Four Winds Mahjong Club started after volunteers at ESEA Community Centre realised that younger East and South East Asian (ESEA) folks wanted to learn how to play mahjong. It’s become a space for ESEA people to connect and heal, especially post-COVID and with the rise of anti-Asian hate. Now a volunteer-run club, we host regular mahjong sessions and special events, teaching mahjong and bringing ESEA people and allies together to foster a sense of community and belonging.

Four Winds Mahjong Club

 is powered by Hinge's “One More Hour” — an initiative to foster IRL connection, one hour at a time.

, which means that there’s a lack of spaces to meet people, IRL. At the same time, we’re spending 

, and people are increasingly yearning for offline connection and digital detox.

 was launched to fill this gap and bring people together over shared interests and/or new hobbies.  The demand has been palpable: both our London and New York events sold out within hours.

, dozens were queuing down the Mall to get into sessions powered by 

’s climbing-focused yoga session combined soft beats and vibe lighting for a relaxing and focused start to the day in the theatre space. Meanwhile, the shuffle Mahjong commenced in the upper bar as 

 taught beginners the popular Chinese tile game.

A little while later in the upper gallery, the 

began their respective workshops on crafting lace bookmarks and pickling vegetables to make a Jamaican escovitch dish, while 

screened shorts and hosted Q&As with directors. 

“It’s nice to be out in a space where it's not focussed on drinking. This takes into account different activities and getting you exposed to new things,” said Gabriella. “That’s why we came—we wanted to try something new.

For anyone in need of a break by midday, London DJ OK Williams was on hand with a meditation session—combining ambient audiovisual stimulants to enhance a deep listening experience in the theatre space, before the afternoon programme kicked off.

“It's so wholesome to see the amazing community this event has brought together,” said attendee Joelle during the seed planting workshop. “Also, just having a space where everyone can come and relax is really what people need right now. Taking a deep breath has been my favourite part.”

Assemble wrapped up after a buzzing day of varied, fun and interactive events—with attendees walking out of the ICA with home plant pots, over-the-shoulder climbing bags and lace bookmarks. And hopefully, a few new friends, too.

 platform for information on upcoming events, and our 

to find hobby and interest groups in a city new you.


United Kingdom

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Doing Stuff, Together: Assemble Lands in London

There's a growing demand for digital detox spaces across London, and mahjong is playing an important role in offering people new ways to 

 A Chinese tile game that dates from the 19th century, 

 is experiencing a renaissance as younger generations take up the game to preserve and celebrate cultural traditions.

After a few hugely popular intro lessons, the founders of Four Winds Mahjong Club made gaming a weekly fixture at the ESEA Community Centre. Now, every Saturday, the space hums with the rhythmic click of tiles as Four Winds brings together a new generation of players.

"The sound of the tiles is quite nostalgic for people. It’s linked to lineage and personal history.” says 

In this guide, Four Winds highlights some of their favourite East and Southeast Asian-owned businesses in the city. Much like mahjong isn’t just about playing a game, and community centres are more than physical spaces, these spots are hubs where stories are shared, people are connected and culture is celebrated.

Located in Dalston, ESEA Community Centre (ESEACC) is the new incarnation of Hackney Chinese Community Services, which has served as the local hub for East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) communities for over 30 years. The centre hosts lunch clubs for the elderly, provides advice services, as well as a social space for karaoke, table tennis and Chinese tabletop games. 

The Steam Room has developed a local cult following in the neighbourhood since Tony Chung took over his father’s takeaway on Kingsland Road in 2004. Since then, Tony and his wife Fran have turned it into a dry cleaning business, housing a shop that supports and sells merch from local East and Southeast Asian creatives, as well as an event space in the basement, which has hosted supper clubs, pop up restaurants and more. Spot Four Winds members wearing their iconic Mahjong Club t-shirt with Tony’s face on it!

Yiran Duan, grew up on an indigo farm in Dali, southwest China, and founded Yi Crafts in 2019. Yi Crafts runs traditional craft workshops, such as embroidery, stitching, natural dyeing, woodblock printing, paper cutting, and sells beautiful artisanal wares made using traditional techniques by Chinese ethnic minorities like the Bai ethnic minority, which Yiran and her family are members of. Some of us attended Yiran’s Chinese knot-making workshop over Lunar New Year!

Sik Faan is a family-run cafe in Kentish Town, owned by David Chu, who used to volunteer with us at Four Winds! You’ll find hearty Cantonese and Vietnamese comfort food, such as bao, pho, rice and bowls, as well as mahjong socials on Saturday afternoons.

When would you ever have the chance to see an exhibition on food replicas and buy all the cool Japanese stationery you never knew you needed!? Japan House is a great place to learn about Japanese culture and its traditions. They’ve always got interesting exhibitions and amazing craft demonstrations for you to enjoy.

You can't visit London without visiting its legendary Chinatown, home to a host of East and Southeast Asian restaurants, bakeries, and dessert parlours. We love a good dim sum hang at Golden Phoenix, New Loon Fung, Tao Tao Ju and Lido. Make sure to also visit Guanghwa, the UK's only brick and mortar Chinese bookshop, open since 1971 and which also hosts calligraphy workshops, painting and seal carving.

My Neighbours the Dumplings is a family run Chinese dumpling house. They specialise in handmade dumplings, rolled fresh everyday in Hackney. Although not strictly a dim sum restaurant, they follow the dim sum style of eating; lots of small dishes that are shared among the table. When Four Winds first started, we used to host monthly Sunday sessions at MNTD — last year we even hosted Mahjong Singles Nights there! 

Popular among the Four Winds members, Cernamic is a pottery studio based in Stoke Newington and Deptford founded by ceramists Nam Tran and Susi Huang. There’s a strong sense of community at Cernamic and one of their missions is to make pottery accessible to anyone willing to give it a try by keeping classes affordable and membership diverse. Try a taster class or go for their multi-week beginners’ courses.

If you want to experience the hustle and bustle of a typical Asian food court this is the place to be! Want to start off your meal with some Korean fried chicken only to wash it down with some traditional Indian masala dosa? Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall has you covered! We’ve been known to make the pilgrimage to Bang Bang Oriental on occasion – one of our committee members goes to Golden Dragon with her parents for a good old fashioned Canto dinner too. If somehow you are still looking for more food after your visit, check out the directory for ESEA food businesses, a list of caterers, restaurants and ESEA businesses, compiled by writer and community organiser Jenny Lau aka Celestial Peach. 

Lahpet is a Burmese restaurant with locations in Shoreditch, Covent Garden and Bermondsey; our fave dishes include the tea leaf salad and hake masala. Head chef Min Maung also sometimes volunteers at ESEA Cooks for the Community, a volunteer-led supper club hosted at Camden Chinese Community Centre where all the proceeds go towards the centre — we were lucky enough to enjoy a five-course Burmese dinner cooked by Min himself!