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They sell cognac by the bottle at XOPP. Whisky, too. That should tell you plenty about the big-occasion atmosphere at this Cantonese diner, a spin-off of Chinatown’s much-loved (and sadly closed) Golden Century. The pipis in XO remain a great legacy of the original, gorgeously loaded with umami upon a bed of fried vermicelli that softens as it soaks up a metric truckload of rich sauce. Food arrives banquet style: cold jellyfish in spicy sauce, all piquant bounce; sang choy bao stuffed with plump, sweet scallop meat; Peking-style shredded beef, caramelised and crisp; Brussels sprouts stir-fried with pork cheek and belachan. The live seafood tanks are always teeming and the formidable cellar is stocked with mic-drop bottles (anyone for a 1976 Chateau Lafite?). It’s rare you’ll see a table of two in the mezzanine dining room; this is food geared for celebration.