Thirsty Hippo @ River Valley

Venue for my farewell party – two years with the company and I am glad they all came.

Tipsy Hippo is a Tiki-inspired gastrobar at the Mohamed Sultan Road enclave of bars and restaurants. Part of the Tipsy Collection which has a lot of their Tipsy animals gastrobar around the island and one really close to me.

While it may look cheesy, the Thirsty Hippo has a great menu of familiar stuff but with a different twist.

Naked Hyogo Oysters

That’s only one way to serve fresh oysters, i.e. naked. Thick and fleshy Japanese Hyogo oysters with silky smooth and creamy texture served with lemon wedges. These oysters were flash-frozen to retain its freshness and you can taste it.

Hyogo Oysters with Three Toppings

Perhaps they would be better with some toppings.

• Kimchi with marinated diced wombok cabbage & sesame seeeds
• Minced garlic sauce with hua tiao & sakura ebi
• Smokey miso sauce with arare & seaweed

No, they were not better with toppings. So this is not the place for oysters.

Mentaiko Cheesy Garlic Bomb

This is DA BOMB! The surprising favourite among the team was this mentaiko and cheese filled garlic bread, fresh from the oven. So good we ordered two more. A specialty of this outlet.

Moki’s Cheesy Garlic Bomb

I thought the only difference was the mentaiko, but I was wrong. Moki’s (the hippo) cheesy garlic bomb could pass off as a dessert with its sweet custardy filling.

Fried Ravioli

Crispy and addictive ravioli bites stuffed with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This was quite hard and I don’t like it.

Spam Musubi

A classic Hawaiian snack with grilled house-made spam (luncheon meat), sticky rice and seaweed sheet. Topped with orange tobiko for a burst of flavour and crunch.

Szechuan Mala Karaage

Tipsy’s irresistibly juicy chicken karaage tossed in a mala blend, and it’s tongue-numbing for sure!

Wok-Fired Beef Cubes

These juicy, bite-sized beef cubes were wok fried instead of grilled and served with a dipping side of truffle marmite veal jus.

Okonomiyaki Fries

French fries hipped with the crispy and savoury traditional okonomiyaki flavours, but the fries got really soggy as a result. Not keen on soggy fries.

Qi Si (Cheese) Hokkien Mee

A popular Tipsy fusion wok-fried and braised with fragrant prawn stock and seafood, a variation of the fried Hokkien mee. In the past they would toss the fried noodles into a Parmegiano cheese wheel at table side to incorporate the cheese into the noodles. These days, they could not get the cheese wheel and had to settle with grated cheese in the kitchen. Highly recommended.

Truffle Moonlight Beef Hor Fun

This was invented in another Tipsy Collection outlet called Tipsy Bird at PLQ. An elevated rendition of a Singaporean classic by KEK, the moonlight horfun 月光河粉 was topped with tender wagyu striploin beef and a creamy sous vide poached egg. The horfun had the wokhei and the sauce was really tasty with the truffle oil. I still prefer the sliced beef or seafood version, not so much striploin. Well sometime too much of the good things may be not good after all.

Beef Tomahawk

Wet-aged for 21 days, this grass-fed tomahawk steak is tender and juicy, complemented by roasted baby potatoes, chef’s salad and marmite veal jus. The portion was big enough to be shared by 4 persons with all the trimmings.

Furikake Grilled Ahi Tuna

The beautifully furikake crusted ahi tuna was perfectly seared on the grill to a crispy exterior, leaving the centre soft and tender. Paired with a savoury Matsuhisa dressing (named after the celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa) and sweet carrot purée.

Tipsy’s Burnt Cheesecake

Warm, soft & gooey, complemented with a scoop of ice-cream, the Tipsy signature burnt cheesecake was a crowd pleaser. But after I have tried Olivia’s, there’s no other burnt cheesecake better in town.

Netted Sweet Potato Mochi

This may looked like goreng pisang but it was purple sweet potato mochi with vanilla custard wrapped in rice net roll and fried to a perfect crisp. Dusted with sour plum powder for that additional flavour burst.

The service staff were all very friendly and there to help your littlest requests. But they can get confused with orders when the group gets too big (like our group of 16). It’s a great place to throw a team party or gathering.

Tipsy Hippo
81 Clemenceau Avenue #01-15/16/17, UE Square Shopping Mall Singapore 239917
Tel : +65 9176 6591

Visited Jan 2024

@tipsycollectivesg @tipsyhipposg