Spotlight on Asia

Hidden Treasure: The Wonders of Burmese Cuisine

With influences from China, India, and Thailand, along with its own unique qualities, we investigate the best Burmese dishes and highlight some of the restaurants in Rangoon where you can find them.

Akram Khan: Crafting a Narrative of Dance

Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated contemporary choreographers in the world. Khan fuses Kathak, a deeply traditional Indian dance form, with the innovative flair of contemporary performance.

Culinary Concoctions: Ten Great Restaurants in Singapore

Here are the top ten restaurants in Singapore which experiment with pushing culinary boundaries whilst intertwining traditional flavours.

China’s New Landscape of Dutch Windmills and French Chateaux

China’s facsimile cities continue to fascinate, fueling heated controversy, elaborate punditry and witty blog posts.

A Cautionary Critique: Ten Contemporary Chinese Novels

Chinese novelists today write about the increasingly capitalistic and consumer-centred world they see and experience.

Roy Lichtenstein: Shaping Tokyo's Sculptural Landscape

Lichtenstein not only produced Pop Art masterpieces but developed a sculptural language. His brushstroke sculptures are part of cityscapes worldwide, and here we focus on the 1994 Tokyo Brushstroke.

The Foreigner behind the Mask in Traditional Japanese Theatre

Zvika Serper is the only Westerner to have mastered the classical forms of Japanese theatre: Noh, Kyogen and Kabuki.

Gateway to India: Five Museums to Visit in Mumbai

Mumbai is the cultural and financial centre of India, and has been since the heyday of the British Raj, when it was known as Bombay. Mumbai's fascinating museums highlight the cultural heritage of this thriving metropolis.

Reflections on Winter at the 2013 Central Asian Pavilion

For the 5th time, the Central Asian Pavilion in the Palazzo Malipiero features a collaboration between four Central Asian countries. This year's pavilion includes works by eight artists and centres on the theme of 'Winter'.

From Ozu to Kitano: Ten Best Japanese Directors

The history of cinema in Japan is a long one, back to the late 19th century. We feature ten of the best Japanese directors and their works, from understated family dramas to shockingly violent exploitation films.

Life and Death in Banaras: Photos of Sumit Basu

Sumit Basu’s evocative photos of Banaras, or Varanasi as it’s commonly known, reveal the profound spirituality of this city, and the way in which the rituals of death and birth are intertwined with the daily routine of life.

Snapshots of Old Hong Kong

Hong Kong, a financial powerhouse in East Asia, has also built a regional reputation for excellent food, good shopping and gritty action films. Native Hong Kong resident Christian Yuen shares his favourite, off-beat views of the real Hong Kong.

Intro to Korean Cuisine: 10 Best Restaurants in Seoul

Seoul’s wide array of restaurants, bars and market stalls encapsulate the riches of Korean cuisine, which is being recognised for its complexity and sophistication, beyond the traditional favourites of barbecue and kimchee.

Han Bing's 'Walking the Cabbage' Photo Series

From Ginza to Times Square, from Tiananmen to Champs-Elysées, Han Bing and his cabbage have travelled the world. Through his photographic series, Han Bing asks viewers to stop and consider: What do we hurtle towards? And at what cost?

Collage and Consumption: The Art of Jazel Kristin Villamarin

Jazel Kristin is an artist from the Philippines whose work incorporates collage, and other forms of media in a beguiling assault on the senses by juxtaposing the ordinary and the uncanny.