NOVA ESEA

Your guide to the UK's best ESEA (East & Southeast Asian) music, arts, culture & more

Nhu Xuan Hua: Of Walking on Fire Exhibition
Thu 16 Apr
Autograph
RSVP
NIGO: From Japan with Love
Fri 01 May
Design Museum
Buy Tickets
Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific
Sat 16 May
V&A South Kensington — The Porter Galler
Buy Tickets
SECOND LAW: Reijiro Wada
Wed 27 May
Daiwa Foundation Gallery
RSVP
Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai (Exhibition)
Wed 03 Jun
Japan House London
RSVP
Chris Zhongtian Yuan 'Two Improvisations'
Fri 12 Jun
esea contemporary
RSVP
Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now
Wed 24 Jun
The Photographers' Gallery
Buy Tickets
Death Note: The Musical
Thu 30 Jul
Barbican Theatre
Buy Tickets
Cinema and State: Films by Nagisa Ōshima
Sat 01 Aug
ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts)
Buy Tickets
Marina Yozora UK Tour 2026
Wed 05 Aug
London & Bristol
Buy Tickets
KAWAN! KAWAN! Exhibition
Thu 06 Aug
Hypha Gallery Euston
RSVP
The Paper Path 紙の道 — Journeys in Japanese Washi
Thu 06 Aug
APT Gallery
RSVP
Aunty Mei is Looking for a Wife
Fri 07 Aug
Canal Café Theatre / Etcetera Theatre
Buy Tickets
Market Root Vol.7: Korean Creatives Market
Sat 08 Aug
Copeland Park Unit 08
Buy Tickets
East Asian Market @ Canada Water (Urban Garden Fair)
Sat 08 Aug
Canada Water, London
RSVP
Sound Strokes
Sat 08 Aug
theSpace @ Symposium Hall
Buy Tickets
Formosa Viva
Sat 08 Aug
Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines
Buy Tickets
ESEA Cooks Greatest Hits Supper Club
Sat 08 Aug
Camden Chinese Community Centre
Details
Salsa & Mahjong
Sun 09 Aug
The London Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park
Details
Mountains and Seas: A Rock Musical
Thu 13 Aug
theSpace @ Niddry St (Lower)
Buy Tickets

GUIDE

Hyper Japan 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the UK's Biggest Japanese Culture Festival

The UK's biggest Japanese culture festival is back at Olympia London from 24 to 26 July 2026. Over 530 exhibitors, headliners QUEEN BEE and avantgardey, Japanese street food from wagyu skewers to mochi, cosplay, workshops, and a brand-new indie gaming zone. Here's everything you need to know.

NOVA ESEA

East & Southeast Asian Food Guide London: Street Food, Restaurants, Supperclubs & Pop-Ups

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.

NOVA ESEA

East and Southeast Asian Events in London August 2026 - What's On Guide by NOVA ESEA

Updated 06/08/2026 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. 📩 Get the NOVA ESEA newsletter — the city’s best East & Southeast As

NOVA ESEA

FEATURE

SHOKUDŌ: “But He’s Happy, Right?” From a Banking Job to Japanese Comfort Food in London

Joe spent thirteen years in banking before he left to cook. It was Christine, his wife and co-founder, who told him to go, and her father who settled it with one sentence about happiness. Now they run SHOKUDŌ, a Japanese comfort food business built on a deliberately small menu, an ox tongue from a Hong Kong restaurant that no longer exists, and a rule about wasting nothing.

Wine The Noodles: Red Wine, Beef Noodles, and the Side of Taiwanese Food London Hasn't Seen

Chef Yu spent nine years perfecting a beef noodle recipe that fuses French red wine braising with Taiwanese technique. Now he's in Paddington, filling a gap he spotted in London's Taiwanese food scene.

Muri: The Filipino Violinist-Singer Who Found Her Solo Sound Between Manila, Paris and London

Muri (Muriel Gonzales) is a Filipino violinist and singer-songwriter who came up through The Ransom Collective in Manila before moving to Paris alone, writing her debut EP 11ème, and performing at SXSW and Focus Wales as the sole Filipino act. We sat down with her in London — as she opened for @moonlanegardens at Dingwalls Camden — to talk jazz clubs, her grandmother, and what keeps her making music.

Sosaku Onigiri: How Masami Brought Creative Japanese Onigiri to Shepherd's Bush

Masami came to London at 23 and never left. Thirteen years later, she's at Shepherd's Bush Market making onigiri with the precision of someone who believes one dish, done well, is enough. We visited Sosaku Onigiri to hear about the stall, the flavours, and the philosophy behind the name.

Physiolosophy: Zhi Wei on Why Pain Is Never Just Physical

Zhi Wei left the NHS, was diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and built Physiolosophy around one idea: pain is never purely physical. We visited her at A Morning of Movement — a wellness event with kin+deum to hear about her practice and the cultural conversation she's trying to change.

K-Pop Concerts in London Summer 2026 Plus J-Pop, City Pop & More Asian Acts

London's 2026 music calendar has more East and South East Asian acts than any previous year — BTS at a football stadium, BIGBANG reuniting for their first tour in nine years, TWICE doing their first 360° UK stage, XG becoming the first Japanese group to play Wembley, and a brand-new outdoor city pop festival at Crystal Palace Bowl. Whether you're here for stadium K-pop or intimate J-rock, there's something on this list for you. Here's everything confirmed, by date. K-Pop Conc

Yokimono Japanese Market: How One Woman's Community Became East London's Favourite Japanese Market

Sonoe Sugawara came to London for three months in 2001. She never left. Over two decades later, she runs a vintage kimono shop in Dalston and organises Yokimono Japanese Market — an independent gathering of Japanese food makers, artists, and craftspeople that was only ever supposed to happen once.

Best Bánh Mì in London: Vietnamese Sandwich Spots Worth Seeking Out

Bánh mì is one of those sandwiches that shouldn't work on paper — French baguette, Vietnamese pickles, pâté, coriander, chilli — and yet it's one of the most satisfying things you can eat. London's Vietnamese food scene has grown quietly and steadily over the past decade, and the bánh mì options have grown with it. From Hackney to Southbank, here are the spots we think are doing it well. Pho Street Eats ⭐ Our Pick This mother-daughter duo has been at Old Spitalfields Market s

Nha Trang Kitchen: Vietnamese Street Food Stall Built on One Family's Recipes

The Stall Named After Her Mum's Hometown Chau's parents were among the Vietnamese boat people who fled the country after the war. They made it to Hong Kong, met there, and that's where Chau was born. She came to the UK at one year old. The journey that brought her family here was dangerous; everything left behind is the quiet foundation beneath every dish she sells. Her mum's family is from Nha Trang. The stall carries that name. Which means every bánh mì sold at Berwick Stre

ABOUT

NOVA ESEA is dedicated to curating and spotlighting the most vibrant East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural experiences, creating a central hub that makes it effortlessly simple for both enthusiasts and newcomers to discover and engage with music, arts, and cultural showcases. Our aim is to become the definitive online platform, where the richness of ESEA culture is celebrated, shared, and explored, bridging communities and fostering connections through the universal language of art and heritage.

NOVA ESEA

Your guide to the UK's best ESEA (East & Southeast Asian) music, arts, culture & more

GUIDE

Hyper Japan 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the UK's Biggest Japanese Culture Festival

East & Southeast Asian Food Guide London: Street Food, Restaurants, Supperclubs & Pop-Ups

East and Southeast Asian Events in London August 2026 - What's On Guide by NOVA ESEA

FEATURE

SHOKUDŌ: “But He’s Happy, Right?” From a Banking Job to Japanese Comfort Food in London

Wine The Noodles: Red Wine, Beef Noodles, and the Side of Taiwanese Food London Hasn't Seen

Muri: The Filipino Violinist-Singer Who Found Her Solo Sound Between Manila, Paris and London

Sosaku Onigiri: How Masami Brought Creative Japanese Onigiri to Shepherd's Bush

Physiolosophy: Zhi Wei on Why Pain Is Never Just Physical

K-Pop Concerts in London Summer 2026 Plus J-Pop, City Pop & More Asian Acts

Yokimono Japanese Market: How One Woman's Community Became East London's Favourite Japanese Market

Best Bánh Mì in London: Vietnamese Sandwich Spots Worth Seeking Out

Nha Trang Kitchen: Vietnamese Street Food Stall Built on One Family's Recipes

ABOUT

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