Neptune Palace, the Malaysian-Chinese diner at Sydney’s Circular Quay, has been a lunch favourite for a generation. It was among a list of top spots for the city’s bankers published in The Australian Financial Review last year, just as it was in 2004, when Rear Window reported that Macquarie bankers had descended on the restaurant to celebrate their bonuses.

It isn’t just a go-to for bankers. Politicians, staffers and lobbyists are also regulars of the lunch crowd. Stephen Galilee has been two of those things. The chief executive of the NSW Minerals Council says his colleagues would be seriously bemused if he decided lunch with the Financial Review should take place at a sushi counter where we’d drink green tea. Instead, we are here for the spring rolls, the san choy bow and a bottle of wine.