A taxi ride across town to Dempsey Hill sees us amid a swathe of restaurants – but our focus is the Tippling Club.

Opened up a year ago with ex-Vue De Monde chef Ryan Clift behind the wheel, the emphasis here is on the matching of the beverages alongside the food. This is where Matthew Bax, of Melbourne’s Der Raum comes to the party, as the mixologist.

It’s Thursday night and the restaurant is virtually empty – I don’t have to tell you how that makes me feel. However, as we were both keen to try it out, we sit and prepare for the 10-course “Gourmand” tasting menu with matched drinks. The five-course “Classic” feels a little lean and the 15-course “Experience” would no doubt be just that, however I feel that the experience might lead me to roll out of the restaurant.

Settling up for a pre-dinner drink, I opt for a Campari and orange juice, and get the first taste of what’s to come. A segment of orange is candied and partially frozen.

With an amuse bouche of whisky-mascerated red grapes, yet still holding their shape firm, we commenced. First off the rank was a cold butternut soup, served on a piece of dark grey slate (as many of the dishes were) – with goat’s cheese and dark chocolate. The vessel for the soup was seemingly the bottom slice of a butternut pumpkin which seemed to melt away as it came to room temperature. Flavours were non-existent except for the goat’s cheese and chocolate, which were a jarring combination. Paired with the “Teachers Tipple”, served in a flask hidden within a hard-backed text book, I couldn’t find the combination, or the benefit of pairing this wonderfully spiced, whisky based concoction to the dish. In its own right, this would be a drink I would happily order at the bar.

Second course was the “Plus / Minus”. Foie gras prepared two ways, the “Minus” – dehydrated to a powder format, cooled and ladled onto the slate, the “Plus”, deep fried – with a crispy exterior, giving way to a silky molten foie gras. The minus simply consumed all the moisture from my mouth leaving me with a cloying mouth of cold foie gras powder. As a kid did you ever lump a spoonful of Milo and stick it in your mouth? You only did it once, though, right? The plus, was certainly a plus, but when matched with next drink, “The Chappelle Brothers” – a pineapple gin and vermouth concoction with saffron bubbles, I was left confused. Why was I drinking essence of fruit salad with foie gras? Two dishes down and I starting to wonder what the hell I was doing here.

Third was the Quail Satay – a generous portion of quail sitting on a millimeter deep pool of green curry. Thankfully, we were back on track here. The curry provided a tease of heat and a crumble provided the satay flavour – this was a great dish, and I wanted another two of the poor little birds. Unfortunately the paired drink, a pomelo and basil Bellini was way off the mark.

Black pepper frog was plate number four, and the kitchen was now hitting the mark. Big, peppery flavour surrounded the deboned frog, complete with crispy fried chicken skin which were reminiscent of fried wanton wrappers. It was matched with a Coopers Sparkling Ale – there’s nothing better to wash away that bitey flavour than a beer. This was the only drink selection from the whole menu that was served unadulterated, and here we had a hit.

Our fifth plate was not as per the menu: Barramundi was unavailable and replaced with local Sea Bass. This dish suffered poorly for it – the pickled cauliflower, one of the four ways it was served overpowering the delicate flavour of the sea bass. This felt like a lazy out for the kitchen, where instead of completely revising the dish, the simply made the switch. Remember that Campari I ordered as an aperitif? It featured as the matched drink here. I was sorely disappointed as I would have thought it been a good idea to at least advise me that it would feature as part of the menu. However, at this point, I was now thinking that Bax was high on acid when he put together the drinks list for this menu and was tempted to opt out and go for a bottle of wine.

Enter the Vegetable Garden for plate number six. A small carrot and leek with a layer of celeriac resembling more of a freeform lasagna pasta sheet – a porcini mushroom earth providing a wonderful earthiness to the dish contrasting with the delicate flavours. The drink was probably the most interesting of the night – a combination of beetroot juice, Fernet Branca and other liqueurs to create the the Bax Beet Pinot 2008. A clever use of flavours here – slightly bitter at first and finishing off with the sweetness of the beet on the palate – completely complementary to the plate.

The last of the savoury courses, number seven –the Lobster Pea. A portion of lobster ensconced in a gelatinous sheet of paella stock with fresh garden peas. This dish was a grand way to finish, the freshness of the peas and the subtle flavour of the stock complimenting the crustacean, as did the paired drink – a spicy tomato cocktail, taking hints from the classic Bloody Mary.

On to dessert, dish eight was the Passionfruit Cloud. Basil ice cream and crumble hide a centre of passionfruit cream served atop of the slate. Another hit, and now that we were into dessert territory, it was apt that we could start playing with some fruity flavours in the drinks. A blend of agave and tequila with tropical fruit provided a refreshing cocktail combination.

More meteorological phenomena for dish nine, the Snowball. Two hemispheres of white chocolate and sudachi with a smear of yuzu curd. Gentle flavour and very much a texture dish, these spheres were delicate and completely overpowered by the Captain’s Blood cocktail – a powerful combination of dark rum and pomegranate juice with basil seeds frozen into the ice.

And rounding out the ten was caramel poached banana with tonka bean ice cream and more powder, this time a chocolate soil. The banana lacked the caramel flavouring I was certainly looking for. The final drink the Smoky Old Bastard, a dram of whisky on ice – infused with tobacco, Peychaud’s Bitters, served in a tall container with a wood stopper, the stopper holding in citrus smoke. However, it smelled like cigarette smoke. Meant to imitate the smokiness of Scotch whiskey – this was utterly repulsive. I tried on three occasions to drink this, but failed.

Perhaps just use a good Scotch?

Food/Drink – 1
Need were really say anymore?

Service – 3
General service was fine – the restaurant manager needs a few lessons in humility and general professional behaviour.

Ambience – 2.5
Not much of it going on. The chemistry lab feel was cute, but perhaps it should have gone all the way. The counter seating is set up so you can watch what is going on in the kitchen, but all I could see was drinks being made and a dish or two being plated up. If you ask your patrons for feedback and it comes back negative, listen to it and don’t fob it off.

Value – 1
SG$620++ for the 21 mismatched items for two people? Enough said.

Total – 7.5 / 20

Terribly hit and miss and simply trying too hard. If you must, opt out of the paired drinks and try something else, or better – save your money and try any one other of Singapore’s comparably priced fine diners. The Tippling Club is in desperate need of a properly matched wine list to have any chance of succeeding and a reduction in the number of powders and airs served. If molecular gastronomy is to be the flavour of the day, then a well rounded selection of laboratory skills need to be honed and presented.

The Tippling Club
8D Dempsey Road
249672, Singapore
+65 6475 2217