Nine HK restaurants among Asia’s 50 best

A Thai restaurant has been named “The S. Pellegrino Best Restaurant in Asia” at Asia’s 50 best restaurant awards in which nine Hong Kong restaurants were also listed.

Gaggan in Bangkok scooped the number one spot, rising from third place last year when it was also ranked seventeenth on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant.

Of the Hong Kong restaurants, the top placed were Amber which came in at sixth, 8½ Otto E Mezzo Bombana at eighth, Fook Lam Moon at fifteenth and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at seventeenth.

Amber’s head chef, Richard Ekkebus, was also the recipient of the Chef’s Choice Award, Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room was named Asia’s Best Femal Chef 2015, while one of Robuchon’s other outlets, Robuchon Au Dome in Macau rose 16 places from 2014 to twenty-third place.

Eight new entries were featured on the 2015 list, including first time listings for restaurants from the Philippines (Antonio’s No.48) and Cambodia (Cuisine Wat Damnak No.50). There were also new entries from Korea, Ryunique (No.27) and La Yeon (No.38), the latter earning the “One to Watch” award.

Sixteen Chinese restaurants were listed, Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (No.3) in Shanghai leading that pack, followed by 10 apiece for Singapore and Japan.

Restaurant André (No.5) in Singapore retained its title as that city’s best restaurant, while for the third consecutive year Narisawa (No.2) was named the best restaurant in Japan.

Indian Accent (No.22) claimed the title of best restaurant in India, Le Moût retained its title in Taiwan and Nihonbashi in Sri Lanka.

In the individual awards, Hidemi Sugino from Tokyo was named best pastry chef, Hajime Yoneda’s Osaka venue was the highest climber rising 28 places from last year and Tony Lu’s Shanghai restaurant Fu He Hui was the highest new entry.