"Egg and chive dumplings with lychee iced tea." No, I wasn't that fussed either, but it was 2pm Sydney time, and after a 6am start back in Auckland and a walk around one of the best privately owned art galleries in Australia, I was prepared to try anything.
The soft, glistening ball of delicate flavour and smooth texture that arrived at our table in the White Rabbit Gallery Tea House was so far removed from the gluggy, tasteless dumplings I'd had at a restaurant recently, I couldn't believe they were the same food item. But then White Rabbit is one of Sydney's best-kept secrets if you're doing the art circuit, and art, not dumpling sampling, was the real reason for my visit.
Unlike Auckland, Sydney doesn't close its doors to art over summer. Quite the opposite. Yes, the dealer galleries have a holiday, but the big (and little) institutions have banded together in recent years to offer an art experience for those of us who are looking for more than sun and sand.
Founded by Kerr and Judith Neilson, White Rabbit owes much to Judith's love of contemporary Chinese art from 2000. There is no state or federal funding and the plethora of sponsor's logos that have crept on to gallery walls of late is missing here. Instead, with this collection, she has transformed Chippendale, a previously rundown part of central Sydney, into a very cool destination.
Entry is free to this old Mercedes factory, a cleverly transformed space on three levels of intimate galleries. Banish forever nasty thoughts about "Asian art" and be prepared, instead, for some of the most beautifully crafted and cleverly installed contemporary pieces you'll encounter anywhere. There are no blue and white urns, no lurid communist paintings, but there is much comment on what it means to be a contemporary artist in China today.
