Sydney’s best value lunch has quietly reopened in a new location almost a month after it mysteriously shut its doors because of “stuff going on behind the scenes”.

Sydney foodies looking for a bargain were left devastated when Baba Wu’s restaurant – famous for its $5 for 12 dumplings and $1 barbecue buns – suddenly shut last month with little explanation except a cryptic Instagram post stating “a bunch of stuff is going on behind the scenes”.

But the beloved institution has returned to a new location around the corner from Central Station, just 550 metres down the road from its previous Surry Hills venue.

Baba Wu’s co-owner Nicholas Ng, 37, said quality issues at the Peakhurst factory prompted the sudden closure.

“It wasn’t up to standard, and we just wanted to shut down production completely. Unfortunately that meant closing down our retail shop,” Mr Ng said.

“We’ve done some fixes so the factory is up and running right now.

“But in terms of long-term sustainable solutions, we decided to convert our old location at 230 Elizabeth St into a factory, and we’ve relocated to a new retail site at 437 Elizabeth St.”

The co-owner said before closure, they sold about 700 serves – or 8400 dumplings – per day, and have only once raised prices since opening in 2019.

While his customer base is steadily returning, Mr Ng has appealed to dumpling lovers to help fundraise the factory transformation at 230 Elizabeth St via GoFundMe.

“It would break my heart to raise the $5 price. I mean, call me crazy, but I just like the idea that someone could buy a meal in Sydney, in the city, with just a fiver,” he said.

“So I plan to dip into my life savings, and appeal to friends, family and the public.”

Mr Ng said the key to his ultra-low prices was the simple menu, lean staff and non-flashy fit out.

“We don’t have to hire a professional chef … we can just hire anyone if they’re willing to learn how to cook dumplings and serve customers,” he said.

“I also find customers don’t care that much about fit out, all of our signage is simply laminated paper that I printed at Officeworks.

“It means we can give you this $5 price that’s affordable and high quality at the same time.”

Central Sydney foodies can grab a box of dumplings from Baba Wu’s new location from 11am to 11.45pm, seven days a week.