Indian eatery Gaggan in Bangkok topped this year’s list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, and consequently also bagged the best restaurant accolade in Thailand, it was announced, in Macau, during an awards ceremony Tuesday at Wynn Palace in Cotai.
It’s the fourth year in a row that Gaggan Anand’s restaurant has been named Asia’s No. 1 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants organisation.
Anand was one of many top chefs from Asia who took part in collaborating and networking pop-up activities as part of the Asia 50 Best events that began at Wynn Palace on Sunday.
The second best restaurant in Asia went to Den in Tokyo, which was also awarded best restaurant in Japan, followed by Florilège, also from Tokyo.
According to the organisation, the list is created by a group of more than 300 food writers and critics, chefs and restaurateurs across Asia, each of whom selects 10 restaurants and lists them by order of preference.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, the supporting entity of the event in Macau, said in her speech at the ceremony that the event was one of the main highlights of activities that mark the local “Year of Gastronomy”, just after Macau became a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
The Asia’s 50 Best list features several entries from Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, with only one restaurant from Macau that made it on the list, which is Jade Dragon, a two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant headed by chef Tam Kwok Fung.
Jade Dragon’s position in the list this year slipped to 35th from 32nd as a new entry in the list last year, together with The Tasting Room that ranked 39th, both of which are located in the City of Dreams resort in Cotai.
Tam told The Macau Post Daily last night after the ceremony that he was still very honoured to be listed for the second year, thanks to the whole culinary team at Jade Dragon.
“The personal touch is key to the quality of the service, you need to make guests feel welcome once they step into the restaurant,” Tam said, pointing out that it would take time for local restaurant operators to fully deliver high standards of their hospitality service before guests can experience it and spread the word, after which the restaurants would gain attention from organisations such as The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
“Macau is not that far from it. The high quality restaurants in Macau have impressed the world in the past 10 to 12 years, but for organisations to give recognition depends on the whole [ambience], it needs to be at the highest standard for 365 days a year,” he said.
Asia’s 50 best restaurants in 2018
1. Gaggan, Bangkok
2. Den, Tokyo
3. Florilege, Tokyo
4. Suhring, Bangkok
5. Odette, Singapore
6. Narisawa, Tokyo
7. Amber, Hong Kong
8. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai
9. Nihonryori Ryugin, Tokyo
10. Nahm, Bangkok
11. Mingles, Seoul
12. Burnt Ends, Singapore
13. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo, Hong Kong
14. Le Du, Bangkok
15. RAW, Taipei
16. Ta Vie, Hong Kong
17. La Cime, Osaka, Japan
18. Mume, Taipei
19. Indian Accent, India
20. L’Effervescence, Tokyo
21. Locavore, Bali
22. The Chairman, Hong Kong
23. Waku Ghin, Singapore
24. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong
25. Ministry of Crab, Sri Lanka
26. Jungsik, Seoul
27. Sushi Saito, Tokyo
28. Il Ristorante — Luca Fantin, Tokyo
29. Les Amis, Singapore
30. Fu He Hui, Shanghai
31. Paste, Bangkok
32. Neighborhood, Hong Kong
33. Eat Me, Bangkok
34. Hajime, Osaka
35. Jade Dragon, Macau
36. Corner House, Singapore
37. Bo.lan, Bangkok
38. Quintessence, Tokyo
39. Issaya Siamese Club, Bangkok
40. Belon, Hong Kong
41. Ronin, Hong Kong
42. TocToc, Seoul (new entry)
43. The Dining Room at the House on Sathorn, Bangkok
44. Jaan, Singapore
45. Nihonbashi, Sri Lanka
46. Caprice, Hong Kong
47. Shoun Ryugin, Taipei (new entry)
48. La Maison de La Nature Goh, Japan
49. Wasabi By Morimoto, Mumbai, India
50. Whitegrass, Singapore
