White Rabbit Teahouse

With the weather being so changeable, you might need some wet weather options in your list of summertime activities. For a date with dumplings and Chinese contemporary art, head to Chippendale’s White Rabbit Gallery. It’s a free gallery, created by billionaire philanthropist, Judith Neilson, and as a result absolutely dripping in black-clad staff. Each of them has a red badge inviting you to strike up a conversation about art to learn more about what you’re experiencing. Not all of the art needs explanation: Drunken Dance Hall (2015) by Chen Wei sees art replicate nightclub down to a coatcheck and stripper pole. For anyone who has visited China, Zhou Dong’s emotional and chaotic cityscape, Red Marginal (2018–19) captures the immensity of the country’s endless cities. 

Speaking to China’s population density, cityscapes and urban architecture feature heavily in the gallery’s three storeys of exhibition space, including in Zhou Jie’s CBD (2010): a meticulously hand-crafted white porcelain model of Beijing. In this large scale piece the buildings are all seemingly infected with a virus, transforming straight lines into nature’s preferred organic forms. The same organic curves are reflected in the dumplings you can cap off your visit with downstairs. 

Operating from a very simple, easily reproducible menu, the street-level teahouse serves steamed shui jiao in chicken and coriander ($13) or egg and chive ($13). The chicken are the more flavoursome option, enjoyed against bowls of hot chilli sauce, and black vinegar and soy sauce bottles on each table. From the tea menu, Jin Xuan ($5) is a Taiwanese oolong tea that tastes milky like melted White Rabbit Creamy Candy. Beat the heat with iced black tea — Li Zhi Hong Cha ($4.50) — that throws lychee and musk sticks. For all your other drinking needs, there’s a short list of mostly Tempus Two wines: the Tumbarumba Copper Series Wilde Chardonnay ($9.50/glass) is my pick of the list.