It’s that time of year when Asia’s culinary elite gather to name Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. As in 2018, this year's awards were held at the Wynn Palace in Macao. China has 16 restaurants on the list — four more than last year.
The only two mainland restaurants to make the list include Tony Lu’s upscale Chinese vegetarian restaurant, FuHeHui, which jumped the list one position to #29 and Shanghai’s Ultraviolet, helmed by Paul Pairet, which moved up two spots to #6. No mainland restaurants outside of Shanghai made the cut.
The dining room at Ultraviolet (left) and Paul Pairet (right), images courtesy Ultraviolet
Nine Hong Kong restaurants made the list.
Once #4 on the list, Richard Ekkebus’ contemporary French eatery, Amber, has dropped from last year's seventh position to #21. Belon secured the Highest Climber Award 2019 while 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana also moved up the list — landing at #15 and #12, respectively.
Last year's highest climber, Danny Yip’s Contemporary Cantonese destination, The Chairman, continued moving up from #22 to #11 while French-Japanese, Ta Vie moved from #33 down to #16. Purveyors of homey French-Italian cuisine, Neighborhood, as well as the French bisto, Belon, opened in 2016 by the Black Sheep Group, both came in lower than in 2018.
Opened in 2016, Vea is a new entrant to the list coming in at #34. After training with Daniel Bouloud at Restaurant Daniel in New York, Chef Vicky Cheng has returned to his native Hong Kong presenting French cuisine as it relates to his roots. Also new to the list is Seventh Son at #44, where you can expect traditional and elegant Cantonese fare.
Of the three Taipei restaurants to make the list, Mume and Shoun Ryugin both moved up while Raw fell 15 spots to #30.
Over in Macao where the awards were held, the Cantonese fine dining outlet Jade Dragon was awarded a spot at #27, eight spots higher than last year. Joining them on the list is Wing Le Palace at the Wynn, helmed by former Jade Dragon chef Tam Kwok Fung since 2018.
Image courtesy CatchOn
Singapore's Odette has dethroned Bangkok’s Gaggan (after four consecutive years) from the top honor. Den, Sühring and Florilège round out the top five, in that order.
Garima Arora (executive chef of Bangkok's Gaa) is the 2019 recipient of the hotly contested award Asia’s Best Female Chef. Her restaurant, Gaa is this year's Highest New Entry at #16.
The 2019 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list is sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna and run by William Reed Business Media who also run The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. This year’s seventh annual regional list was decided by “more than 300 restaurant industry experts in Asia.” See here for their manifesto.
Next up, all eyes are on Singapore as the host for Asia's 50 Best Bars on May 9 followed by the World's Best Restuarants on June 25.
Here is the full list of winners:
No. 1 Odette, Singapore
No. 2 Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 3. Den, Tokyo, Japan
No. 4 Sühring, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 5 Florilège, Tokyo, Japan
No. 6 Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, China
No. 7 Mume, Chinese Taipei
No. 8 Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan
No. 9 Nihonryoi Ryugin, Tokyo, Japan
No. 10 Burnt Ends, Singapore
No. 11 The Chairman, Hong Kong, China
No. 12 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong, China
No. 13 Mingles, Seoul, Korea
No. 14 La Cime, Osaka, Japan
No. 15 Belon, Hong Kong, China
No. 16 Gaa, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 17 Indian Accent, New Delhi, India
No. 18 Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, Tokyo, Japan
No. 19 Bo.Lan, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 20 Le Du, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 21 Amber, Hong Kong, China
No. 22 Namh, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 23 Sazenka, Tokyo, Japan
No. 24 La Maison de la Nature Goh, Fukuoka, Japan
No. 25 Sushi Saito, Tokyo, Japan
No. 26 L’Effervescence, Tokyo, Japan
No. 27 Jade Dragon, Macao, China
No. 28 Paste, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 29 Fu He Hui, Shanghai, China
No. 30 Raw, Chinese Taipei
No. 31 Shoun Ryugin, Chinese Taipei
No. 32 Jaan, Singapore
No. 33 Les Amis, Singapore
No. 34 Vea, Hong Kong, China
No. 35 Ministry of Crab, Colombo, Sri Lanka
No. 36 Wing Lei Palace, Macao, China
No. 37 Neighborhood, Hong Kong, China
No. 38 Lung King Heen, Hong Kong, China
No. 39 Nouri, Singpore
No. 40 Waku Ghin, Singpore
No. 41 TocToc, Seoul, Korea
No. 42 Locavore, Bali, Indonesia
No. 43 Toyo Eatery, Manila, Philippines
No. 44 Seventh Son, Hong Kong, China
No. 45 Quintessence, Tokyo, Japan
No. 46 Dewakan, Kuala Lumpur
No. 47 Sugalabo, Tokyo, Japan
No. 48 Sorn, Bangkok, Thailand
No. 49 Corner House, Singapore
No. 50 Ta Vie, Hong Kong, China
[Images via Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, Pixabay (1), Pixabay (2)]
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