Brian Kennett
Amateur Chef and Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
Tippling Club with Archer - OMG!!!
So I did a work ‘favour’ for my bud Archer and in return, he and his company decided to recognise me with literally a ‘free lunch. I cannot thank him enough for this as he went way, way, way to the very top and took me for my first time to Tippling Club. He organized an off-piste menu with wine pairing. This was an, ‘I am in heaven food experience’. This is Tippling Club with Archer.
If you ever plan to go to Tippling Club need some coin, but every cent of that coin is going to be well spent believe me. Chef Ryan Clift was not in town sadly, but we were looked after, nay pampered, by Head Chef Ayo and his crew that day. It was just perfect, it was a knockout lunch. Off the charts in fact, and the dessert was literally out of this world as you will see later.
One thing about today that has truly annoyed me though. I did not get a photo of Archer and me enjoying this lunch at Tippling Club. I guess I was so distracted by the food constantly coming out. Sorry, Luke mate.
You will absolutely need to book if you are vying to come here as Tippling Club was mobbed. So give the guys a tinkle: +65 6475 2217
So I asked about the Tippling Club logo design relevance. A logo that a good few of Chef Clift’s staff have tattoos of (I love that). It is his method of creating a menu.
Above the central line is the food represented as the horizontal lines and below is the wine pairing. Genius!!!
Worth noting is that: At Tippling Club both lunch and dinner are a fixed menu. Please note that the menu is carefully curated with key ingredients freshly procured from around the world. They are unable to accommodate guests with dairy, soy, and vegan allergies or intolerance. Should you have any other dietary restrictions, please inform them at the point of your reservation, because last-minute requests may not be accommodated.
What did we eat at Tippling Club this day?
So this little stunner was one of the ‘pre-lunch’ snacks. Yes, folks, we had THREE snacks before the official lunch started. How about that? So this stunner, as I was saying, arrives. Sorry Chef Ayo I am guessing here so I’ll act vaguely.
These were cheese snaps with this intense tomato paste and some flavoured caviar drops. Now, these caviar drops are not fish, there is a really clever machine that puts a gelatin ‘skin’ around liquid to make these. So you can make sauces and soups and present them as these gorgeous little shiny balls – flavour-pops these are.
Up next is another snack. This is served on a bed of black salt. I can only describe this as a pastry pillow that is stuffed with a cheese souffle, topped with a slice of toasted cheese and again some of that amazing caviar. A mouthful only, but an incredible flavour explosion – and how pretty does that look too huh?
Yep, another snack. And this was just bonkers good. Charcoaled chilli peppers with an unknown foam. This was so, so good. Salty, crunchy, a little sour, then sweet. Again texture slaps in the face, with flavour pops all over the place. This one I really liked a great deal.
Now, this was a funny one for Luke as he traditionally hates everything on this plate. Conversely, I love them all. But even Luke admitted that this was just a crazy good plate. This blew me away. If you had all this together it was just an immediate food explosion. Top-grade beef carpaccio, raw egg, black truffle shavings, hazelnuts, and I think a dollop or two of some form of mayo I think. This was just crazy good. Dear me – I am in heaven, I can hear angels singing, or is that Fred Astaire? Maybe it was both…
I really am not going to do this justice sorry. All I remember was having a major dreamy food experience afterwards. Insane food. Foie gras with maple syrup charred pineapple, a sort of granola mix and some drizzles of something I forget. Dear me. Again this is textural and flavour-pops all over the place. It’s like being in a food haunted house, you keep getting surprised all the time as you munch on.
In kicks a cocktail. Zesty and sour with orange peel. Holy moly, almost palate-cleansing again. Did you know Tippling Club’s Bar is #31 in the top 50 bars in the WORLD? Hell yeah!
Oh, man this dish. It was described by the Chef and Luke and I were like really, sounds intriguing (AKA OMG again). Chef gave us confidence that this was a dish that worked, so let’s be having it then. Beetroot risotto (see what I mean), with shaved cheese, cured meat and some other stuff this old brain cannot remember from the description given. I tell you what, man oh man, this was a stunner.
Creamy and sweet risotto, a bite of cheese and a smoky kick from the meat. A marriage made in heaven. Genius, just genius. Who would have thought of beetroot in a risotto? Well clearly Chef Clift and team, duh! And how absolutely delightful is this to look at?
And stop the boat. When I said stunning food, you have to include this dish (in fact all the dishes), but check this puppy out. Is that not a thing of beauty? If I was single I’d be on bended knee to this. This is Tippling Club’s lamb dish today for us. I think mint and pea puree, a perfectly cooked little ‘nugget’ of lamb, a roast spud, a hunk of shaved black truffle and other amazing goodies.
The lamb was like butter, I kid you not. My Mary would faint if she was served this. A dish to die for, yep this is Death Row Cuisine front and centre. One of the very best looking and tasting things I have ever had come past these lips of mine. Just an absolutely divine dish.
Now this one is just bonkers and lateral Chef-ness. It’s one of the dessert dishes. It’s a medicine tube, and yes it is full of little pink tablets and one blue tablet (Viagra?). What the hell is it? It’s cheesecake and white chocolate. I kid you not. This is Willy Wonka on steroids. I again steal here from Facebook; Take one tablet by mouth, until all is taken… Love pills, prescribed by ‘doctor’ @chefryanclift from our Tippling Club ‘pharmacy’ Strawberry cheesecake & amp; white chocolate blue virility pills. Brilliant!!!
Out come the Tippling Club crazies again. Must have been a freaky night when Chef Clift and the crew came up with this one. I know let’s make a dessert that tastes like space smells. How about that? OK let’s work with NASA to get some actual spacesuits from the actual space station, extract the essence from them, create a smell that we’ll scent our coaster with, and then create a taste that matches the smell for our sorbet. Yeah, that’s a great idea, Chef.
And here it is. A chocolate asteroid filled with a sorbet that tastes like space smells. This is bonkers. Willy Wonka would have had to get seriously messed up to create this one. It is absolutely bonkers, but also bonkers good. A Mandarin and Madras sorbet, yes folks Indian curry sorbet. It works so well. As you are eating it though thoughts of the spaceman’s sweaty pits from the spacesuit are flying through your mind. Whatever…
I really cannot do this justice. Another dessert. One of my favourites too. Rhubard. So acidic and tart. Served with these little ‘spring rolls’ filled with a custard that might have been turmeric to give the deep yellow? I just cannot remember, and apologies to Chef again. The sauce with this too was sublime and wee Quinnell of delicious sweet creaminess to cut through the acid. Foodporn at its best again, and flavour sensation and textural eroticism. OMG. But I can hear a fat lady singing sadly, the end is nigh…
The crew at work. I love an open kitchen as you know. Here are the genii at work. All of them with tweezers in the top pocket of their aprons, yes this is Michelin Star-grade plating here folks. Back to that foodporn. Seriously when I bring wifey I want to sit at the bar here and just Chef-watch.
I was even lucky enough to have a visit upstairs to the private area. No BS I was a little light-headed, and not just from the copious amounts of booze I had just consumed over lunch… This space is heavenly. Here they do master classes and the like. The stove top (the black ’tile’) is convection based. The ovens are nuts good, even with rotisserie within. It’s a workspace I could only dream of. Imagine having mates/customers over and cooking right there in front of them!!!
Then one of the Chefs (sorry mate I forget your name, just remember you are moving to NZ to explore new pastures) shows off to me the ‘experimenting area’. Thank you so much for sparing me your time for this. Blimey, Charlie, it looks like the old science lab at Chatham House Grammar School. Bunsen burners and the like… WOW!!!
This absolutely knocked me for six. In these little bottles are the scents of their previous dishes (I think). Like someone making up a new perfume or aftershave, I suppose, blending scents to create new flavour combinations. It’s mind-blowing to sit and think of what these true professionals do to create those dishes being served below us. Again back to, this lunch was an experience. An experience this old brain/Brian will never forget.
Private dining space too. Luke advised me he did the launch of Ten Ten here. What an incredible space to do that in.
The Grange wall. Just for effect like, but very effective. It’s a WOW moment for sure. Of course, the real bottles are stored according to need…
Archer even kicks in the cheese course. Oh go on then mate, don’t mind if I do. Now I looked on Facebook and spotted this as I just could not remember the description of the day, only that the rind was edible and the cheese within was a mousse. From Facebook, the guys say this is @blackcowvodka ‘Black Cow’ Cheddar from Dorset in an edible ‘wax’, hazelnut oatcake and Branston pickle. Whatever this was it was a belter. Just bonkers good cheese with a super tangy pickle, and a stunning white port to boot. Boom!!!
And here are those oatcakes with some seriously beautiful smoked ham, some cracked black pepper and some thyme leaves. Wow!
Our conclusions of Tippling Club
So there you have it, folks. Probably the very best lunch this fat gob has ever experienced. I am so very lucky to have a mate like Luke to treat me today to this smorgasbord of excellence. Thanks to Chef Ayo and crew this day for making this something I will never forget as a foodie. And of course thanks to Chef Clift, it being his gaff after all.
Tippling Club has to be a place you try once if you can. When I get my new job I think I’ll be back with wifey to celebrate (AKA NO KIDS). I am desperate to have this experience again. And that was that Tippling Club with Archer was over. We left and went back to Meatballs, and then Siglap to a ‘normal’ life. You have to try. You categorically will – ENJOY!!!
What does Tippling Club have to say about itself?
Established in 2008, it’s now over 14 years since this boundary-pushing gastro-cocktail destination opened originally in Dempsey Hill. Today, Tippling Club spans three shophouse units at 38 Tanjong Pagar Road and features a bar and dining room. Chef-Owner Ryan Clift's brand of modern gastronomy is fun, playful and fresh. It imbues the dining experience with a sense of excitement and a touch of theatre. Recognised for its innovative, ultra-progressive cuisine and cocktails, Tippling Club has been consistently recognised by World's 50 Best Bars and Asia's 50 Best Restaurants since opening. Currently Tippling Club is rated 43 by World's 50 best bars 2022 and 27 in Asia's 50 best bars 2022. Tippling Club continues to pair its award-winning cuisine with world-class cocktails, pushing the extremes of ingredients and textures to create an ever-evolving dining experience.
What is the pricing at Tippling Club?
Lunch Menu: $100++ / with wine pairing $200++
Premium Lunch Menu: $250++ / with wine pairing $435++
