This was published 15 years ago
Singapore gets a slice of Melbourne's foodie culture
Matthew Bax (left) and Ryan Clift have taken a slice of Melbourne's dining and drinking culture to Singapore.
One of Melbourne's top chefs has teamed with one of our best barmen to create a slice of Down Under in Singapore, writes Peter Litras.
Sometimes, offers come along that are too good to refuse.
That's the take on the creation of an upmarket Singaporean restaurant and bar opened by former Vue de Monde head chef Ryan Clift and Melbourne barman Matthew Bax (Der Raum).
The pair hatched the idea of a partnership in Melbourne five years ago but a consulting visit by Bax to a bar in Singapore quickly turned into a chance for the two to do their own thing - albeit far from home.
Singapore, though, had its own appeal.
"We both said that if I was to leave Vue de Monde and Matt was to come into partnership with me ... I'd be competing with what I'd done for the last six years and Matt would really essentially be competing with his own bar," Clift said.
Bax's tour was a stint in a bar owned by local businesswoman Cynthia Chua. She took a liking to the `mixologist's' work and when Bax threw his mate's name into the conversation, the Tippling Club was born.
"She (Chau) loves a good concept and before we knew it I was flown out to meet her," Clift said.
"Nobody could have offered us the deal that we got in Singapore.
"Basically, it's an opportunity for me to own and run my own restaurant and at the same time, for me and Matthew to go into partnership in the sense of living what we'd talked about for many years."
Clift was head chef at Shannon Bennett's Vue de Monde for six years and said the decision to move on was "a natural progression as there was nowhere else for me to go other than open my own restaurant".
Timing, though, is everything in business and on the face of it, August 2008 was not a great time to open a top-end restaurant and bar.
With world markets slumping, Singapore, like much of Asia, was not immune from the global credit crisis and slipped into a technical recession.
The Tippling Club wasn't immune either.
The reality hit home on a memorable - for the wrong reasons - Saturday night when 70 per cent of bookings either cancelled or failed to show.
"We were really freaked out by it ... it was a big concern for a while there," Clift said.
"We ended up having two and a half very quiet weeks and then in the last month, we've had the busiest month since we opened."
The turmoil swung the pair into action, inspiring Bax to create a champagne cocktail for the times.
`F*** the subprime' is a risque choice of name for Singapore - but a hit of a cocktail.
"Just to be rude, I paired it to a pan-fried foie gras at another $40 so if you take the drink ($S35) with the foie gras it's the most expensive pairing on the menu," Clift said.
"We put it on as a joke and every single banker that walked in ordered one - just out of spite. They fly out the door, it's hilarious."
Bax said there was more to the cocktail than the name.
"The cocktail is quite a good mascot for Tippling Club for a variety of reasons," he said.
"Firstly, its heritage. It's classically rooted, taking its origins from a post-1930s cocktail which I can only imagine was enjoyed by a recovering economy or maybe earlier by those brave enough to still drink champagne.
"The origins of the drinks and dishes are something we take very seriously at Tippling Club."
Clift said challenges remain with the economy - bankers and wealthy ex-pats are among the Tippling's biggest visitors - and the locals who are spoilt for choice with "amazing and cheap" dining options throughout the city state.
"It's really been a slug to try and educate the diners over here, especially with the price points we have," he said.
"We're not cheap and Singaporeans eat out about about 80 per cent of the week.
"They can get amazing seafood dinners that are ridiculously cheap. We are in a niche pocket of restaurants but we are a unique concept - worldwide a unique concept, not just for Singapore.
"There's nobody in the world going to the lengths of the degustation menu - the pairing of cocktails to each dish. This isn't just about unique to Singapore, we're pretty confident we've got a unique concept worldwide."
The Tippling has recently opened for lunch with a cheaper tapas menu that Clift said was a response to the state of the economy.
The restaurant seats 30 at the bar with another table for 10 people but numbers can swell beyond 100 for locals after a unique combination of spirits that Clift said were not available anywhere else in Singapore.
And though the Singapore experience is still in its infancy, Clift said it was possible the Tippling Club would open in London in about a year, with Chua already eyeing venues. Melbourne, too, is on the radar - but a few years off.
"We really want to bring this back to Australia - it's where it all started," he said.
"Although I am originally from England, I have a house in Melbourne and I call Melbourne my home. Melbourne is very dear to my heart and I miss it, to be honest."
Peter Litras travelled to Singapore as a guest of the Singapore Tourism Board.
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