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The Hui people of north-west China have been making some form of Lanzhou noodle soup for millennia. Thousands of kilometres away and a few variations later, you can peer through a window in Box Hill to watch dexterous chefs nonchalantly hand-pull noodles into nine different thicknesses.

Bowls arrive within minutes holding herby broth, delicate sliced beef and house-made pickles. From the dry noodle line-up, the crowd favourite is lamb rib braised until melting off the bone. Pros know to say yes to coriander, and to immediately mix in the mountain of toasty sesame-loaded chilli oil to avoid noodles sticking.

Dining solo? Perch at the partitioned bench to slurp in privacy. Fluffy beef and onion buns are a textural counterpoint, while icy honey hawthorn tea delivers a palate reset before you dive head-first back into noodle nirvana.