beansprouts and kimchi that came with the right amount of acidity as the banchan.

Almost Famous’ Korean-inspired drinks

For those who like their booze, Almost Famous now also offers a slew of interesting Korean-inspired cocktails on tap.

The gochujang paloma (S$20) might be the most unique of the bunch, as it riffs on the classic tequila cocktail by giving it a splash of gochuang spice.

It’s refreshing overall, but with that touch of heat making things livelier.

As far as easy crowd pleasers come, the hwachae gin fizz (S$20) is the obvious drink that will appeal to almost anyone.

Inspired by hwachae, a style of Korean punches served in a watermelon during summer, this alcoholic punch comprises gin, watermelon and strawberry and is sweet and fizzy — simple and easily enjoyable.

Long-time beer drinkers can also continue to look forward to the rotating craft beers on tap that Almost Famous is known for.

The curation is fun and diverse and we tried a Fruits of the Forest white chocolate banana crumble smoothie sour (from S$19 for a medium glass) from popular Scottish sour beer producer, Vault City.

It was vibrant, tart and fruity — a super pleasant dessert-style beer for those who don’t like the stronger and harsher IPAs and such!

With a chic new look, exciting Korean-inspired food and drinks, and a solid lunch deal, we think it’s time for a revisit to Chijmes to check Almost Famous out, if you haven’t been in a while.

This was an invited tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the No. 12 pizza chain opening its first outlet in Singapore and the latest traditional dessert sensation at Tanjong Pagar that always has long lines!

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Almost Famous at Chijmes to check out its new Korean-inspired rebrand!