Sydney\u2019s best value lunch has quietly reopened in a new location almost a month after it mysteriously shut its doors because of \u201cstuff going on behind the scenes\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sydney foodies looking for a bargain were left devastated when Baba Wu\u2019s 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 \u201ca bunch of stuff is going on behind the scenes\u201d. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Baba Wu\u2019s co-owner Nicholas Ng, 37, said quality issues at the Peakhurst factory prompted the sudden closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t up to standard, and we just wanted to shut down production completely. Unfortunately that meant closing down our retail shop,\u201d Mr Ng said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done some fixes so the factory is up and running right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in terms of long-term sustainable solutions, we decided to convert our old location at 230 Elizabeth St into a factory, and we\u2019ve relocated to a new retail site at 437 Elizabeth St.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I plan to dip into my life savings, and appeal to friends, family and the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Ng said the key to his ultra-low prices was the simple menu, lean staff and non-flashy fit out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have to hire a professional chef \u2026 we can just hire anyone if they\u2019re willing to learn how to cook dumplings and serve customers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also find customers don\u2019t care that much about fit out, all of our signage is simply laminated paper that I printed at Officeworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means we can give you this $5 price that\u2019s affordable and high quality at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Central Sydney foodies can grab a box of dumplings from Baba Wu\u2019s new location from 11am to 11.45pm, seven days a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney\u2019s best value lunch has quietly reopened in a new location almost a month after it mysteriously shut…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[121610,121593,121594,121599,121626,121602,121589,44749,121622,121625,38320,121632,121619,121629,121618,58421,54322,121605,121608,52514,58370,121624,121635,36956,121588,121613,121634,121633,16091,121615,15099,38383,51359,121601,3052,1819,3085,121596,121590,121621,121614,49656,121609,121616,121604,36872,121617,121600,121592,121603,121631,36716,121630,121620,19455,32658,121627,121639,121597,34566,2079,2793,121628,56408,121611,121595,29423,60122,247,121607,39506,121637,121638,55592,36676,121612,39924,65340,121636,40959,46774,41591,121623,37118,43131,45688,38501,121587,121606,121591,121598],"class_list":["post-79271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-s-best-value-lunch","tag-s-cheapest-cbd-lunch","tag-s-cheapest-lunches","tag-s-co-owner-nicholas-ng","tag-s-new-location","tag-1-barbecue-buns","tag-11-45pm","tag-11am","tag-12-dumplings","tag-230-elizabeth-st","tag-38320","tag-437-elizabeth-st","tag-8400-dumplings","tag-a-bargain","tag-a-beloved-sydney-institution","tag-a-box","tag-a-bunch","tag-a-cryptic-instagram-post","tag-a-factory","tag-a-meal","tag-a-new-location","tag-a-new-retail-site","tag-a-professional-chef","tag-a-week","tag-about-700-serves","tag-almost-a-month","tag-and-high-quality","tag-baba-wu","tag-central-station","tag-central-sydney-foodies","tag-closure","tag-customers","tag-day","tag-dumplings","tag-family","tag-friends","tag-gofundme","tag-his-customer-base","tag-his-ultra-low-prices","tag-its-5","tag-its-5-dumplings","tag-its-doors","tag-its-previous-surry-hills-venue-baba-wu","tag-just-550-metres","tag-just-a-fiver","tag-last-month","tag-lean-staff","tag-little-explanation","tag-long-term-sustainable-solutions","tag-lovers","tag-mr-ng","tag-my-heart","tag-my-life-savings","tag-non-flashy-fit","tag-officeworks","tag-opening","tag-our-old-location","tag-our-retail-shop","tag-our-signage","tag-paper","tag-prices","tag-production","tag-quality-issues","tag-seven-days","tag-shock-closure","tag-some-fixes","tag-standard","tag-stuff","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-foodies","tag-terms","tag-the-5-price","tag-the-beloved-institution","tag-the-brink","tag-the-city","tag-the-co-owner","tag-the-corner","tag-the-factory","tag-the-factory-transformation","tag-the-idea","tag-the-key","tag-the-owner","tag-the-peakhurst-factory","tag-the-public","tag-the-road","tag-the-same-time","tag-the-scenes","tag-the-simple-menu","tag-the-sudden-closure","tag-this-5-price","tag-ultra-low-prices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}