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No one’s really sure what the “TBC” stands for at this friendly hole-in-the-wall. Not even manager Ecca Zhang, who takes bookings and recommends dishes while his parents (longtime Sydney restaurateurs Gao Lun and Jie Zhang) pleat silky dumplings in the kitchen. “Totally Boss Cooking”? “True Beijing Cuisine”?

In any case, Grape Garden is perennially delicious, whether you’re hunched over a bowl of rust-red, lip-tingling dan dan soup with a rubble of minced pork and chewy hand-pulled noodles, or loading up an outdoor table with small plates in summer: super garlicky smashed cucumbers, say, a refreshing salad of yuba (bean curd skin) and celery, or shredded chicken in cooling sesame sauce.

Meanwhile, poached xian dumplings combine the magic of lamb, ling and Jie’s skilled hands, the fish scraped and pounded so it dissolves on impact with your tongue. “The Best Choice” for BYO in Kings Cross.