Xopp

the staff ( especially Andy) were very accomodating
service was quick
good place to hang out with friends
cocktails customized to ones taste 😉

Situated upstairs of the the birds nest building in the relatively new precinct in Darling Quarter, XOPP is an offshoot of Golden Century. The decor is industrial with the odd splash of colour. The venue is good for a group catch up or intimate dinner. The space isn’t loud so it works well for conversation.

Food had a nice balance of flavours but with the price tag to go with it. XOPP is part of the Golden Century chain of restaurants. It is located on Mezzanine level at the Darling Exchange. The interior is sleek and modern with ample seating inside. It is family friendly and they provide plastic tableware for the kids. I've always wanted to dine here to try the XO pipis and it was my lucky day. When we arrived, it was not opened yet but they still sat us down at a table as it was soon to open. Staff seemed professional and friendly if you could manage to hail one down. We had to order the XO pipis 1/2kg only as I knew I was probably going to be the only one eating this dish with Chinese donut. We also ordered baby abalone with salted egg yolk, fried rice yeung chow style, and peking duck 1/2 duck with pancakes (2nd course duck meat sang choy bow) and Wagyu sirloin with garlic cream and elk. We also ordered a juice to drink. The juice took a while to arrive. We had to chase up our drink, it was apparently forgotten, not impressed. The pipis in XO sauce was delicious. The pipis were soft and tasted fresh. It was topped with fresh coriander and shallots. There was no sandy bits, they were washed well and it did not taste fishy. The sauce was a nice balance of flavours, would have loved it to be more spicy but I was still satisfied. The sauce was so good that I added it to my rice. The Chinese donut was a let down as I thought they were the sweet fried bread and not dough sticks. The kids enjoyed it on its own as they golden crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I thought I had enough sauce in the dish but they gave me a bowl of yummy sauce to dip the dough sticks in. It was so good. I was not complaining. The Peking duck with pancakes was a big rip off as for 1/2 duck, we only got x4 pieces of duck and pancakes, just enough for 1 serving per person. The duck skin was not crispy, and tasted just like a BBQ duck. The cucumber and shallot was fresh but was very disappointed with the serving size considering how much the dish cost. The 2nd course duck meat sang choy bow was a small serving of meat mixture, barely enough to fill all 4 lettuce cups. The mixture had chopped duck, bamboo shoots, onion, and shallots. The flavours were nice, very moreish but a shame as the serving was small. The lettuce cups were fresh and crisp. The baby abalone with salted egg yolk was soft and was satisfyingly yummy. There was a good amount of egg yolk and flavours were spot on. The dish was appealing to the eyes. The fried rice yeung chow style was filled with mini prawns, pork, and egg. It had a nice smokey 'wok' flavour. Flavours were nice. The Wagyu sirloin with garlic cream and elk was soft and had nice flavours. The garlic cream was not overpowering. Verdict: Definitely try the XO pipis, abalone with salted egg yolk and the Wagyu sirloin. However, be prepared to pay as servings are small.