My food buddies and I went to the Tippling Club for a leisurely Saturday lunch a few weeks ago and we were presented with some interesting molecular gastronomy fare.


I liked the open concept of the place where diners can see the staff preparing cocktails and the chef preparing certain dishes. Loved also the idea of all the bottles of alcohol hanging up there waiting to be plucked.


The lunch menu of the month.


Upon sitting down at the counter seats, we were given three carbonated grapes each. The moment you pop one into your mouth, there’s a sizzling and fizzy sensation on the tongue. A very cute touch to start off the rest of the meal.


Superfinefeline ordered the Mojito which was first served with some mint leaves in a glass of hot water. The idea was for her to sniff and imbibe the smells coming out from the soaked mint leaves first before going on to the real drink.


Next up was this work of modern art with three sticks of charred green peppers with a soy miso sauce at the top. The charred green peppers aren’t the most pretty things but boy did they taste good when dipped into the soy miso sauce. You have to pick up these black things with the pair of tweezers provided. The black stuff was batter which tasted very light and nice.


There was also the cured salmon slice with caviar. It wasn’t too salty and went down well on the palate.


The roast scallops with compressed cucumber, melon, yoghurt emulsion and passionfruit froth was next. I felt that this dish wasn’t salty enough and tasted rather bland if not for the yoghurt emulsion. The compressed cucumber and melon didn’t do anything for me – couldn’t taste its sweetness – even though they were supposedly compressed at don’t-know-how-many atmosphere pressure so that all the essence of the cucumber and melon goes to the centre of the fruit. Could hardly taste the passionfruit froth too. Each time a course is served, the chef comes and introduces the dish. But we got lost halfway through the description each time as it all sounded so complicated. Anyway, I wasn’t too impressed by the flavours of this dish.


The sweet corn and saffron soup came in the form of smoked milk ile flottante, truffle soil and baby salad that comprised of baby rocket, baby basil, baby coriander, purple shiso, and African violet. The yellow, inviting colour of the sweet corn and saffron soup which was poured in only after the dish was placed in front of us really whetted our appetite for this soup which was lightly creamy with hints of sweetness.


The main I chose was a liquorice braised pork cheek with roasted endive and thickened olive oil accompanied by bits of roasted sesame and peanuts. The menu said ‘pork cheek’ but the chef later said it was pork shoulder which had been braised for 48 hours with spices used in Chinese braised pork. There pork was very tasty and had hints of chilli in it, however I felt that it was just a tad dry. It would have been better had the meat been a little moister. The roasted sesame and peanuts added texture with their crunchiness.


Superfinefeline, Skinny Epicurean and Nibble & Scribble went for the poached bass. The green sauce is a wild garlic and parsley broth which was delicious went paired with the poached bass and the fondant potatoes on which the bass was sitting. I liked the bass better than the pork as I preferred the bass’s lighter and more natural flavours.


Dessert came in the form of this deconstructed and post-modernistic crème brulee with strawberry soup and white chocolate crumble. This was such a lovely creation and it looked like an abstract piece of artwork that I could hang on the wall. It tasted as good as it looked. The custard had vanilla beans in it and its flavours were balanced by tartness and tangy flavours of the strawberry soup.


The other dessert on the menu was the blue cheese cream with puffed bread croutons and baby salad. The blue cheese cream tasted of mushrooms and the crunchy bread croutons and salad added texture as well as provided balance for the heavy blue cheese.


These chocolate truffles sitting on a plate of bright green basil salt were then brought to us after we asked for the bill. They were divine! So smooth and so chocolatey. It was a lovely way to end what was a very enjoyable meal what with all the interesting food pairings and food presentations.


Much credit must be given to Tippling Club’s attention to detail and the nice touches they employ in the restaurant. For example, I loved the receipt being delivered in a wooden box filled with spices. When opened, aromas of star anise, cloves and cinnamon whiff ast your nose. The size of the box also allows a credit card to fit snugly into it.


I also liked these little sprigs of white orchids in brown bottles hanging in the restaurant.


There are a few tables if you prefer at a table rather than at the counter. I like that the restaurant was surrounded by glass, allowing you to look out to the lush greenery that surrounds the place. The place exudes such a fresh, tropical and relaxed feel. It would also be a great place to go for drinks as they have a wide range of cocktails on the menu. Service was also pretty good. If you want to try the food, it’d probably be better to check the place out for lunch rather than dinner if you don’t want to burn too big a hole in your pocket.
Tippling Club
8D Dempsey Road
Singapore 249672
Tel: 6475 2217
reservations@tipplingclub.com