Latest news with #50BestRestaurants
South China Morning Post
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Why Asia's best restaurant, Gaggan in Bangkok, is about more than flavours
For those who love experiential dining, Gaggan Anand is well known. Advertisement The innovative chef's eponymous restaurant in Bangkok, with its unconventional approach to fine dining, had a year-long waiting list at one point. It recently made the headlines for achieving the top spot in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants for the fifth time since 2015. Anand, born in Kolkata, India, not only put the Thai capital on the progressive dining map, he also pushed the boundaries of Indian cuisine and its perception around the world. The chef was featured in the second season of Netflix's Chef's Table in 2018. Anand's journey began in hotel kitchens in India before he moved to Thailand in 2007, where he was appointed executive chef of Red, an Indian fine-dining restaurant in Bangkok. Gaggan Arnand and his team receive the award for Asia's top restaurant at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in Seoul, Korea, in 2025. Photo: handout He did a stint at Ferran Adria 's restaurant El Bulli in Spain. Having learned boundary-breaking techniques from Adria, known as the father of molecular gastronomy , Anand brought them to Bangkok upon his return. Advertisement He launched Gaggan in 2010, and described it as a laboratory for his radical culinary reinventions. In the space of a few years, his 25-course emoji menu – where each course was defined not by a name but by one of the tiny pictograms – featuring dishes such as Lick It Up, which required diners to eat with their tongues, propelled the restaurant to number one on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list and earned it two Michelin stars.
Japan Times
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
11 in Japan win Asia's 50 Best Restaurant honors, but Gaggan is tops
Gaggan Anand is back. The Kolkata-born, Bangkok-based, self-styled rebel chef's eponymous restaurant, Gaggan, won the crown at the 2025 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony held in Seoul on March 25. For Anand, this represents more than just a professional success. It is also vindication for his decision to walk away from the initial iteration of his restaurant — also called Gaggan — despite it having held top spot on the list for four consecutive years, from 2015 through 2019. Speaking after the ceremony, Anand said the hiatus between the two operations not only allowed him to evolve his India-meets-Europe-meets-molecular cuisine but also to give it a setting that is more operatic — music, much of it rock, is high in the mix — and interactive with guests. Gaggan was one of nine restaurants in Bangkok that made it onto the prestigious 50 Best list — including two others that Anand is involved with. Gaggan at Louis Vuitton (No. 31) is a collaboration with the global luxury fashion brand, while he is also part owner in Suhring (No. 11), the stylish, modern German restaurant which has held spots in the top 10 for the past seven years. After walking away from his first self-named eatery, chef Gaggan Anand has returned to glory in this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings. | ASIA'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS Although Bangkok tied with Tokyo as the cities with the largest number of entries on this year's list, Japan won bragging rights for having 11 in all. Dropping three places from last year's top billing, Sezanne (No. 4) was still the highest-ranking restaurant in Japan, followed by perennial favorites Narisawa (rising two spots to No. 12), Florilege (down from second place to No. 17) and Den (down 14 to No. 22). Three Tokyo restaurants cracked the list for the first time: Crony (No. 30); Maz (No. 43) and Myoujyaku (No. 45), while Sushi Saito made a surprise return to the rankings at No. 33. Rounding off the Tokyo contingent is Sazenka (No. 34), joined by Osaka's La Cime (No. 8) and Fukuoka's Goh (No. 36). Meanwhile Crony's co-owner and sommelier, Kazutaka Ozawa, won the Asia's Best Sommelier award. The South Korean capital was hosting the influential event for the second straight year. This has helped boost Seoul's presence on the list, with Mingles at No. 5, the highest result to date for chef Mingoo Kang, and Onjium rising 11 slots to No. 10. They were joined by 7th Door (No. 23), and Eatanic Garden, which won the Highest New Entry award at No. 25. The annual Icon Award was presented posthumously to the late Margarita Fores of the Philippines. As the 2016 recipient of the Asia's Best Female Chef award, she was honored for her influence in putting Filipino cuisine on the map. To the chefs involved in the ceremony, the importance of the rankings pale in comparison to the sense of community the 50 Best events have fostered over the years. | ASIA'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS It was a somber moment in an otherwise upbeat and enthusiastic event punctuated by great applause and cheering from all sides for the restaurants on the list. The warmth and enthusiasm that pervade the awards ceremonies is something that Anand touched on in his acceptance speech. "When I was young I never imagined Asia could be a gastronomic hub,' the 47-year-old chef said. 'Today, look who we are. We are not just one city or one country. We are a family of so many people from around Asia, representing our families, our culture, our cuisine." While the media focus is always — and understandably — on the countdown to the great reveal, the awards ceremony is just the climax of a much longer gathering taking place around the 50 Best event. There are talks and workshops, as well as feasts that bring together all the chefs of the restaurants on the list. This year, a number of workshops or introductions to jang (sauces and pastes prepared from fermented soybeans) were held at restaurants around Seoul during the run-up to official events, a response to UNESCO recognizing Korea's deep-rooted culture of jang production as an Intangible Cultural Heritage on Dec. 4 last year. There were also numerous four-hands (or more) collaborative meals arranged by individual restaurants, an indication of how the 50 Best ceremony has become an opportunity for Asia's chefs to rub shoulders and do what they do best — cook together, share recipes and serve the results to the assembled gastronomes and foodies who make sure to arrive well ahead of the awards ceremony. To round off the celebrations, there were the inevitable afterparties, many of them running till the not-so early hours of the morning. This is the process that has created the camaraderie, fostered the friendships and turned the Asia's 50 Best event into an annual culinary carnival for chefs across the region — no matter which city is hosting it.
FACT
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- FACT
MENA's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 have been revealed
It's a great year for Dubai's dining scene. MENA's 50 Best Restaurants have been unveiled, and Dubai dominates the list once again. Homegrown hotspot Orfali Bros Bistro claims the number-one spot for the third consecutive year. Created in 2021, Orfali Bros Bistro is a homegrown success story with a loyal fan base. Local and international visitors, from the FACT team to Ed Sheeran, love the restaurant. The concept, created by three brothers, pays homage to their Syrian roots. The restaurant also ranked 64th in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list. The United Arab Emirates dominates the Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 awards. The fine-dining Indian restaurant Trèsind Studio is at number two, Kinoya is at number three, Ossiano is at number five (and also took home the Art of Hospitality Award), Chef Kelvin Cheung's Jun's is at number seven, and Moonrise is at number ten. Dubai restaurants dominating the list also include BOCA at No. 12, 3Fils at No. 14, Bait Maryam at No. 15, Row on 45 at No. 17 (the highest climber on the list), Zuma Dubai at No. 19, La Petite Maison Dubai at No. 23, GAIA at No. 25, 21grams Urban Balkan Bistro at No. 26, 11 Woodfire at No. 29, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at No. 33, Mimi Kakushi at No. 37, TakaHisa at No. 41, and Smoked Room at No. 45. In Abu Dhabi, the restaurants include Marmellata Bakery at No. 29, La Petite Maison Abu Dhabi at No. 38 , and NIRI Restaurant & Bar at No. 50. In Saudi Arabia, the highest-ranked restaurant is Marble Steakhouse at No.16, followed by Kuruu Jeddah at No. 30, Lunch Room at No. 31, Aseeb at No. 39, and MYAZŪ at No. 49. In Egypt, the highest-ranked restaurant is Khufu's at No. 4, followed by Zooba at No. 21, Kazoku at No. 24, Sachi Cairo at No. 27, Izakaya at No. 34, Sachi Giza at No. 40, and Reif Kushiyaki Cairo at No. 47. In Bahrain, the highest-ranked restaurant is Fusions by Tala at No. 6, followed by Cut by Wolfgang Puck at No. 43. In Jordan, the highest-ranked restaurant is Shams El Balad at No. 8, followed by Fakhreldin Restaurant at No. 11, Alee at No. 13, Dara Dining by Sara Aqel at No. 18 (the highest new entry on the list this year), Sufra at No. 20 and 13C Bar In The Back at No. 36. In Lebanon, the highest-ranked restaurant is Em Sherif at No. 9. In Morocco, the highest-ranked restaurant is La Grande Table Marocaine at No. 22. In Tunisia, the highest-ranked restaurant is Le Golfe at No. 44. For the first time since the inception of MENA's 50 Best Restaurants, Kuwait and Qatar did not appear on the list. Chef Carmen Rueda Hernandez of BRIX in Dubai won the Middle East and North Africa's Best Pastry Chef Award, Yasmina Hayek of Em Sherif in Lebanon won the Middle East and North Africa's Best Female Chef Award, Omar Shihab of BOCA Dubai received the Icon Award, and Bahraini Tala Bashmi received the Chef's Choice Award 2025. The World's 50 Best has been compiled by 250 judges who have eaten their way around the region. The judges are made up of industry leaders, including chefs, restauranteurs, food writers and well-travelled gourmets. Now in its fourth edition, the MENA's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony was held at Erth Hotel Abu Dhabi, the same location as our very own FACT Dining Awards Abu Dhabi 2024. Check in with FACT for the latest restaurant news. GO: Visit for more information.
