Ever since The World’s 50 Best Restaurants was first published by William Reed Business Media back in 2002, a growing number of Asia-based restaurants started to surface on the annual list, catalyzing the start of the splinter category, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, which ran for the first time in 2013. To come up with a list of the region’s best restaurants, Asia is broken down into six regions, and from each region, 53 experts in the Asian restaurant scene—chefs, restaurateurs, food journalists, and highly-regarded foodies—are allotted seven votes to voice their opinions on which restaurants deserve recognition. To ensure fairness, panelists are given a set of voting rules, and sponsors, which include San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, have no votes or influence over the results.
In the third annual line-up of Asia’s best culinary establishments, Bangkok-based Indian restaurant Gaggan takes the top spot, the second year in a row a restaurant from Thailand’s capital ranked in at number one (last year’s spot went to Nahm). Although Thailand holds the top spot, China, Singapore, and Japan prove to be more influential culinary destinations in terms of numbers, boasting 16, 10, and eight restaurants on the list respectively. Indonesian restaurants are noticeably absent. Bali-based Sarong brought the country onto the radar last year but has since dropped off the rankings. Included below is the full list:
Asia’s 50 best Restaurants:
1. Gaggan; Bangkok 2. Narisawa; Tokyo 3. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet; Shanghai 4. Nihonryori Ryugin; Tokyo 5. Restaurant Andre; Singapore 6. Amber; Hong Kong 7. Nahm; Bangkok 8. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana; Hong Kong 9. Waku Ghin; Singapore 10. Jungsik; Seoul 11. Jaan; Singapore 12. L’Effervescence; Tokyo 13. Les Amis; Singapore 14. Hajime; Osaka 15. Fook Lam Moon; Hong Kong 16. Fu1015; Shanghai 17. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon; Hong Kong 18. Iggy’s; Singapore 19. He Fu Hui; Shanghai 20. Lung King Heen; Hong Kong 21. Mr and Mrs Bund; Shanghai 22. Indian Accent; New Delhi 23. Robuchon au Dôme; Macau 24. Tenku Ryugin; Hong Kong 25. Eat Me; Bangkok |
26. Le Mout; Taichung 27. Ryunique; Seoul 28. Bo Innovation; Hong Kong 29. Wasabi by Morimoto; Mumbai 30. Burnt Ends; Singapore 31. Nihonbashi; Colombo 32. Shinji by Kanesaka; Singapore 33. Takazawa; Tokyo 34. 28 Hubin Road; Hangzhou 35. The Chairman; Hong Kong 36. Tippling Club; Singapore 37. Bo.Lan; Bangkok 38. La Yeon; Seoul 39. Issaya Siamese Club; Bangkok 40. Sushi Saito; Tokyo 41. Bukhara; New Delhi 42. Caprice; Hong Kong 43. Ministry of Crab; Colombo 44. Sukiyabashi Jiro; Tokyo 45. Osteria Mozza; Singapore 46. Hakkasan; Shanghai 47. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck; Singapore 48. Antonio’s; Tagaytay (Philippines) 49. Quintessence; Tokyo 50. Cuisine Wat Damnak; Siam Reap |
For more information, visit The World’s 50 Best.