Postpartum Impression

Kia ora!

Something to love about Auckland Hospital is the way many of its rooms provide a sterling view of the most beautiful building in the world: the Sky Tower. I discovered this 10 months ago when I was in labour, gazing at her perfect form while my partner read to me from Greta and Valdin in an effort to distract me from the horror.

Fast forward 10 months and here I am, pushing a pram with a cup holder attachment around Tāmaki Makaurau. You might’ve seen me? Or perhaps it was one of the hundreds just like me. Because you know who uses the heck out of this city’s amenities? Mums. 

In any given week, rain or shine, we can be found pramming up and down Dominion Road, pushing babies on swings, feeding them on rugs in Cornwall Park. We’re at the library for Wriggle and Rhyme, at the zoo for Tamariki Time, kicking around the local pool, hauling high chairs across the Kai Room at the Museum. We’re on the bus to the art gallery, the ferry to Rakino, changing nappies on the side of the road. 

In the past, when I saw a mum pounding the pavement with a baby strapped beneath her raincoat, I had no idea it was because she had to. Babies hate being cooped up inside. Given the choice, I would never be out and about this much, but I have a tiny chubby manager now and she insists.

I’ve always loved Tāmaki in the way of any stalwart Aucklander – I complain a lot, yet I’d never live anywhere else. As it turns out, a babe in arms was all I needed to gain a whole new appreciation for this city of ours. I was reminded just how much I love it when we recently travelled to a part of the country that will remain unnamed. In this sleepy seaside town, no one saw me with a pram and stopped to wave me across, the way Auckland drivers do.

Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t always treated like celebrities. Sometimes I have to go a really long time without going to the toilet because there simply isn’t one around, and flashing a boob in public can be harrowing. I’ve also really wanted to go to PHỞ YẾN since they opened but between the line and the tiny space, it feels too hard – I definitely can’t hold the baby while slurping hot soup! 

Yet against all the odds and fatalistic social media posts, I’ve found out that Tāmaki is a pretty neat place to roll around with a baby. I’ve had to hit pause on my erstwhile favourite pastime of trying new eateries in favour of visiting the same highchair-having spots on repeat, but I think I’ve actually had even more fun discovering school fairs, tidal pools and fairy raves, buying vintage baby clothes and running into everyone I know at Central Flea on Sundays.

Love,
Lucinda

LUCINDA BENNETT is a writer, educator and new mum based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She usually writes about art, food, and material culture. Her favourite thing to eat while the baby naps would be an apple naisu caramel pie from MIBO or a rillettes and gherkin sandwich from LA VOÍE FRANCAISE.

By Jean

NEW OPENINGS

A new pastel-y cafe in Onehunga called HONEY SPRINGS has just opened. From the same owners of Slowlane, The Breakfast Club etc. (if I had to guess). It looks very, very sweet (in both food and decor).

There’s a new lunchtime spot on Shortland St called OMO KOREAN BOWLS open now. Its Instagram bio says “healthy bowls, without the slop”. ICYMI: people have taken to calling build-your-own salads and lunch bowls that are kind of a mish-mash of everything, “slop bowls”. Usage: “I’m gonna go get my daily slop bowl now.”

As a nerdish teenager on the North Shore, there were not a lot of places to spend your Friday nights. A friend and I always ended up at House of Chocolate in Takapuna, ordering hot waffles with melty Kohu Rd ice cream on top. A couple years ago, it closed, and our annual nostalgia trips were no more. However, last week, I saw its branding pop up again: this time as a CHOCOLATERIE IN PT CHEVALIER, which means that while they are once selling their chocolate and a few baked treats in a new location (no waffles though!).

Another spot that we’ve been seeing the hoardings of for eons, LUMI, has opened in the central city on Darby St.

And lastly, Matt Lambert’s new place where Ponsonby Rd Bistro used to be, THE RETURN, opened yesterday. Bookings are open. Dine there with the knowledge that this restaurant’s whole intent is to achieve a Michelin star on home turf. It might be a fun game to pretend to be Michelin inspectors. I recommend an Italian accent (French too obvious).

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CLOSINGS

Burger Geek on Symonds St is reportedly in liquidation and you could be forgiven for thinking that the era of the burger is coming to an end, but wait! Turns out there is yet another new burger place opening next to Bodega on Ponsonby Rd, Real Burger! Signage just went up in the last couple of days. Looks like a second iteration of the place IN BIRKENHEAD.

Devastating news for corporate parties, Eastern suburb teens, and tourists tricked into visiting Mission Bay: De Fontein Belgian Beer Bar is closing on 16 April, after 20 years.

SWEET AND ME in Onehunga is closing its doors, too. Its last day is yet to be announced, so you may still have time to mosey over for a slice of pineapple pie.

Also, Japanese cheesecake shop UNCLE TETSU’S has closed down for good in New Zealand. We just cannot seem to sustain anything for keepsies!!

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WISHLIST

Things I want to eat right now.

Char siu pork on rice at The Nightcar
Subterranean cocktail spot The Nightcar posted a photo of their incoming CHAR SIU PORK ON RICE and I have to say it looks extremely enticing: glossed to the nines, with an egg split in half to reveal an orange tea-egg yolk. And with a cocktail on the side! 

The charred prawns at Parro
I went to a wine bar in Wellington called Rosella and got their prawn dish; upon first bite, I felt an  immediate and visceral craving for the PRAWNS AT PARRO instead, which are so much more charry, saucy, delicious. 

Hot cross kkwabaegi at Small Mercies
I have been watching the Auckland hot cross bun options from afar and making a note of the ones that intrigue me. Top of that list: the HOT CROSS KKWABAEGI, deep fried donuts with all the spices and dried fruits characteristic of a hot crossie. Served with burnt honey whipped butter! (And, yes, the Mor Bakery HXB ice cream is probably number two.)

Seafood bowl from Anzu
I have not had sashimi in months (one of the more obvious thing I cut out of my diet due to unemployment reasons) and I am SALIVATING just thinking about eating the SEAFOOD BOWL, or any of their sashimi-laden bowls and platters, from Anzu. I can taste the buttery, silky, rich raw salmon sliding into my mouth; I can feel the bite down onto its giving flesh. Argh.

by Mike

Since 2017, Auckland has been one of the 75 UNESCO CITIES OF MUSIC, which certainly sounds grand. While the practical implications of this honour are intergovernmentally fuzzy, Tāmaki’s music scene and associated infrastructure remains robust and continues to draw investment, with the decision this week to move ahead with the $2.5m 'WESTERN SPRINGS BOWL’: semi-permanent staging in front of the amphitheatre seating of the existing stadium which forms a new venue of up to 30,000 capacity for summer concerts. (Ponsonby Rugby Club matches will continue through winter; speedway remains relegated to Waikaraka Park; still no cricket solution) While the inevitable comparisons to the storied Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks outside Denver, Colorado are a bit premature, it does seem like it should be a solid addition to the roster, even if its scale makes it less intimate than its American counterparts.

At some point, however, quite unlike the serial down-ratcheting of planned housing capacity, we are surely shading into venue oversupply. The Bowl will compete with not only Mount Smart but Eden Park’s newly-condoned offering of 20 ADDITIONAL ANNUAL SHOWS of 10,000-30,000 punters, and a full Bowl may well be more attractive to both acts and fans than a half-empty national stadium. If we’re very lucky, competition for the mid-sized area gigs market could help tame ticket inflation. But even if that’s too much to hope for, there’s no little satisfaction in seeing the publicly owned & operated option seize the field vacated by the PLASTIC BILLIONAIRES AND THEIR FRIENDS.

By Simon

GOOD FRIDAY

AIRSHIP ORCHESTRA
Aotea Square, Free
A bunch of cool looking, kind-of-interactive inflatable figures to mingle with. Often these inflatable installations photograph well but are a bit of a bummer when confronted in person but fool me twice as these photos look really good and I’m gonna go and see it. Runs through April.

FULL NOISE 2026
+ Saturday, Mt Roskill Memorial Hall, $35
Punk festival with a market attached and I would say a pretty strong chance of a vegan BBQ. Some strong contenders for band name of the week including: Dolebludger, Fiscal Hole, Vagina Dry, Heavy Flow, Megahowler and more! NOTE: Free entry for under 18s with ID.

GOOD FRIDAY GROOVE
Allpress Olive Estate, $99
Opening night of the Waiheke Jazz Festival, mostly notable as a rare Auckland gig from the great Deva Mahal. If you can’t make this, she’s at Whammy on May 2 so don’t despair too much if your ferry gets cancelled. Also playing: a wide assortment of our more ‘established’ musicians.

NO BUNNIES HARMED
Neck of the Woods, $15
Looks to be an insane Easter-themed, adrenaline-pumped nightmare of Happy Hardcore, Nightcore and Gabber with dancing bunny girls, a free-use kandi making station and photo ops with DJs BLITZ, 
Sleepy J~, 
小妹妹Bnyu
 and DJ Glowstixxy. NOTE: starts at midnight due to the Good Friday ‘have a meal with your drink’ liquor laws - which is fine but it didn’t help Jesus at the Last Supper so not sure why we should follow his footsteps on this, of all weekends.

SATURDAY 4TH

BRET McKENZIE
Hollywood, $70
Charming, adorable.

ANI SAAFA
Whammy, $15
Album fundraising show for this SUPER LIKABLE Dunedin boy band. Support from Clementine and One Eyed Jacks.

TONIC002
Audio Foundation, $15
Tour from Australians Insulin — who ‘operates at the intersection of brutal electronics, live violin, and real-time audiovisual systems’ — and visual artist Nymph. With support from Hasji who is a notable GORGE BOOTIST - a musical style based on climbing and mountain myths created by DJ Nanga, a homeless Tibetan mountaineer and part-time DJ. Additional support from Kraus and Ludus.

EASTER SUNDAY

BODY AS STAMP
Studio One, Free
If I’m reading this right, this is a free workshop where over 90 minutes, Yin-Chi will teach you how to kung fu your name. Only space for 15 people, registration via the link.

MONDAY 6TH

MARK WILLIAM LEWIS
Whammy, $60
English indie pop/jazz/folk. QUICK FACT: his album Mark William Lewis was the first non-soundtrack released on movie studio A24’s record label.

WEDNESDAY 8TH

WAYPEOPLE ALBUM LAUNCH
Nectar Bar, $45
A satisfying nerdy event with Wellington’s Jake Baxendale leads a jazz ensemble through his new album — a musical response to Ursula Le Guin’s translation of the Tao te Ching. Get a taste HERE. 

THURSDAY 9TH

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Q Theatre, From $30
The new Silo production - a Pacific flavoured production of Arthur Miller’s play, directed by Anapela Polata’ivao. Runs till May 3.

JOEY VALANCE & BRAE
Powerstation, $99
Sort of an ersatz Beastie Boys retro hip hop duo who played Laneway last year. Touring their new album HYPERYOUTH.