Golden Century, Castlereagh Street’s late-night den of deliciousness, left very big shoes to fill when it closed down its OG spot in 2021. Rising to the challenge comes Royal Palace Seafood. A ballroom-esque dining space with fluorescent lighting and patterned carpet is exactly what you want to see in a great yum cha restaurant and the food is nothing short of spectacular. Generous, delicious, richly seasoned and balanced, every dish is a knock-out and you’ll have a hard time saying ‘no’ as trolley after trolley whizz around for a drive-by dumpling. 393-399 Sussex St, Haymarket; royalpalace.au.

Located on Goulburn Street, right across from the former home of BBQ King, Hansang is all about authentic Korean flavours and one special dish that draws the crowds – the slow-cooked bone broth, simmered for an astonishing 72 hours. With its original location in Strathfield drawing long queues of eager diners, the second outpost is bringing the same hype to Chinatown. Aside from the queue-worthy bone broth, simmered for three days to produce a milky and complex elixir, is the banchan. Hansang famously serves up at least 10 of the complimentary starters ranging from house-made kimchi, to marinated seaweed, chestnut jelly, egg rolls, fried ham, pickled radish, sweet fish cakes and a Korean-style pasta salad. 39-41 Goulburn Street, Haymarket; hansangsydney.com.au.

The Haymarket outpost of Ho Jiak is one of four owned by head chef Junda Khoo. Dive inside and you’ll encounter striped awnings and the hustle and bustle of a packed restaurant that makes you feel like you’re sitting in a hawker market. The menu is extensive: for starters try loh bak, crunchy and steaming hot-spiced pork wrapped in bean curd skins and fried; or chicken satay that will have you desperate for their peanut sauce recipe. To get a taste of what Khoo made his name for, hit the Ho Jiak Signatures page. Char kway teow needs no introduction, as one of Malaysia’s best-known noodle dishes, his version spicy and laden with seafood. If you haven’t been yet, you’ll want to correct that ASAP. 92 Hay St Haymarket; hojiak.com.au/haymarket.

A chill of anticipation and trepidation washes over you when you first lay eyes on a bowl of Gumshara ramen. The home of tonkotsu broth may have new digs after Eating World Plaza food court was shuttered, but all that porky goodness remains the same. Japanese expat Mori Higashida simmers 120 kilograms of pork bones for two whole days to make this dense, unctuous, steaming tonkotsu stock, served in a fishtank sized bowl with a tender pork spare rib poking out of the cloudy, sticky broth. Cancel your afternoon plans, you’re heading straight to the couch after this soupy rite of passage. 9 Kimber Ln, Haymarket; gumshara.com.

Affectionately known as “the restaurant with grapes on the roof”, there’s no shortage of quirks at this Haymarket institution. Expect to be greeted by a rendition of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On by a concert violinist, who also happens to be the owner, while staff dart about on command from the maitre d’, doling out Xinjiang-inspired dishes, including hand-pulled noodles and generous plates of steamed, fried or boiled dumplings (it’d be a crime not to order the pan-fried pork and chive). The special braised eggplant also vies for top billing: meltingly soft eggplant centre with a slightly crisp fried surface, served in a puddle of sticky-sweet amber sauce. 160 Thomas St, Haymarket

It wouldn’t be a trip to Chinatown without throwing down a Peking duck pancake or five, and there’s no better place to get your fix than Beijing Impression. The upmarket restaurant chain does duck better than the rest of the flock and true to its name, serves up northern Chinese specialities that you won’t find anywhere else in Haymarket. Northern-style meatballs, mixed plates of jellied blood, chicken feet and gizzards, and cabbage salad doused in mustard and sesame sauce make for interesting and highly delicious sides to your crispy-skinned duck, carved tableside and devoured swiftly. 1909 Dining Precinct Level 3 Market City 9, 13 Hay St, Haymarket; ciqimarketcity-telorder.redpayments.com.au.

Discover the clams with a cult following so big they got their own restaurant. XOPP (pronounced X-O-P-P) is from the Golden Century clan, taking its name from the X-factor dish at the much-mourned Sussex Street restaurant. Spearheaded by second-generation restaurateur Billy Wong, son of original founders Eric and Linda Wong, the sleek venue sits above the booming Darling Square precinct in bird’s-nest-shaped The Exchange. Head up the stairs for 2kg servings of the cult XO pipis; abalone, giant oysters and lobster doused in still more house XO; and an array of seafood straight from the tanks in classic Cantonese and more maverick serving styles. 31/1 Little Pier Street, Haymarket; goldencentury.com.au/xopp

There’s plenty of players in Sichuan Sydney right now – Dainty Sichuan’s newish Noodle Express branch at World Square notable among them. Spicy Joint is part of a chain that draws huge crowds back in China and the substantial Sydney outpost is no exception. If you like it hot, Spicy Joint is the spot for you, where subtle and tender bass is doused in smoking hot oil, packed with dried and fresh chillies and mouth numbing Szechuan peppercorns. Cool off with a wedge of lettuce and sesame paste before diving in again to the wickedly spicy and hot pots. The best part is, you’ll be hard pressed spending more than $20, with a bowl of slippery Dan Dan noodles setting you back just $6. 25-29 Dixon St, Haymarket; @spicyjointau.

A gourmand’s general rule of thumb is that if there’s a queue outside an eatery, you join it. If you happen upon Emperor’s Garden Cakes & Bakery and there’s no line, you’ve struck a culinary goldmine and should stock up immediately on as many of the Emperor’s Puffs as you can carry. The piping hot, custard filled cream puffs are the bakery’s specialty and are sold straight from the grill plate so your order is puffin’ fresh out of the kitchen. Just $1 will score you three Emperor’s Puffs, the perfect sweet treat for pocket change. 75 Dixon Street, Haymarket.