Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2015, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, have ended with the Gaggan restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, by chef Gaggan Anand taking the title as the Best Restaurant in Asia. Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa took second position for his Les Creations de Narasawa restaurant in Tokyo, Japan and third place was awarded to Paul Pairet’s multi-sensory dining experience, Ultraviolet, in Shanghai.
Speaking just after the event a visibly shocked and emotional Anand said: “I was so emotional I was just crying - I phoned my mum, I couldn’t believe it. I still have tears in my eyes, I’m not used to this and I don’t have a script. She was very scared because she heard me seriously crying, I don’t remember what I said I just told her ‘mum I’m number one, number one in Asia… I think you have to buy a new house. It’s the proudest moment in my life… I’m lucky that my heart is in India and my soul is in Thailand.”
It was a night of many changes with two new countries, the Philippines and Cambodia, making the list for the first time. Nahm, which was number 1 in 2014, dropped to seventh place on the list with the crowd audibly shocked.
The Chef’s Choice Award went to Richard Ekkebus' Amber restaurant in Hong Kong and the loudest applause of the evening came for Tetsuya Wakuda who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.
1. GAGGAN Bangkok, Thailand
2. NARISAWA Tokyo, Japan
3. ULTRAVIOLET BY PAUL PAIRET Shanghai, China
4. NIHONRYORI RYUGIN Tokyo, Japan
5. RESTAURANT ANDRÉ Singapore
6. AMBER Hong Kong, China
7. NAHM Bangkok, Thailand
8. 8 1/2 OTTO E MEZZO BOMBANA Hong Kong, China
9. WAKU GHIN Singapore
10. JUNGSIK Seoul, Korea
11. JAAN Singapore
12. L'EFFERVESCENCE Tokyo, Japan
13. LES AMIS Singapore
14. HAJIME Osaka, Japan
15. FOOK LAM MOON Hong Kong, China
16. FU1015 Shanghai, China
17. L'ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON Hong Kong, China
18. IGGY'S Singapore No.19 FU HE HUI Shanghai, China
20. LUNG KING HEEN Hong Kong, China
21. MR AND MRS BUND Shanghai, China
22 INDIAN ACCENT New Delhi, India
23 ROBUCHON AU DÔME Macau, China
24 TENKU RYUGIN Hong Kong, China
25 EAT ME Bangkok, Thailand
26 LE MOÛT Taichung, Taiwan
27 RYUNIQUE Seoul, Korea
28. BO INNOVATION Hong Kong, China
29. WASABI BY MORIMOTO Mumbai, India
30. BURNT ENDS Singapore
31. NIHONBASHI Colombo, Sri Lanka
32. SHINJI BY KANESAKA Singapore
33. TAKAZAWA Tokyo, Japan
34. 28 HUBIN ROAD Hangzhou, China
35. THE CHAIRMAN Hong Kong, China
36. TIPPLING CLUB Singapore
37. BO.LAN Bangkok, Thailand
38. LA YEON Seoul, South Korea
39. ISSAYA SIAMESE CLUB Bangkok, Thailand
40. SUSHI SAITO Tokyo, Japan
41. BUKHARA New Delhi, India
42. CAPRICE Hong Kong, China
43. MINISTRY OF CRAB Colombo, Sri Lanka
44. SUKIYABASHI JIRO Tokyo, Japan
45. OSTERIA MOZZA Singapore
46. HAKKASAN Shanghai, China
47. IMPERIAL TREASURE SUPER PEKING DUCK Singapore
48. ANTONIO'S Tagaytay, Philippines
49. QUINTESSENCE Tokyo, Japan
50. CUISINE WAT DAMNAK Siem Reap, Cambodia
