Many of my friends are older than me and I have always had older friends. I consider them much wiser than me and yet they all have one thing in common. They’re young at heart and you can talk to them about anything, including silly things. One of my longest standing friends, for almost 20 years is Queen Viv. Whilst she can talk knowledgeably about pop art, rare plants, brain disorders, the mechanics of cars and historical figures, she can also talk about silly things.

We were having a conversation and she was telling us about her neighbour’s very dumb but very handsome cat called Kevin that used to come and visit her cat. It was for all descriptive purposes, the Jason Stackhouse of cats and used to squeeze itself through a tiny vent only realising months later that there was  cat flap door right next to it. Which brought up a few key questions:

Why aren’t more cats called Kevin?

And then the conversation turned…

When did mooning people in cars go out of fashion?

Why is the word moist sooo creepy?

And speaking of creepy, is it just us or are those little kid costumes with the built in muscles just odd?

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“Where are we?” I ask Mr NQN breathless, holding an umbrella and standing in front of a fuzzy grey rain soaked day.

“Don’t worry, follow me” he says taking my hand and guiding me through throngs of bushes and greenery. The greenery is of course because we are in the Royal Botanic Gardens in the middle of the city and the lost is because…well I am me and I could get lost in a square room if I were distracted enough by interesting things. And here there are cockatoos, ibises and a plover bird that is staring me down like I were in a boxing ring with him. Better keep walking!

We arrive at the Botanic Gardens restaurant somewhere (and I suspect the breadcrumbs that I’ve left have been eaten by the pesky birdies) in the parklands (tip for the directionless like me: look for the Palm Grove Centre and Visitor Info sign). I recall coming here for a friend’s pre wedding lunch and it was a lovely setting. Today however things are all set up for Winter and there’s a fire roaring, blankets on the back of our chairs and for the months of June to August there’s a Sunday roast on the menu. The balcony area is covered off with the plastic sails occasionally billowing when the huge gusts of wind take hold.

Bread olives, house made dip $7.50

We’re waiting for a while for the bread which we asked to come first. Even though I am a reasonably patient person, the 25 minutes was a little too long and I was about to ask where the bread was when our entrees arrived. We had to ask where our bread was and this was brought within a few minutes but we couldn’t help thinking that the bread should have come earlier as requested to help fill up that yawning 25 minute gap. The house made dip is a caponata dip which is always a favourite of mine made with tomato, eggplant, onion and capers. It’s very moreish and goes quickly with the three large soft, warmed pieces of bread. There are also some lovely black olives and a bitterish olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fish soup rouille, croutons $14

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“We have between 12 to 18 amuses which we send out to guests” chef Ryan Clift of Singapore’s Tippling Club and former head chef of Melbourne’s Vue de Monde says. He’s only half joking. We’re somewhere in between the seven complimentary amuses bouches that have come out to us (and these are typical of what a diner will get). In one area there is the test lab which in fact looks like a designer laboratory complete with all of the chef toys. And why the name Tippling Club? Ryan explains that tippling means to eat and drink in small portions.

Chef Ryan Clift

Apparently in the 18th century tippling clubs were exclusive clubs where food and alcohol enthusiasts would eat and drink the rarest alcohols. The club members would go on missions in search of these rare types of alcohol and there was reports of one ultimately doomed mission where a tippling club would visit Peru to acquire Pisco and only one returned. And so Tippling Club with its emphasis on finding rare ingredients exemplifies a modern day version-except without risk of perishing of course.

The Cutlery rest, a plastic pouch of herbs in liquid

It is a restaurant that can serve only 30 each night and true to the name, Ryan sources ingredients from as far flung as the Himalayan mountains. There are two tasting menu costing between $140SGD (classic) to $240SGD (gourmand). However if you want, each course in the tasting menu is matched to a wine or cocktail for $230SGD for the classic menu or $390SGD for the gourmand. And we’re getting a combination of their classic menu and their gourmand menu this evening, all matched with cocktails and wines. And I’m quite lucky to be getting these pics as they have a strict no photography policy for their food!

Amuse bouche #1: potato and leek vichysoisse with a square of confit potato and avruga caviar

But let me start with my first amuse bouche described as “daily surprise snacks from the test kitchen”. It is an amuse of potato and leek vichyssoise with a square of confit potato and avruga caviar. We pick it up eager to try it and some spill a  little on the table. It is housed in a slender glass vessel which has a spout at either end. We put one end of the spout into our mouths and take in the little square of potato confit topped with avruga caviar and down the hatch! It’s creamy, salt, poppy and rich. A perfect start.

Cocktail menu

The cocktail menu is cleverly designed so that the four parameters of sweet, spice, sour and dry are measured against the cocktails on offer. The “MB’s apple pie” is a rectangular glass in a cardboard sleeve designed to mimic the McDonalds’ apple pie in flavour and look. And if you look at the diagram above, it is firmly in the “sweet” category.

Gomashio Kampai

We are all having different cocktails although we all swap and try each other’s. Mine is a refreshing cucumber cocktail that has a distinctly Japanese feel to it and a favourite for many in our group. Japan is a country where Ryan spends a lot of time finding and researching ingredients. In fact he was in the underground during the recent earthquake.

DIY Negroni

5 Borough Sour

Amuse bouche #2: Carrot curry

The second amuse is a small glass pot of carrot curry with freeze dried raita (cucumber yogurt) and features a blanket of furry green powder. A spoonful of everything gives a complete textural and sweet and savoury sensation with the mixture of freeze dried and powdery greens.

Amuse bouche #3: charred pepper embers

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