Why Black Pearl Restaurant Guide 2025 awards ceremony in Singapore was a coming-out party
The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, seen as China's answer to the Michelin Guide, recently held its first overseas awards ceremony. The event, in Singapore, signals the ambition of its publisher for the guide to make a global mark.
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At a ceremony on April 25 at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands complex, Black Pearl's Master Chef Award was presented to Sebastien Lepinoy of Singapore's Les Amis,
which has three Michelin stars , in recognition of his decades of work showcasing French culinary excellence in Asia.
The Young Chef Award was split between
Park Seung-hun of Hong Kong's Hansik Goo , recognised for his modern Korean cooking, and Toraik Chua of Singapore's Zen for his mastery of Nordic-Asian fusion cooking.
Four stand-out dishes from different restaurants received Annual Dish Awards, including crispy fried chicken skin with shrimp mousse and salted fish flakes from Macau's Imperial Court, and smoked sugar cane baby pigeon from Hong Kong's Wing restaurant.
Tang Yan, the head of the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, addresses guests at the awards ceremony at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands complex. Photo: Meituan
Prominent chefs from around Asia were there, including Julien Royer of Odette in Singapore, Hong Kong-based trio Chan Yan-tak of Lung King Heen, Vicky Cheng of VEA and Wing and
Richard Ekkebus of Amber , and
Tam Kwok-fung of Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau.
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