Image Credits: Facebook/Asia's 50 Best RestaurantsFeb 28th 2016 may have been landmark for the Oscars, but it was last night that could be referred to as the Food Oscars for Asia. Asia's 50 Best Restaurants were announced in an awards ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand. For the second year in a row – (Drumroll, please) – Gaggan Bangkok snagged the Number 1 position. And that is no mean feat. This Punjabi boy from Kolkata has been breaking ground with his thoughtful take on contemporary Indian cuisine, and experimenting with it, refreshingly. He unlocked the potential of Indian food and put it on the global culinary map. Gaggan's mantra is simple, “I keep pushing the envelope, trying new recipes and even reworking the old ones. It's a constant challenge to innovate, to keep the culinary experience exciting for our customers. People want to eat food, not stories. So I don't put a dish on the menu till I know it's good enough for me. Because at the end of the day, if you don't get the flavour right, what's the point? Food has undoubtedly always been the real hero, not the chef”. We couldn't agree more.
Tokyo's Narisawa also retained its second place rank; and Singapore's Restaurant André rounded up the Top 3, followed by Hong Kong's Amber and Tokyo’s Nihonryori Ryugin. Chef Manish Mehrotra’s Indian Accent rose from number 22 last year to 9 for 2016, and has just opened in New York as well. Wasabi by Morimoto, Mumbai bagged rank 44 and Bukhara, New Delhi grabbed the 45th spot. Congratulations to all the chefs behind Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for ensuring that each dish that leaves the kitchen is nothing less than perfection. And to Gaggan Anand, creating magic on the plate. Every. Single. Time.
Here's the complete list of this year's winners:1. GAGGAN
Bangkok, Thailand
2. NARISAWA
Singapore4. AMBER
Hong Kong, China5. NIHONRYORI RYUGIN
Tokyo, Japan6. WAKU GHIN
Singapore7. ULTRAVIOLET BY PAUL PAIRET
Shanghai, China8. NAHM
Bangkok, Thailand9. INDIAN ACCENT
New Delhi, India
10. LUNG KING HEEN
Hong Kong, China11. HAJIME
Osaka, Japan12. LES AMIS
Singapore13. 8 1/2 OTTO E MEZZO BOMBANA
Hong Kong, China14. BURNT ENDS
Singapore15. MINGLES
Seoul, South Korea16. L'EFFERVESCENCE
Tokyo, Japan17. CORNER HOUSE
Singapore18. FU HE HUI
Shanghai, China19. ISSAYA SIAMESE CLUB
Bangkok, Thailand20. QUINTESSENCE
Tokyo, Japan21. SHINJI BY KANESAKA
Singapore22. JUNGSIK
Seoul, South Korea23. EAT ME
Bangkok, Thailand24. TAKAZAWA
Tokyo, Japan25. MINISTRY OF CRAB
Colombo, Sri Lanka26. SUSHI SAITO
Tokyo, Japan27. THE CHAIRMAN
Hong Kong, China28. MR AND MRS BUND
Shanghai, China29. JAAN
Singapore30. LE MOÛT
Taichung, Taiwan31. LA MAISON DE LA NATURE GOH
Fukuoka, Japan32. TIPPLING CLUB
Singapore33. TENKU RYUGIN
Hong Kong, China34. FOOK LAM MOON
Hong Kong, China35. ROBUCHON AU DÔME
Macau, China36. IGGY'S
Singapore37. DEN
Tokyo, Japan38. WILD ROCKET
Singapore39. GALLERY VASK
Manila, Philippines40. L'ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON
Hong Kong, China41. BO INNOVATION
Hong Kong, China42. KIKUNOI
Kyoto, Japan43. CUISINE WAT DAMNAK
Siem Reap, Cambodia44. WASABI BY MORIMOTO
Mumbai, India45. BUKHARA
New Delhi, India
46. RAW
Taipei, Taiwan47. NIHONBASHI
Colombo, Sri Lanka48. TA VIE
Hong Kong, China49. LOCAVORE
Bali, Indonesia50. LA YEON
Seoul, South Korea