Have you walked past this window display at Rivington Place in East London?

It was designed by Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté. The 7 metre-wide (23 ft) textile was created especially for the window at Rivington Place. It was inspired by the striking plumage of the guinea fowl, and communicates the artist’s political concerns about the relationship between power and religion in Africa.

Abdoulaye Konaté was born in Mali in 1953 and still lives and works in the country.

The temporary window display has just been taken down (it was on display in December and early January) – so tell us, where else can you find Malian culture in London?

Linking music venues across East London and the small east African nation, Lake of Stars Malawi International Arts Festival is a festival like no other.

Held every September on the shores of Lake Malawi, the event brings together musicians, artists and festival goers from Malawi, the UK and beyond, to enjoy the music, soak up the atmosphere and savour Malawi’s unique culture.

The brainchild of Will Jameson, the festival itself has been running for eight years and is now Malawi’s number one annual tourist event. The 2010 festival generated more than $1,000,000 of local spend, and employed more than a hundred local people.

Last year’s festival featured more than 80 acts including Foals, Goldierocks and Vampire Weekend’s Baio and received rave reviews from the music press, as well as support from organisations keen to promote a positive image of African arts, people and tourism destinations.

When not in Malawi, the London-based team holds a number of fundraising events in the capital throughout the year.

Their 2011 Market Club on Sundays at RichMix combined market stalls, sport and music, and club nights have also been staged at the Union Chapel, Paradise and East Village.

The Lake of Stars Festival will return to Malawi later this year [update: festival will no longer take place in 2012 but will return in 2013], along with various nights of live music across London. Check the Lake of Stars Festival website for future dates.

Shreena Soomarah is a copywriter whose parents emigrated from Mauritius more than 30 years ago.

There is no one race, religion, cuisine, or way of life that defines Mauritius. Much like London, life there is a cosmopolitan existence.  No wonder the two cultures get on so well, and so many Mauritians choose London as their second home.

There are a few places you can find Mauritian culture in London:

• The Mauritian Open Air Festival takes place each July in Down Lane Park, Tottenham, and offers Mauritian cuisine and performances by some of the biggest names in Mauritian music
• Tune into Spectrum Radio, a radio station based in Clapham, to hear Mauritian sega and soca music, plus programmes dedicated to the Mauritian community in the UK
• The first Mauritian post office stamps are among the rarest in the world and can be viewed as part of the Tapling Collection at the British Library.  Dating back to 1847, only 500 of each value were produced
• At the Natural History Museum, you can see a native Dodo.  These are a Mauritian emblem, having been made extinct when the country was colonised

Where else can you find Mauritian culture in London? Let us know in the comments below.

We really enjoyed this footage of Mongolian music at the BBC Proms. Check out the amazing “thin whistling overtone singing” three minutes into the video.

The Human Planet Prom on 23 July also featured video projections and excerpts from Nitin Sawhney’s score for the popular BBC One series Human Planet.

The BBC Proms continue for another few weeks, culminating with Proms in the Park and the famous Last Night of the Proms on 10 September.

Do you know of more Mongolian culture in London? Let us know in the comments below

Spice up your summer with a visit to the Moroccan Garden at Meza Bar & Grill in Soho.

The restaurant is offering both the taste and feel of Marrakech to visitors this month, as it has transformed its atrium into a Bedouin tent serving Moroccan-style mezze.

Enjoy dishes including marinated lamb and merguez kebabs; nut tabbouleh and saffron yoghurt; and harisa aubergines, while taking in the colours and scents of the Middle East.

Moroccan Garden at Meza until 31 Aug 2011

Where else can you find Moroccan culture in London? Let us know in the comments below.

London is home to plenty of Malaysian restaurants and once a year, you can experience the best of them in one place.

For the second year running, Malaysia Night is transforming Trafalgar Square into a Malaysian Pasar Malam (night market) where a selection of the capital’s Malaysian restaurants will offer up authentic Malaysian dishes from stalls on the square.

Sample Malaysian street food-inspired dishes including laksa, nasi goreng, satay and beef rendang. You can even buy Malaysian ingredients if you’d like to recreate some of the dishes at home.

You can also enjoy some traditional Malaysian entertainment with performance, arts and crafts.

This year’s Malaysia Night is taking place on 23 September  so put the date in your diary now.

See what happened at last year’s Malaysia Night:

Malaysia Night, 23 Sep 2011, Trafalgar Square www.malaysiakitchen.co.uk

But there’s one more thing: this year a little piece of the Mediterranean is coming to London as the Principality of Monaco is launching its first ever garden at Chelsea Flower Show.

The garden was commission by Prince Albert II and will represent a private roof garden in Monaco. It is designed to reflect the natural topography and geography of Monaco and will be planted with a wide range of exotic plants from the region.

In keeping with Prince Albert’s reputation as The Green Prince, the garden will focus on sustainability, including a flat roof system that collects rain for use in water features and a pool that is naturally filtered.

Award-winning British gardener Sarah Eberle commented:

“I am delighted to be the designer selected to work with a dedicated team, including designers, administrators and advisors, in bringing an exciting conceptual garden to Chelsea that reflects the character, personality and vibrancy of Monaco.

“I have been involved in the industry for 35 years, and in designing and constructing show gardens for 20 of those years. I can honestly say that this is one of, if not the most exciting project that I have worked on and I promise you all a garden that will delight and excite the senses.”

See the Monaco garden at the Chelsea Flower Show,  24-28 May 2011. Book tickets

Where else can you find Monegasque culture in London? Tell us in the comments below.

Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/toastyoneuk

For our Myanmar [Burma] in London post we asked Htein Lin, a Burmese artist who was part of last year’s last year’s Burmese Art Festival, to write this roundup of where to find Burmese people, culture and food in London. Htein Lin is a former political prisoner who moved to London in 2006 on marrying the British Ambassador to Burma.  He lives near the Oval.

There are thousands of Burmese living in London, most of whom have arrived as doctors, students or refugees since the military took over in 1962, as well as many others of Anglo-Burmese and Burmese-Indian heritage tracing their roots back to the colonial period. While there is no Burmese quarter, many live near to the five Burmese Buddhist monasteries in Wembley, Hounslow, Colindale, Whitton and Beckton.

Both the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum have some Burmese items on display, mostly Buddha statues, including a large early 19th-century Buddha which forms the centrepiece of the BM’s Hotung Gallery.

Nobel Prize winning dissident Aung San Suu Kyi studied at SOAS [University of London's School of Oriental and Asian Studies]  in the 1970s, and it is the only place in the UK where you can learn Burmese as part of a full degree or in evening courses. Her father Aung San visited London in 1947, staying at the Dorchester, and signed an agreement with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 10 Downing Street. Longstanding dictator General Ne Win used to holiday in a house in Victoria Road, Wimbledon and visit the races.

The Mandalay restaurant on Edgware Road is the best-known Burmese restaurant in London and good value. During the daytime try the Yadana Café near North End Market in Fulham. For take-away and outside catering we recommend Mum’s House, which also stocks Burmese ingredients like leq-peq (pickled tea), as does the Shwe Mandalay Oriental Supermarket in Hounslow.

The Britain Burma Society meets six times a year at the Medical Society in Chandos Place W1 bringing together people with an interest in Burma for a lecture and social event.

The London monasteries are the centre of Burmese cultural activity and events, including the Thingyan New Year Water Festival in mid-April, Buddha Day in May, and the start and end of Lent in July and October. Ethnic Minority students also organise New Year’s events such as the Shan (December), Kachin (January) and Mon (February).

The other Burmese social centre is the pavement outside the Burmese Embassy at 19A Charles street W1, which regularly hosts demonstrations against the military government by exiled Burmese: 4 January (Independence Day), 27 March (Resistance Day) and 18 September (when the military came to power) are likely days for a demo.

Have you experienced Burmese culture in London? Tell us about it in the comments below.

The Malta in London post for our World in London series comes from Malta-born Ann Fenech whose blog annuca.wordpress.com documents her life in London.

Being such a small country, Malta cannot compete in terms of size of the Maltese community in London, or Maltese restaurants, or anything that goes down that line of thought. However, London has been a destination for Maltese people for quite some time now, so once I learnt where to look I could find some of the home comforts I would otherwise miss out on.

My biggest disappointment when I moved to London two years ago was that I could not get my favourite Maltese soft drink in the UK. For a good chunk of these years, people coming over to visit me lugged packs of it over here for me. However, things changed this summer: Kinnie arrived in London!

Kinnie is “a lightly carbonated [softdrink] with an infusion of unique aromatic flavours and energetic twists of bitter and sweet oranges”. You can definitely tell it’s a favourite of the Maltese as when you go to buy it in the shops in the West End (where it is stocked), you’re immediately asked about your link to Malta!

Maltese products in London are not just Kinnie though! The one big event where everything Maltese is brought together under one roof is Malta Day organised each September by the Maltese Culture Movement. There, besides ready-cooked snacks such as timpana (baked pasta) and qassatat (pastry filled with a ricotta filling), you can also buy packs of pastizzi (Maltese cheesecakes and peacakes), ravjul (pasta parcels), or whatever you want to stock up on for the rest of the year.

Food-related things are not the only Maltese product you can find here. London is also a destination for Maltese musicians. One of the most popular Maltese artists in London right now is singer/songwriter Carrie Haber, who won the title of best songwriter and best female artist in the 2009 Malta Music Awards. And of course there is Tiffany Pisani, the Maltese girl who won Britian’s Next Top Model this year.

So you can not only get some Maltese food and drink, but also Maltese entertainment. How’s that for a full package?

Have you been to Malta Day or found any other examples of Malta in London? Tell us in the comments below

A short walk from Euston station, the Mexican restaurant Mestizo offers a great taste of Mexico without any need to leave NW1.

When I visited on Friday, I was greeted by an exquisite, colourful, intricately decorated altar. This Dia de los Muertos altar (an altar for the Mexican Day of the Dead, our Halloween) contains all the traditional elements required for such a display: candles, salt, earth, sugar skulls, marigolds, water, tequila, and photos and favourite foods of the “dear departed” are all presented on the traditional seven steps, and swathed in a bright orange cut paper backcloth.

Our host, Brian, had created the altar that day, along with Luz Elena Ruesga (the wife of Sr Ignacio Duran, the Minister of Culture at the Mexican Embassy), her friend Alejandro Guajardo, and UK-based Mexican artist Javier Calderon.

Over a delicious frozen margarita, Brian explained Mestizo’s position as one of London’s most authentic Mexican restaurants. As well as being owned by Mexicans, and having a female head chef from Mexico (Dalcy Aguilera), Mestizo’s staff are also from Mexico. When the Mexican Embassy hosts events, they’ll often use Mestizo as caterers. When Mexican sports teams are in town, they choose Mestizo for their post-match celebrations. And with more than 200 varieties of tequila, surely more than any other restaurant / bar in London, Mestizo’s unique credentials are there for everyone to see, taste, and knock back in a variety of simple shot glasses.

Pop in, and you can take your pick from traditional dishes like Guajolote en Mole Poblano, Crepas de Cuitlacoche and authentic Tacos in soft flour or corn tortillas loaded with your choice of delicious fillings. You won’t be disappointed.

Aside from the fantastic food and drink on offer, Mestizo also hosts cultural events. From tomorrow, there’ll be a fantastic exhibition of original photos from the famous Casasola Archive of the Mexican revolution, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the revolution. And on 20 November, the Dia de la Revolucion itself, don’t miss Mestizo’s special commemoration party, in the event space downstairs from the restaurant.

Do you have any more tips for finding a taste of Mexico in London? Let us know in the comments below.