I read about XO on the HerCanberra website of new restaurant openings. It seems Canberra has come a long way in terms of online information about new places, and even though still far from Hot Dinners (due to sheer city size more than anything else) it's a good start to see these articles floating about.
The decor inside is interesting in a cool fashion - each corner seems to have a different feel to it due to the varied seating types, wall decorations and the view. The music was an interesting mid-2000s club style R&B reminiscent of the old days of Next Blue etc. in Melbourne (including Flo-Rida, R. Kelly and Chris Brown). The staff are of varied background but seem to share the same youth and good looks. Kisses & Hugs cocktail (tequila, some kind of alcohol blanc, peach & lemon) and topped with sichuan peppercorns was a nice cocktail to kick things off.
Modern Asian always piques my interest and this menu was no different (although a lot of places around Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra are doing similar things these days).
- Shangtung Bao (twice-cooked pork belly with cucumber, pickled daikon & ginger) $8 each - interesting concept of a slider using the rice bread from a bao and containing a very soft piece of pork belly with nice condiments complementing texture and taste;
- XO FC Wings (marinated in butter milk with Kewpie mayo) $12 - very delicious fried wings. Nothing more to say;
- Hiramasa Kingfish (beetroot cured with lemongrass, mixed herbs & ponzu nuoc cham) $16 - quite nice but a bit expensive given the price of the dish and the price of sashimi kingfish;
- Asian Bolognaise (stirfried udon in XO chicken ragout with a 60 degree egg) $16 - essentially XO sauce Chinese noodles with a poached egg. Nice but pricey;
- Sexy Squid (fried baby squid with sweet chilli salt) $16 - crisp morsels of very well cooked squid;
- Barramundi Fillet (steamed in sesame soy with cherry tomatoes & pickled mustard leaves) $32 - nice Cantonese-style steamed fish dish;
- Beef Rendang (slow-cooked black angus chuck reduced in coconut milk & spices) $29 - soft meat but not what I'd call classic rendang. Much milder and more coconut than the deep flavoured Malaysian version I'm used to. Still adequate;
- Chilli Kumara (fried sweet potato with smoked paprika, garlic & chilli) $10 - heavily flavoured fried sweet potatoes which were delicious.
Desserts
- Chrysanthemum Tea Soft Serve $5 - unusual icecream;
- Black Rice Pudding (with coconut icecream, golden honeycomb & lime meringue) $14 - coconut icecream was full and flavoursome and the other elements were additions in texture and sweetness in my opinion;
- Pandan Panna Cotta (with gula melaka syrup & sesame tuile) $12 - excellent dessert with a strong initial coconut then solid pandan aftertaste. Really good. We didn't get the sesame tuile as one diner was GF (but the restaurant should have served it separately for the other diners).
I really wanted the Crispy Lamb Ribs, however wasn't able to order them due to a fellow diner's Coeliac disease. The tables around me did get them and I secretly hoped they wouldn't finish them, notice me staring, and offer. Alas it wasn't to be.
Next time I would order the Shangtung Bao, Wings and Crispy Lamb Ribs with Chilli Kumara and the Pandan dessert. That's probably the perfect amount for 2 people.