A true taste of Korea’s nightlife
Nestled conveniently in The Cathay, Thirsty4balls is Singapore’s first carom billiard bar that has cheap bottled beers and gorgeous photo ops everywhere. With a vibe much like the iconic Stylenanda’s, the bar’s decked in shades of pastels, and has plenty of neon signs and chrome fixtures!
Look closer and you’ll find that the bar has plenty of easter eggs too, thanks to its refreshing concept that’s also a witty wordplay – “pool within in a pool”.
Always make use of brick walls as a photo backdrop!
The walls are painted white and blue to emulate a swimming pool, and metal ladders double as scoreboards! There’s even a “jacuzzi”, which ingeniously is a ball pit – and everyone is welcomed to go ahead and snap away in there.
Remember to take your shoes off before sinking into the knee-deep pool of balls!
So what exactly is carom billiard?
Enter any building in Korea’s downtown and you’ll find a carom billiard table inside – that’s how quintessential it is to their nightlife. Unlike the usual 8-ball pocket billiard that we’re familiar with, Korean-style carom billiard interestingly uses only 3, 4, or 6 balls.
Here’s a rundown on how to win a 4-ball game, which is the most basic one of the lot:
- Right off the bat, it is entirely up to the players to decide what constitutes their win before the game starts. e.g. To score 5 points within 30 minutes.
- There are 2 cue balls, a white and a yellow, and 2 object balls, both red in colour.
- The less experienced player starts first with the white ball, and the more seasoned player uses the yellow ball.
- Use your cue ball to hit both the red balls in a single shot while avoiding the opponent’s ball to score a point!
- The final point can only be scored if a 3-cushion hit is achieved, where the cue ball bounces off the rail cushions at least 3 times before hitting the last object ball.
- The first person to clear his/her scoreboard wins.
Don’t worry if it sounds slightly confusing at first – the bar owners will be more than happy to guide you through the steps! It’s a refreshing alternative for seasoned pool players to challenge themselves with as well, since a lot more planning and fancy cushion bounce-offs are required.
Plus, you’ll have more freedom when deciding how long you want to play for – they charge each table $4 every 10 minutes!
$6 beer bottles and jalapeño-flavoured pretzels
Of course, since it’s a bar, a range of alcoholic beverages and snacks are available for you to munch on while you’re busy planning your next move at the billiard table.
There’s another good photo op area beside the bar!
Choose from bottled beers, ciders, and cocktails like Corona, Somersby, Vodka Cruiser, and Bundaberg, or order a cup of coffee or tea ($4 nett) if you’re in the mood for something non-alcoholic!
Tidbits such as jalapeño-flavoured pretzels, fried pork jerky, and Korean cup noodles are also currently what’s on the menu, but we hear that they’re bringing in more ready-to-eat Korean street food like ddeokbokki and the likes, so keep a lookout for that.
Here’s the highlight – all bottled beers are going for $8 nett, but buy any 3 bottles and you’ll get 1 free. That works out to a sweet price of just $6 per bottle!
A hidden treasure even for non-Kpop fans
With only 5 pool tables available and 20% off all snacks and drinks for an indefinite time period, give your usual overcrowded bars a miss and head down to Thirsty4Balls for a unique night out before it starts getting packed as well!
Address: #04-12 to 17, The Cathay, 2 Handy Road, Singapore 229233
Opening Hours: Sun – Thurs: 2PM – 11PM | Fri – Sat: 12PM – 1AM
Telephone: 9189 6975
Website
