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What does it feel like to walk into Zao An According to co-founder Rihlan, it's like going to someone's house and having their parents cook for you. Part café, part canteen, part community hub. Zao An is an ESEA diaspora workers' collective built on the belief that the best hospitality happens when everyone has a real stake in it. We sat down with Irene and Rihlan to hear the story behind it all.

At Tabard Street Market , Pinoy Eat  is serving Filipino food that feels simple, satisfying, and full of heart. Run by Nino, alongside his wife Helen and their son Paul, the stall brings together family, flavour and everyday comfort in a way that feels deeply personal. Pinoy Eat began after Nino left his long career as a chef in hotels and restaurants to build something of his own. For the family, it was not just a business decision but a lifestyle change too. Running their

If you walk into Cernamic on a busy evening, London suddenly feels quieter. Wheels are spinning, hands are deep in clay, and there is that soft concentration that happens when everyone is making something together. It feels less like a strict class and more like a shared studio, a small oasis tucked between train lines and traffic. Cernamic is a pottery studio with three spaces in Stoke Newington, Deptford and Dalston, founded by ceramic artist Nam Tran  with co-director Susi

Walk past The Happy Pot at a London market, and you often smell it before you see the stall. Slow-cooked beef rendang, coconut rice, bright pickles and golden fried chicken. It is the kind of food that makes people describe it as “comfort in a bowl” and come back day after day. Behind it all is  Yvette , a Nigerian-born, London-based cook who swapped a career in international development for a life serving Malaysian-inspired comfort food. From climate grants to comfort food B

Stepping into Do Ho Suh’s exhibition at Tate Modern feels a bit like walking into a memory made of air and colour. Walls become sheer fabric, doors glow in soft pinks and greens, and everyday objects, door handles, light switches, radiators, hover like ghosts of all the places we’ve lived in but never quite left behind. For those of us who’ve left home and rebuilt our lives elsewhere, his work hits very close to the bone. Who is Do Ho Suh? Do Ho Suh (b. 1962) is a South Korea

Taiwanese comedian Monica Hsueh went from lockdown banter to a full live hour with How to Be a Strong Woman in One Hour in London, her funny and honest show about resilience, migration and messy life moments.

From Filipino pancit to Japanese karaage, this is your ultimate guide to Asian food in London. We spotlight ESEA-owned stalls, restaurants, supperclubs, and hidden gems with interviews, maps, and monthly updates.

Born in lockdown and run by Vivien, a London mum-of-three, My Kids Are Hungry  serves home-cooked Vietnamese comfort food with an easygoing “family kitchen” vibe. The stall grew from sharing recipes online to a full-time spot at Southbank Centre Food Market, and yes, the kids helped choose the menu.    What to eat? Two signatures stand out: chicken & prawn bao, pan-fried, juicy, sesame-topped dumplings and a crunchy, classic bánh mì. Everything at the stall is nut-free, which

Updated 13/04/2026 Looking for East and Southeast Asian events in London this month? This is your hub for ESEA gigs, food markets, supperclubs, exhibitions and theatre across the city. We spotlight everything from underground nights to big festival moments, with new listings added throughout the month. You will also find the occasional ESEA highlight from other UK cities when something special is happening. Bookmark this page or sign up for our newsletter for updates! Mon 6

If you geek out over clean, clever design, this one’s for you. Japan House London’s new show, Pictograms: Iconic Japanese Designs , traces how simple symbols evolved into a shared visual language — from early sign systems to the game-changing sets created for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and right through to today’s signage and emojis. It’s a crisp, hands-on look at clarity, consistency, and why Japan leads the way in pictogram design. What you’ll see inside The exhibition steps

East Asian noodles, made for London streets. Sen Noods began as a lockdown idea between two friends, Godfrey and Johnny. They were living together, both out of work, and kept joking about “one day” running a food truck. In late 2021 they bought a van and actually did it. Their first bestseller was a soy-milk ramen inspired by an episode of Food Wars, created to give the menu a strong vegan option. Today, it is one of their most ordered bowls. From kitchen mates to a noodle

At Victoria Park Market each weekend, Cantoast  keeps things simple: thick-cut milk bread, dipped and fried, topped with butter, golden syrup and condensed milk. It looks classic because that is the point. The founder wants the toast to feel familiar to people from Hong Kong and easy to try for first-timers. (updated: Cantoast is no longer at Victoria Park, their new store is coming up in 2026) The key is the bread. They bake their own Shokupan (milk bread) so they can cont

When JC  and Yin  set up a modest griddle stall in an Oxford market back in 2017, the goal was simple: pay rent and cure homesickness with the sweet, round pancakes they grew up eating. Six years and thousands of wheel‑shaped cakes later, Wheelcake Island  has become a fixture at Old Spitalfields Market, luring queues with the hiss of batter and the scent of custard and azuki bean. A “fun‑to‑watch” dessert that caught London’s eye "People were intrigued by the cooking process

Pho Street Eats is proof that comfort can flourish in unexpected seasons. The mother‑an d‑daughter stall launched in 2019 while Old Spitalfields Market was still emerging from lockdown lulls. Footfall was low, conversations were long, and every bowl of beef pho felt personal. "Those quiet months let us meet everyone properly," the daughter recalls. "Now the market is busy again, but we still recognise our regulars and check in with them." Real Broth, Local Roots Their recipe

Meet the Team: Pad + Sen Thai When friends turned business partners couldn't find authentic Thai food that met their standards in London, they decided to create their own. Since 2019, Pad + Sen Thai has been serving up the real deal at South Central Food Market and Canopy Market, bringing a taste of home to London's Thai community and beyond. What sets them apart? Their commitment to authenticity starts with their signature Pad Thai sauce, made entirely from scratch using rea

The UK's only curated Vietnamese cinema season returns with a bold mission: to show Vietnamese stories beyond war narratives. Star Nhà Ease Season 2 dives into the raw energy of 1990s 'instant noodle' films and the rebellious storytelling of Vietnam's Đổi Mới era, complete with live musical responses and the launch of the first bilingual digital archive of Vietnamese cinema

Hi friends, How incredible has this sunshine been? ☀️ I hope you’re soaking it up, topping up on sunscreen, enjoying that sunshine and staying hydrated! While we bask in this rare UK heat, we’re also marking Refugee Week , a time to honour the journeys, stories, and contributions of people who have sought safety here. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate migration in action, put the Migration Matters Festival  on your list. Sheffield’s week-long programme is packed with t

Hi friends, Happy Pride Month from NOVA ESEA! 🌈 Pride month always reminds us that equality and freedom are never given freely. They’re hard-won, hard-fought, and worth protecting. At NOVA ESEA, we stand proudly with the LGBTQ+ community and believe in creating a space where everyone feels seen, safe, and celebrated. Let’s keep showing up, not just during Pride Month, but all year round. Happy Philippine Independence Day, too! 🇵🇭 We’re excited to mark this occasion with

How Rice Burger Zen Is Reimagining Japanese Flavours in London What do you get when you cross a burger with Japanese tradition and a mission to reduce food waste? You get Rice Burger Zen, a fresh new street-food concept serving gourmet rice burgers in London. Founded by Yuki and born from his onigiri shop ZenMusubi, Rice Burger Zen was created to repurpose leftover rice. “We didn’t want to waste anything,” Yuki shares. “So we found a fun, tasty way to transform it.” Their bes

Discover upcoming East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) events in the UK, a featured story on Nepalese Tibetan Street Fusion, and how the ESEA community is showing support for Myanmar & Thailand. Curated by NOVA ESEA.