Completely sq. “Kream bombs” are the spotlight on the newly opened Le Kream.
Anybody with a social media account and an web connection is probably going acquainted with Steve and Sunny Hong. With their three Asiatown eating places, Bing Su, Dookki, and the now-closed Captain Bbang, the Hongs have introduced the most well liked meals tendencies to Houston, together with tanghulu, Chinese language sugar-coated fruit skewers, and dalgona, the Korean road sweet made well-known by means of the Netflix hit Squid Sport. Now, the Hongs have added one other internet-famous deal with to their lineup: the TikTok-famous cube-shaped croissant, “Kream bombs,” courtesy of their latest idea, Le Kream.
The brand new café, located within the bustling Bellaire Meals Road plaza, makes a speciality of flaky, cube-shaped croissants piped with a wide range of flavored lotions, starting from yuzu to matcha. The Hongs first realized concerning the California-born Le Kream store and its viral treats by means of a enterprise companion. Leaning into the cream pastry development, the Hongs started experimenting with selfmade cream-stuffed doughnuts at Bing Su. They had been a serious hit, attracting the eye of a number of influencers, so when the gross sales for hotteok, Korean road pancakes, at Captain Bbang started to wane, the pair went all in on revamping the area to open Houston’s first Le Kream.
“We thought it was gonna be an enormous hit as a result of there’s nothing prefer it,” Steve says.
Additionally accessible are fruit- and cream-stuffed croissants.
This new dessert blends two French classics—cream puffs and croissants—layered with Asian flavors, equivalent to brilliant purple ube or pastel inexperienced pistachio cream, for optimum visible and viral enchantment. Immediately, you’ve acquired your self a stellar Instagram submit that blends East and West.
French-Asian and French-Korean recipes have amassed a serious on-line fan base and a distinguished presence all through Korea’s bakery-café scene. Look to social media to seek out Korean meals influencer Goh Ah-ra creating the well-known “2D” croissant. Smooshed flat and toasted, the flat croissants are a crunchy, buttery DIY delight recognized in Korean as keuloonggi, a portmanteau of the Korean phrase for “croissant” and “nurungji,” referencing crunchy, scorched rice. Different standard globetrotting tendencies embrace hits just like the croffle (a mix of croissant and waffle) and the crookie (a croissant cookie), however Kream bombs add one thing totally different.
Flavors like Earl Gray lean subtly bitter, whereas the yuzu possibility bursts with citrusy brightness. Tear into the thick, flaky crust to disclose a fluffy, custard-filled middle. Diners at Le Kream also can pair croissants with any of the store’s signature coffees and drinks which might be additionally stylish in South Korea. Highlights embrace the Guava Sundown—a fizzy, fruity soda made with guava syrup and star-shaped jellies—and a Korean twist on the Austrian Einspänner, a preferred type of espresso from Vienna that’s topped with candy whipped cream and infused with Asian diasporic flavors like black sesame, ube, and matcha.
The camera-friendly ube Einspänner could also be sans espresso, nevertheless it nonetheless packs a sugary punch.
Bringing the best, trendiest dishes to Houston has all the time been a a part of the Hongs’ playbook. The couple’s first foray into Asiatown was with Bing Su, a shaved ice and Korean corn canine café positioned in Sterling Plaza, only a block away from Le Kream. Subsequent got here Dookki, the favored Korean all-you-can-eat tteokbokki buffet restaurant, which the Hongs dropped at the US for the primary time, mere steps away from Bing Su. In addition they launched Captain Bbang, although it closed in March to make approach for Le Kream, which has already been taking off, the Hongs say.
On its opening day, the croissants bought out inside a matter of hours. The subsequent day, the Hongs restricted the variety of pastries to 2 Kream bombs per diner.
“We bought out for the previous 4 days,” Steve says. “Near 500!”
Sunny (left) and Steve (proper) Hong pose for a portrait at Le Kream.
Clients Tracy Truong, Natalie Phung, and Nathan Phung say they particularly made a weekday journey to Le Kream after seeing the treats on-line. The trio often finds new eating places and cafés by means of social media. Truong and the Phungs initially deliberate to go to throughout opening weekend, however a sold-out message saved them at bay. “We noticed it on TikTok and Instagram reels,” Truong says, snapping photos of the croissants. “The aesthetic,” the Phungs chimed in, “it appears to be like so good!”
A birds-eye view of the croissants, which have bought out practically each day since opening.
Simply because the Truong and the Phungs say, Le Kream is blowing up on social media. Native influencer account @eatingwithcatherine confirmed off her Le Kream croissant haul on opening day to her 138,000 followers. One other account, @uncover.vi, acquired greater than 6,000 likes and over 1,000 feedback on her overview on July 8.
The children are proper, Steve admits. The brand new cafés has solely been marketed by way of social media, and contours have been gangbusters ever since. As for why Le Kream’s choices are so social media–pleasant, the Hongs are stumped. They shrug their shoulders, crediting the rise of Korean popular culture and an ongoing curiosity in Korean meals. “In Korea, lots of people are promoting this croissant with the cream,” Sunny defined. “It’s stylish.” It’s all a part of the enchantment, even when the merchandise themselves aren’t uniquely Korean. Stylish, photogenic, and addictively candy —it’s no surprise the road’s nonetheless out the door.
