Unlike prodigiously flexible Chinese acrobats, Chinese restaurants aren't known for bending over backward — or even stretching a little — to provide hospitable service. I've dim-sum dined in Hong Kong and San Francisco, indulged in Peking duck in London and Beijing and sucked on crab in Shanghai. And while they were some of my most memorable meals, service occasionally seesawed downward with a thud.

At many of our island Chinese eateries I've come to expect a trademark brusqueness from restaurant staff. In my imagination, they secretly share an unwritten mission statement: "Make customer order, eat and run!" So at XO Seafood, Raymond Chau's new restaurant, shock set in as a waiter poured me a cup of tea rather than plopping the teapot down en route to another guest.

A 30-year veteran of the local restaurant scene, chef-owner Chau has foregone the red banquet hall and fluorescent chop-suey joint interiors to create a Chinese restaurant that's out of the ordinary. In addition to the usual fish tank, there's a row of wine bottles. The casual dining room, with its burnt-orange and black accents, blushed a contemporary polish, avoiding what could have been a Halloween disaster.

And this was the first time I've seen tiramisu (all desserts $2.50) offered along with shark fin soup ($9 per person or part of $18 set meal for 2 to 4).

Waitstaff are never far off if you need attention. Despite English not being their native language, many servers attempt descriptions when asked about dishes, instead of giving curt, monosyllabic responses. And they fill water glasses without a request.

However, XO hasn't entirely escaped the chop-chop Chinese restaurant stereotype often cast in Hollywood comedies. The kitchen fires out dishes in random order while waiters deliver them bam bam to your table. The lack of pacing is problematic, because most Chinese foods should be served steaming hot.

Forget about receiving soup first and having time to sip it. During a dinner visit, servers kept trying to unload more dishes on our already overladen table. Despite my request to delay upcoming orders, plates continued to arrive in a steady stream. A neighboring table of seniors not ready for their next course sent their orders back.

The restaurant's name is based on Hong Kong's famous XO sauce (named after extra-old brandy, although it contains none), which is made from dried scallop and shrimp, red chili pepper and spices. Initially associated with high-end Cantonese seafood palaces, it is commonly found on the shelves of most Asian food stores.

The condiment adds a flavor boost to just about any dish, but at XO, it left me with a mostly salty impression.

The restaurant's Cantonese fare also yields a few local touches. I didn't brave yin yang poke ($12) and opted for an XO rib-eye steak ($18). It came sliced and sizzling on a platter Korean bulgogi-style with onion and fresh shiitake mushroom. The slightly chewy beef tasted as if it had been seasoned only with salt and a bit of pepper, and the ketchupy sauce on the side gave it a nice tang.

The menu says sweet-and-sour wontons ($10), "served with a very unique sauce," include duck, shrimp and char siu. I thought the meats would be inside the deep-fried dumplings, but the delicacies turned up submerged in a sweet red sauce that filled a small accompanying bowl to its brim. The wontons contained only a dollop of filling.

A candy-sweet hoisin-flavored barbecue sauce coated Mongolian lamb ribs ($13) "for lamb lovers only." Apparently, my penchant for lamb wasn't good enough because even the bold sauce couldn't tame the strong gaminess of these ribs for me.

Seafood dishes proved better. A house specialty of lobster sauteed in XO chile sauce ($28, $35) was stir-fried with egg and scallions. Its gooey saltiness masked the flavors of the meat but was still spicily addictive. Tender scallops sauteed with pine nuts and baby bok choy ($12) delivered a good soft-crunchy balance with the delicate seafood flavor. And plump, juicy clams in black bean sauce ($10) had a nice smoky depth.

For dessert, forego the strawberry cheesecake (it was of the mushy supermarket variety) and opt instead for tropical tapioca laden with bits of cooling honeydew. Although there are eight desserts, five of them were unavailable one evening.

Chau's name alone will bring in customers, and the late-night hours and busy location will help, too. While his latest enterprise isn't what I'd call upscale, XO's efforts to provide friendlier service leans in the right direction.

Reach Helen Wu at hwu@honoluluadvertiser.com. Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction to food, service and ambience in relation to price. Menu listings and prices are subject to change. Reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. The Advertiser pays for meals.