Opium

We were very excited about Opium. It's a beautiful space, in a stunning location (somewhat less stunning of course if there is a cruise ship in) and the food comes via and all-star team which includes Raita Noda of Japanese restaurant Rise (one of our favorites) as well as Wildfire's chef John Pye, pastry chef Mark Stone and sommelier Ben Moechtar. It has a lot going for it, and a lot of the key elements that make for an exceptional dining experience are here.

Our experience however fell somewhat short of exceptional.

The service was attentive but not as helpful as we would have liked in answering some questions about navigating a long menu. "Everything on the menu is amazing" isn't the sort of opinion we were trying to solicit.

As a result, we aren't sure that we made the best choices for our food. What we did order was tasty and well presented but fell a bit below our expectations.

To start, we opted for the "plate of dumplings and spring rolls" to maximise the different tastes we were able to sample. Everything on the plate was proficient and enjoyable, the stand out were the Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls which had a blend of herbs that was alive with anise flavour.

Our mains consisted of pipis in XO sauce and tea-smoked duck. The pipis were fresh and cooked just right but the XO sauce lacked some depth and spice. The smokiness of the duck was too subtle for our tastes but the five-spice plum sauce was a nice accompaniment.

Dessert on the other had was truly a highlight. Chocolate bunyols (little donuts filled with rich melted semi-sweet chocolate) and delicate coconut five spiced panna cotta were the standouts.

So why did Opium fall short when so many of the ingredients are right? We'll have to point our fingers to the "X factor." That elusive quality that brings a unique style or character to a restaurant, to a meal, to each course. The food felt just a touch uncomfortable just as the service felt somewhat distant in it's professionalism and the warm red paper lanterns hung soft contrast to the cold modern space.

Rating: 12/20

Opium - Ground Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks