Cityscape's foodie wrap for the Month of March, 2024. Tasty Morsels for March. Our pick of five dishes to put at the top of your culinary to-do list. Marinated Yellow Fin Tuna, Chilli, Mandarin & Coconut Salad — King of SnakeBeef Tacos — ¡Roma!Butter Chicken + Naan — Coriander's Ethnic Indian RestaurantBeef Cheek Massaman Curry — The DishSalt & Pepper Tofu — Kokomo Pop-up brings Bangkok to town The ambience and aromas of Southeast Asia will take over Oxford Terrace on 22– 23 March when the Street Food Alley pop-up festival makes its debut. Over a dozen of the tastiest vendors in town will be sharing their wares, including Jaeju, Sangkutsa, Riri's, The Diversity and Kung Fu Dumplings. foodieslocalguides.com Big raps for baps Korean cuisine has a new champion in Cashel Street. Brewda blends the traditional vibrancy of Korean cuisine with innovative fusion flavours. Check out their bibimbap lunch menu –...

Autumn is near and with it a retreat to the warmth and comfort of home. Dulux colour forecasters are picking a matching trend for hues that evoke a sense of security when offset with layered textures and heritage furnishings. ‘Journey’ is one of three palettes in this year’s Colour Forecast. Maximalist and pattern-heavy, it combines bold mid-tone colours with cooler shades. The palette highlights lush green colours (Dulux Tarras, Dulux Te Horo) with muted blues (Dulux Te Ānau, Dulux Murrays Bay) and neutral pinks (Dulux Trentham, Dulux Evening Blush). dulux.co.nz

One of the hottest brands in the world is Rag & Bone, founded by Marcus Wainwright and David Neville. Rag & Bone is celebrated for its high-quality materials, attention to detail and for creating timeless pieces with a distinct New York City influence. Their returns policy is pretty much unconditional, unless you put your cashmere sweater in the dryer. If it came from them, they'll make it right. rag-bone.com

Meet CoCA’s new exhibition delivery manager, Jade Cavalcante. The role is new but the name and face will be very familiar to Christchurch art followers for her seven years working for SCAPE Public Art. Jade also curated the public programming for Shift: Urban Art Takeover, which transformed the former Canterbury Museum into a street art extravaganza. In her new role, Jade has already brought to life the exhibition Kia Ora Whaea, on show at CoCA till 16 March. The works in the exhibition explore maternal mental health from wāhine Māori perspectives. coca.org.nz

From her plinth in Victoria Square, Good Queen Vic will be casting a hungry and thirsty eye to The Victoria Free House, which has turned on its beer taps and fired up its ovens. Previously home to The Permit Room Indian restaurant, the busy street corner’s new  tenant specialises in ‘Craft Beer & British Fare’. The menu nods to tradition with smoked fish pie, also steak tartare and cured egg yolk served in a Yorkshire pudding. Tastes a bit more 21st century? Try fried cauliflower with curry mayo, leek yoghurt and pickled onion. To wet her whistle, Queen Victoria could choose from traditional ales, a select list of wines and a menu of classic cocktails. thevictoriafreehouse.co.nz

Wellington’s Cake Tin, take a back seat. You’ll have nothing on Christchurch when The Pavlova opens its turnstiles to the public. Officially it’s called Te Kaha but in the images of the final design, doesn’t our new stadium look just like a big egg-white meringue? The only thing missing is some kiwifruit or strawberries on the roof. Christchurch’s latest architectural confection already dominates the inner-city skyline, its roof supports now towering above the surrounding streets. Here at Cityscape, we were delighted to tour the Te Kaha worksite with Adrian Jones, project director for the contractor, BESIX Watpac, and Kent Summerfield, project director for CMUA Project Delivery Ltd. What blows us away immediately is the sheer scale of the project. As we circle the perimeter, the clanging and banging brings to mind a shipyard. Construction teams beaver away wherever we look and cranes swing their cargoes of material to where today’s action...

SailGP returns to Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour this month and for the first time punters will get to go behind the scenes for a tour of the “pit-lane garages” where crew and shore teams prepare the flying F50 catamarans. Cityscape was among the selected media who got to tour the team bases at last year’s inaugural Lyttelton event and it was eye-popping. Surgery-clean spaces, the highest of tech and hangar-like sheds sheltering “sails” that look more like the rippled wing of an airplane. The scale and sophistication is typical of the SailGP circus, which doesn’t just arrive somewhere, it invades. Last year, 84 containers of boats, gear, computer wizardry, even whole buildings, were shipped to Lyttelton’s Naval Point, assembled and made ready for the sold-out crowd that witnessed SailGP’s New Zealand debut. The New Zealand team got pipped for a win back then but the crowd was happy – we beat the...

Books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your spare time this month. Bingewatching The New Look: Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche star as Christian Dior and Coco Chanel in this Apple TV series examining the advent of modern fashion in a Europe still scarred by the horrors of World War 2. While the series centres on Dior and the genesis of his famous "New Look", the lives and work of Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain and Cristóbal Balenciaga also feature. A must for you fashionistas out there. One Day: Based on the 2011 film of the same name, each episode of this Netflix series revisits Emma and Dexter on the same day every year from 1998 to the early 2000s. “By turns giddy and sombre but always swooningly romantic” is the consensus of the critics. Best viewed with friends and a box of tissues. Curb...

Lyttelton 1978. 17-year-old Chris Simmons has quit his job as DJ at Christchurch’s Stables and Bumps nightclubs and is about to board a ship bound for Sydney. Also on board is the PA and lighting rig for Kiwi prog rockers Think. The band are hellbent on breaking into the tough Aussie rock circuit, and Chris is coming along on his first gig as a roadie. More than 40 years later, Chris sits in his suburban Christchurch home surrounded by posters and photos from the dozens if not hundreds of tours and concerts he has helped stage both as a roadie and as one of the best lighting technicians in the business. The list of bands he has worked with is long and distinguished. So many stories. Now Chris is getting them all down on paper and sifting through endless photos for a book that will tell his remarkable story. Lugging gear...

Fuaao Tutulu Faith Schuster has experienced first-hand the alienation and temptation that comes with moving from Samoa to New Zealand. Now part of Neil Ieremia’s acclaimed Black Grace, the dancer shares her thoughts about Paradise Rumour, which the company brings to the Isaac Theatre Royal on 17 March. This work must have special resonance for you? Yes, totally. It has a special place in my heart. I’m a seed of the migrant dream. I was born and raised in Samoa, in Satuiatua village on the south coast of the island of Savai’i. When I came here, everything was new – the cold, the buildings… it’s the land of temptation as well. There is freedom of choice, freedom of speech, and you’re not bound by the traditions of home. What has been your experience of the issues it raises? I have some experience but not as deep as others. I have experienced...

We cop a sneak listen to L.A.B’s new album, which drops on Friday 23 Feb, and get to put some questions to lead singer Joel Shadbolt on the eve of the band’s return to Electric Avenue. We’re loving the sound of the new album. Thanks. You’re hearing the evolution of L.A.B on this album. It’s an expanding sound. The horns are quite strong on this; more and more we’re writing songs with that in mind. How was it working with producer Lee Prebble on this one? Dr Lee – he’s a legend. His studio in Wellington is our second home. We are super blessed to be working with him. He opened his doors for us and has become part of the L.A.B sound. He knows how to work with creatives. He’s a wizard. He makes these quirky suggestions that we would never think of. You started with 30 tracks for this...

The Gothic Revival walls of Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre will echo with music, comedy, circus and theatre when the Off Centre arts festival returns on 8 March. Last year’s inaugural Off Centre festival celebrated the reopening to the public of The Arts Centre precinct after extensive earthquake repairs and restoration. This year the kaupapa is simply a celebration of the arts in all their glory. For audience sustenance there’s also a host of food options, and plenty of entertainment to keep the buzz going. The list of acts and activities on the programme is exhausting – 40 entries over the festival weekend, 8-9 March. Stand by to make some difficult choices! Headlining Off Centre is Ōtautahi roots, rock, funk and reggae powerhouse 1 Drop Nation, performing as part of their ‘I'm Home Summer Tour’. Other highlights include award-winning singer songwriter Hera; MC Shay Horay with a clutch of...

It’s not eye of newt and toe of frog but some very magical ingredients go into Elsewhere Gin’s range. Forager-in-chief Mark Rose gathers the water, geology and botanicals of an area and captures their essence in a bottle. Early on a calm morning, Mark and Zoë Rose of Elsewhere Gin, with their children Luca and Otto in tow, are scouring Birdlings Flat for pebbles, agates, driftwood and bits of seaweed. So far so normal. What happens next isn’t. Mark takes the results of their foraging, including some seawater, and adds it to botanicals harvested from the nearby Okuti Valley to distil a gin that captures the essence of the area. The seawater amplifies the flavours and adds depth to the gin. The pebbles and agates replace the boiling stones or glass spheres usually used in distillation, adding their own minerals to the mix. The gathering was done in April. The resulting...

The Bread & Circus World Buskers Festival returns to swishy stages and street pitches from 19 – 28 January. Cityscape has done a deep dive into the jam-packed programme and come up with some acts that are sure to have you going O-M-G. 01 - Architects of Air: Arborialis Luminarium Wander in a labyrinth of light and colour, through tunnels and domes, while listening to the soothing sounds of untouched nature. The inflatable mazes of UK-based Architects of Air have transported international audiences of all ages to other worlds. This time they bring the 1000m2 Arborialis to Cathedral Square. It’s a place to wander, explore and relax. WHERE: Cathedral Square 02 - The Bread & Circus Festival Gala MC Guy Williams will need all his celebrated loud voice when the Festival Gala returns to the Isaac Theatre Royal. A combustible combination of some of the must-see acts and busking sensations from...

He’s a trouper – trans-Atlantic music superstar Graham Nash will turn 82 a month before his Christchurch gig in March. Cityscape spoke to him at home in New York during his only five-day break since kicking off a tour in January. The schedule has been gruelling – 100 shows in nine countries and 42 states of America. There are a few more comforts than in the early days of touring as part of the Hollies or Crosby Stills & Nash but the tedium remains – “I love being on the road but I hate the travelling.” The tour, which includes songs from his 2023 album Now, reaches our shores in March. Graham Nash performs at the Isaac Theatre Royal on 3 March. With so many songs to choose from, how did you come up with a setlist? It’s a bit of a dance. A lot of people want to hear ‘Our...

We talk to the Court Theatre’s Artistic Director about staging Something Rotten! and stepping into the role. This show is the biggest choreographed musical The Court has done. No pressure then? We love a challenge! Shows like this are possible because of the fantastic talent and dedication of our artists and production team. Kira Josephson choreographed this production – she is also the intimacy choreographer and swing – and has done superb work. It’s a huge undertaking but one that she has embraced—in some ways, it’s a choreographer’s dream.  What can the audience expect? A celebration of theatre and musicals! This musical is so generous. It has a cast of 23 plus live musicians, fabulous design and big, glorious dance numbers, as well as plenty of comedy. It is also packed to the brim with Renaissance, Shakespearean and musical theatre references. It’s full of gems for theatre lovers but is also very accessible....

High Street’s exquisite Monday Room has a baby sibling – Little Monday has opened right next door. The casual style of the wine bar complements the more traditional setting of its older neighbour. Little Monday’s head chef, Hannah, has come up with a delicious menu with plenty of contemporary twists to bring classic fare into the 21st Century. Here’s a taster to get your mouth watering – Crispy Eggplant with a bread-and-butter pickle glaze and hazelnut cream; Tagliatelle with shiitake mushroom in XO sauce, oyster mushroom and parmesan; or New Season Asparagus with elderflower vinaigrette, hazelnut and foraged flowers. Yum! Little Monday is open Wednesday – Saturday from 3pm. Reservations are available on the Monday Room website. themondayroom.nz/littlemonday

Books to read, television to bingewatch, music to dance to and podcasts to fill your spare time this December. Bingewatching Berlin: Netflix scored a runaway hit with its 2017-20 series Money Heist. This prequel series takes us back to happier times for gang member Berlin, one of the most popular characters on Money Heist despite his early death. Also one of the most reviled – Berlin is misogynistic, violent and undeniably a sexual predator. Here, Berlin and a masterful gang of thieves gather in Paris to plan one of his most ambitious robberies. After the Party: Penny accuses her husband of a sex crime and is not believed. Is she wrong? Is she being gaslit? Or is she just bonkers? Kiwi acting royalty Robyn Malcolm and writer Dianne Taylor have turned that premise into a gripping series in which everyone, including our ‘hero’, can be less than honest. Heavy territory but...