“Let’s do yum cha.”

Apart from, “You’ve won first division Tatts,” there are few better words to hear on a Sunday morning.

And now Ricky & Pinky, Andrew McConnell’s year-old Chinese restaurant in a pub, is serving the tasty bites from Friday to Sunday under the watchful eyes of head chef ArChan Chan.

There’s rock on the stereo and a fun, family vibe in the colourful dining room. Staff are on hand to take orders, bring cold beers and ferry baskets laden with plump siu mai, steaming pork buns and many more good things.

This is a trolley-free zone, with dumplings and bao cooked to order. The dumplings are very good – fat chicken potstickers, meaty chicken and mushroom siu mai, and silken Sichuan pork dumplings swimming in chilli oil.

Elsewhere on the menu, the spiced quail is a knockout. A hefty half bird – juicy inside, crunchy outside – is best in class, while the salt and pepper squid makes up for the plethora of pedestrian versions around town. Little curls with a proper salt hit, they’re the perfect partner to another beer or jasmine tea.

Packed with a field of mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, oyster) the rice paper rolls are a highlight, while char siu pork off the charcoal grill is a step up from the norm, thanks to excellent meat.

If it feels a touch sanitised, with the flavours polite, the chilli restrained, that’s no bad thing. The honeycomb tripe, slippery and tender and doused in an elegant black bean sauce, is a perfect antidote. Though chicken feet are a step too far for this crowd, the pork ribs are authentically gristly, the gelatinous sauce bone-gnawingly tasty.

The extensive wine list is filled with fare-friendly drops, while changing taps keeps the beer interesting and the pub spirit alive. Welcome to the weekend.