Bing’s Bao & Beer

Back in the ’60s and ’70s Hong Kong was full of tiny alleyway teahouses. They were known for serving dim sum, bubble tea and sweets and having bright colour schemes. Most of them are gone now but you can find one right here in Sydney, tucked into an alley in Barangaroo.

The Lotus Group opened Bing’s Beer and Bao in mid-2017, bringing back the old school maximalist feel with help from designer Melissa Collinson (Madame Shanghai, Sake), who’s behind the tea-cosy-style bright green and yellow floral pattern. The back wall, equally bright, is decorated with old images of Hong Kong celebrities and street scenes.

The menu is focused on modern Chinese, with a little bit of Japanese. Everything is designed either as a takeaway-friendly option, mostly rice bowls and noodle soups; or as something you’d want to smash with a beer on Friday afternoon.

Lemongrass-marinated fried pork chops and noodles come in a clean tomato broth; they serve one of the best fried rice dishes in the CBD; and there’s a sweet and sour beef noodle soup inspired partly by Shanghainese Dong Po pork and Johnathon Grace, an apprentice at Madame Shanghai.

About that beer: there are several easy-drinkers by the bottle or can, including Tsingtao, Asahi and Young Henrys lager. Crisp riesling is also on tap and there are two bottled cocktails from Kate McGraw, Lotus’s chief cocktail lady. But if you really want to feel like you're in Hong Kong, go for one of four bubble teas.