Chef Daniel Calvert almost didn’t make it to the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony this year as his wife had just given birth. Fortunately he turned up.
His modern French restaurant Sezanne, located in Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, took top honours for the first time in the 12th edition of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. The live ceremony was held on Tuesday night (Mar 26) in Seoul at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. The second to fifth placings went to Tokyo’s Florilege (No. 2), Bangkok’s Gaggan Anand (No. 3) and Hong Kong’s The Chairman (No. 4) and Wing (No. 5) respectively. Wing also won The Highest Climber award for stratospherically ascent of 32 places.
Calvert paid tribute to his restaurant team, adding: “Japan has the highest concentration of best chefs and restaurants on the planet. For us to be number one in Asia, we couldn’t have done it without the support of our guests and our community like the producers in Japan.” Sezanne had entered the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at No. 17 in 2020 and was No. 2 last year.
Chef Daniel Calvert's (second from left) Sezanne in Tokyo took the top honours this year. (Photo: Asia's 50 Best Restaurants)
A total of 19 cities are represented on this year’s list, whose establishments were voted by a gender-balanced panel of 318 experts from Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy comprising food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary leaders. Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo had eight, six and five winners respectively. Host city Seoul secured four spots as did Shanghai. These cities had one representative each: Osaka, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Wakayama, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Macau, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.
There was a momentary stunned silence in the packed ballroom when last year’s winner, Bangkok’s Le Du, was announced at No. 12. Its sister restaurant Nusara (No. 6) walked away with the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality award.
Kevin Wong (Photo: Seroja)
There were also rises and falls among Singapore’s winners. Seroja, helmed by Malaysian chef Kevin Wong, made a stunning debut on the list at No. 31, claiming the Highest New Entry award. Lolla (No. 43), helmed by last year’s Best Female chef Johanne Siy, is also a new entry. Burnt Ends (No. 15), Euphoria (No. 20) and Born (No.25) rose nine, five and 11 places respectively while Odette (No. 10), Labryinth (No. 30), Meta (No. 28) and Les Amis (No.38) dropped from their previous positions of sixth, 11th, 17th and 27th.
Seroja’s chef-owner Kevin Wong said: “We’re very happy with the results. We didn’t expect it, obviously. We just cook everyday and believe in what we were doing.”
Lolla’s Siy was “elated” at her restaurant being ranked for the first time. She said: “It gives a lot of reassurance to the team. We have been putting a lot of focus on the customer experience, the simple enjoyment of food. Getting here with just our customers spreading the word, to me, is fantastic.”
Johanne Siy (Photo: CNA/Aik Chen)
Several special awards were also given out last night. Beijing’s plant-based restaurant Lamdre won the American Express One to Watch award, given to a restaurant who is deemed mostly likely to break into the list the following year. Hong Kong’s veteran chef and restaurateur Danny Yip received The Icon Award for his commitment to procuring locally-sourced ingredients for his Cantonese restaurant The Chairman and advocacy for local artisans and producers.
Bangkok-based Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij was crowned Asia’s Best Female Chef. Her restaurant Potong, which serves a 20-course tasting menu where traditional recipes are given an avant-garde touch, climbs up 18 spots to No. 17. Its city counterpart, farm-to-table and zero-waste Indian restaurant Haoma (No. 90) took home the Sustainable Restaurant Award. Kevin Lu of Taiwan’s Logy (No. 22) was named Asia’s Best Sommelier while Mineko Kato from Tokyo’s Faro is Asia’s Best Pastry Chef. Korean restaurant Mosu’s Sung Anh took home the peer-voted Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award.
This award ceremony for this year's edition of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants was held in Seoul at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. (Photo: Asia's 50 Best Restaurants)
The 51-100 rankings was released earlier this month, with Singapore and Tokyo dominating the list with eight restaurants each. Singapore’s Mustard Seed, an unassuming 13-seater in the Serangoon suburbs serving a kaiseki-style, multi-course tasting menu, made a surprise debut at No. 81 on a list typically dotted by those with marketing clout. Contemporary Chinese restaurant Peach Blossoms also made a worthy entrance at No. 74. The other Singapore restaurants are Jaan by Kirk Westaway (No. 53), Zen (No. 57), Thevar (No. 72), Nae:um (No. 73), Summer Pavilion (No.75) and Cloudstreet (No. 82).
Here is the list of winners for 2024:
*new entry
*re-entry
1. Sézanne (Tokyo)
The dining area at Sezanne. (Photo: Sezanne)
2. Florilège (Tokyo)
3. Gaggan Anand (Bangkok)
4. The Chairman (Hong Kong)
5. Wing (Hong Kong)
(Photo: Nusara)
6. Nusara (Bangkok) Gin Mare Hospitality Award
7. Sühring (Bangkok)
8. Den (Tokyo)
9. La Cime (Osaka)
10. Odette (Singapore)
11. Sorn (Bangkok)
12. Le Du (Bangkok)
13. Mingles (Seoul)
14. Narisawa (Tokyo)
15. Burnt Ends (Singapore)
16. Neighbourhood (Hong Kong)
17. Potong (Bangkok)
18. 7th Door (Seoul)
(Photo: 7th Door)
19. Fu He Hui (Shanghai)
20. Euphoria (Singapore)
21. Onjium (Seoul)
22. Logy (Taipei)
23. Masque (Mumbai)
24. Toyo Eatery (Manila)
25. Born (Singapore)
26. Indian Accent (New Delhi)
(Photo: Indian Accent)
27. Mono (Hong Kong)
28. Meta (Singapore)
29. Samrub Samrub Thai (Bangok)**
30. Labryinth (Singapore)
31. Seroja (Singapore)
32. Caprice (Hong Kong)
33. JL Studio (Taichung) **
Ikan assam pedas using hamachi wrapped in white radish. The assam is made with local fermented starfruit to replace the usual tamarind. (Photo: JL Studio)
34. Mume (Taipei)
35. Villa Aida (Wakayama)
36. Ling Long (Shanghai) *
37. Ando (Hong Kong) *
38. Les Amis (Singapore)
39. Sazenka (Tokyo)
40. 102 House (Shanghai)*
41. Mosu (Seoul)
42. Baan Tepa (Bangkok)
43. Lolla (Singapore) *
44. Avartana (Chennai)
45. Goh (Fukuoka)*
46. August (Jakarta)*
(Photo: August)
47. Cenci (Kyoto)
48. Anan Saigon (Ho Chi Minh)
49. Chef Tam’s Seasons (Macau)
50. Meet the Bund (Shanghai) *
Continue reading...
His modern French restaurant Sezanne, located in Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, took top honours for the first time in the 12th edition of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. The live ceremony was held on Tuesday night (Mar 26) in Seoul at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. The second to fifth placings went to Tokyo’s Florilege (No. 2), Bangkok’s Gaggan Anand (No. 3) and Hong Kong’s The Chairman (No. 4) and Wing (No. 5) respectively. Wing also won The Highest Climber award for stratospherically ascent of 32 places.
Calvert paid tribute to his restaurant team, adding: “Japan has the highest concentration of best chefs and restaurants on the planet. For us to be number one in Asia, we couldn’t have done it without the support of our guests and our community like the producers in Japan.” Sezanne had entered the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list at No. 17 in 2020 and was No. 2 last year.
Chef Daniel Calvert's (second from left) Sezanne in Tokyo took the top honours this year. (Photo: Asia's 50 Best Restaurants)
A total of 19 cities are represented on this year’s list, whose establishments were voted by a gender-balanced panel of 318 experts from Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy comprising food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary leaders. Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo had eight, six and five winners respectively. Host city Seoul secured four spots as did Shanghai. These cities had one representative each: Osaka, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Wakayama, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Macau, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.
There was a momentary stunned silence in the packed ballroom when last year’s winner, Bangkok’s Le Du, was announced at No. 12. Its sister restaurant Nusara (No. 6) walked away with the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality award.
Kevin Wong (Photo: Seroja)
There were also rises and falls among Singapore’s winners. Seroja, helmed by Malaysian chef Kevin Wong, made a stunning debut on the list at No. 31, claiming the Highest New Entry award. Lolla (No. 43), helmed by last year’s Best Female chef Johanne Siy, is also a new entry. Burnt Ends (No. 15), Euphoria (No. 20) and Born (No.25) rose nine, five and 11 places respectively while Odette (No. 10), Labryinth (No. 30), Meta (No. 28) and Les Amis (No.38) dropped from their previous positions of sixth, 11th, 17th and 27th.
Seroja’s chef-owner Kevin Wong said: “We’re very happy with the results. We didn’t expect it, obviously. We just cook everyday and believe in what we were doing.”
Lolla’s Siy was “elated” at her restaurant being ranked for the first time. She said: “It gives a lot of reassurance to the team. We have been putting a lot of focus on the customer experience, the simple enjoyment of food. Getting here with just our customers spreading the word, to me, is fantastic.”
Johanne Siy (Photo: CNA/Aik Chen)
Several special awards were also given out last night. Beijing’s plant-based restaurant Lamdre won the American Express One to Watch award, given to a restaurant who is deemed mostly likely to break into the list the following year. Hong Kong’s veteran chef and restaurateur Danny Yip received The Icon Award for his commitment to procuring locally-sourced ingredients for his Cantonese restaurant The Chairman and advocacy for local artisans and producers.
Bangkok-based Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij was crowned Asia’s Best Female Chef. Her restaurant Potong, which serves a 20-course tasting menu where traditional recipes are given an avant-garde touch, climbs up 18 spots to No. 17. Its city counterpart, farm-to-table and zero-waste Indian restaurant Haoma (No. 90) took home the Sustainable Restaurant Award. Kevin Lu of Taiwan’s Logy (No. 22) was named Asia’s Best Sommelier while Mineko Kato from Tokyo’s Faro is Asia’s Best Pastry Chef. Korean restaurant Mosu’s Sung Anh took home the peer-voted Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award.
This award ceremony for this year's edition of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants was held in Seoul at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. (Photo: Asia's 50 Best Restaurants)
The 51-100 rankings was released earlier this month, with Singapore and Tokyo dominating the list with eight restaurants each. Singapore’s Mustard Seed, an unassuming 13-seater in the Serangoon suburbs serving a kaiseki-style, multi-course tasting menu, made a surprise debut at No. 81 on a list typically dotted by those with marketing clout. Contemporary Chinese restaurant Peach Blossoms also made a worthy entrance at No. 74. The other Singapore restaurants are Jaan by Kirk Westaway (No. 53), Zen (No. 57), Thevar (No. 72), Nae:um (No. 73), Summer Pavilion (No.75) and Cloudstreet (No. 82).
Here is the list of winners for 2024:
*new entry
*re-entry
1. Sézanne (Tokyo)
The dining area at Sezanne. (Photo: Sezanne)
2. Florilège (Tokyo)
3. Gaggan Anand (Bangkok)
4. The Chairman (Hong Kong)
5. Wing (Hong Kong)
(Photo: Nusara)
6. Nusara (Bangkok) Gin Mare Hospitality Award
7. Sühring (Bangkok)
8. Den (Tokyo)
9. La Cime (Osaka)
10. Odette (Singapore)
11. Sorn (Bangkok)
12. Le Du (Bangkok)
13. Mingles (Seoul)
14. Narisawa (Tokyo)
15. Burnt Ends (Singapore)
16. Neighbourhood (Hong Kong)
17. Potong (Bangkok)
18. 7th Door (Seoul)
(Photo: 7th Door)
19. Fu He Hui (Shanghai)
20. Euphoria (Singapore)
21. Onjium (Seoul)
22. Logy (Taipei)
23. Masque (Mumbai)
24. Toyo Eatery (Manila)
25. Born (Singapore)
26. Indian Accent (New Delhi)
(Photo: Indian Accent)
27. Mono (Hong Kong)
28. Meta (Singapore)
29. Samrub Samrub Thai (Bangok)**
30. Labryinth (Singapore)
31. Seroja (Singapore)
32. Caprice (Hong Kong)
33. JL Studio (Taichung) **
Ikan assam pedas using hamachi wrapped in white radish. The assam is made with local fermented starfruit to replace the usual tamarind. (Photo: JL Studio)
34. Mume (Taipei)
35. Villa Aida (Wakayama)
36. Ling Long (Shanghai) *
37. Ando (Hong Kong) *
38. Les Amis (Singapore)
39. Sazenka (Tokyo)
40. 102 House (Shanghai)*
41. Mosu (Seoul)
42. Baan Tepa (Bangkok)
43. Lolla (Singapore) *
44. Avartana (Chennai)
45. Goh (Fukuoka)*
46. August (Jakarta)*
(Photo: August)
47. Cenci (Kyoto)
48. Anan Saigon (Ho Chi Minh)
49. Chef Tam’s Seasons (Macau)
50. Meet the Bund (Shanghai) *
Continue reading...