Featuring: XOPP by Golden Century, About Time, La Salut…

LEGENDARY has become a very over-used words these days. But its usage is sometimes justified. Dave Chang, founder of the Momofuku Group and creator of the Netflix series Ugly Delicious, called the XO pippies at the Golden Century, Sydney’s longstanding Cantonese stalwart, “the best dish in the world”. Leung Yung, the restaurant’s former chef, invented the inspired coupling in 1990, combining just-steamed pippie clams with a thick XO chilli sauce.
The original Golden Century closed its doors last year, but XO pippies is still the most ordered dish at XOPP by Golden Century named in its honour. Launched two years ago, the restaurant wraps around the mezzanine floor of Kengo Kuma’s dramatic Exchange Building in Darling Square. The 160-seat venue boasts a stylish cocktail bar, an atomic art installation by Sydney artist Nike Savvas and tables pop with colour via green celadon bowls and orange chopsticks. The feel is very upmarket Hong Kong yet relaxed and welcoming.
We visited soon after the Sydney lockdown lifted and XOPP was well-peopled and humming. We didn’t have to ask proprietor Billy Wong whether fans of the Golden Century had flooded back but he confirmed the educated guess. People have so many memories, traditions and stories about dining at Golden Century and we want XOPP to be a place where more memories are created and shared, he noted. As if on cue, two renditions of Happy Birthday to You rang out from nearby tables.
The menu targets established and new customers and is split between classic Cantonese specialities and modern takes on traditional flavours and ingredients. Yum cha fans can sate their tastebuds on offerings such as prawn mini mantou with XOPP mayonnaise and sauce and scallop and edamame san choy bow. Live seafood was one of the major drawcards at Golden Century for over 30 years and the tradition continues at XOPP by strong public demand. Choose your cooking style for whole live baby abalone or rock lobster from South Australia or Tasmania – from steaming with ginger and shallots to teaming with garlic sauce and egg noodles.
We tilted towards the contemporary interpretations with king prawns stir-fried in foie gras sauce. Big, juicy and crisp, the serving size was very generous. Sometimes you just want comfort food, so we selected the sichuan sweet chilli chicken and Cantonese signature roasted duck. If I have ever eaten a more meaty and flavourful duck, I can’t remember when. Other trips down the culinary memory lane include compoy white cut chicken, Mongolian lamb hotpot and three cup sauce beef, which were all doing brisk business as we scanned the room.
Darling Square is the epicentre of Sydney’s hip Chinese community and several smartly dressed diners were ordering from the Modern Twist listings such as 300g wagyu MBS sirloin with garlic cream, wasabi beef cubes and seven flavours cumin lamb chops. Or the XOPP OmniMeats vegan menu centred by stuffed salt and pepper tofu, mapo tofu and hot and sour soup.
The Golden Century Group has long been lauded for its 28-page wine and drinks list. We couldn’t go past the 2017 Henschke Golden Century Private Collection Riesling at a very reasonable $12 per glass. The champagnes on offer reach a pinnacle with Krug Grande Cuvee and a 2009 Dom Perignon. French wines are a highlight from the 2015 Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet to the more democratically priced 2015 Domaine Jaffelin Chablis. Or scroll through some of the best Australian and New Zealand wines, backed by equally premium bottlings from the US, South Africa, Argentina, Spain, Italy and more. The cocktails are a standout, too.

Billy Wong insisted that we try two of the new desserts. How right he was. Out came an intensely fruity watermelon granita with strawberry and yuzu custard and a rich-as chocolate mousse ice-cream. Billy’s parents, Linda and Eric Wong, the founders of Golden Century, arrived for a late dinner and you can’t get a higher recommendation than that.
XOPP by Golden Century, 1 Little Pier Street, Haymarket. Phone: (02) 8030 0000.
We’re here for a good time not a long time is the guiding spirit of About Time. A pop-up bar on the corner of Hunter and Bligh Streets in the CBD, the relaxed and chic venue will occupy the premises until the end of 2022 before the construction of the new Hunter Street Station begins. There’s certainly a lot of experience behind the cool vibe, which is the brainchild of seven hospo veterans – Ben Hickey and Naomi Palmer, the owners of The Roosevelt, Steve Davis, the venue manager of the Opera Bar, Tom Price of The Baxter Inn, Jono Carr, the award-winning barman, Paul Oscar, ambassador at Stone & Wood and wine expert Shannon Ponsford.
About Time is in good company with close neighbours such as Restaurant Hubert, Spice Temple and the popular Frankie’s Pizza. But it has something they don’t – an outside al fresco drinking and dining space. The interior is all pastel banquettes, burnished wood tables and an eye-catching mural with a message – No-Thing Lasts Forever – to add to the laidback feel. Cocktail favourites include Pavlova Milk Punch and the Rocky Road Old-Fashioned or cool down with a frozen Irish Coffee or a Frosty Fruit-inspired slushie. Ponsford and Hickey curate the spirits list, while Ponsford and Oscar oversee the constantly changing wine and beer offerings.
Chef Benji Llewellyn from The Roosevelt has given a retro spin to the menu by focusing on pork and lamb from family farms roasted over an open fire and served on share plates or in a damper roll from St Malo bakery. Housemade French onion dip with Jatz crackers and Viennetta ice-cream for dessert echo the current trend for 90s fashions, TV shows and music.
About Time, 37 Bligh Street, Sydney. Phone: 0434 661 028.
The Love Tilly Group operates Tilly Devine, Dear Sainte Eloise, Ragazzi Wine and Pasta and Fabbrica. For wine lovers the four bars and restaurants translate as meccas for Australian natural, French and Italian wines. Matt Swieboda and Nate Hatwell, the co-owners, have teamed with The People, a new hospitality group responsible for the renos of the Strand and Norfolk pubs in Darlinghurst and Redfern, to open La Salut.
Named after the Barcelona suburb, the 40-seat bar is located in the Norfolk’s erstwhile sports bar. Tapas dominate the menu from pork neck pincho with whipped cod roe through San Simon and oyster croquettes, dry-aged rib-eye with capers and garum and quail, morcilla crumb and radish. Over 200 wines centre on Spanish bottlings, which range from Marco de Jerez fortified wines to vermouths, the aperitif of Barcelona, and top quality cavas. There’s a strong focus on natural wines and you can work your way through the main Spanish wine regions from the Basque country to the Mediterranean. A smash hit from day one, it’s best to book ahead rather than wing it as a walk-in.
La Salut, 305 Cleveland Street, Redfern. Phone: 0412 872 855.