Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021: Hong Kong’s The Chairman takes top spot, Singapore's Odette is No 2
Eight Singapore restaurants earned their place on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021, including newcomers chef Rishi Naleendra’s Cloudstreet, chef Jason Tan’s Euphoria and chef LG Han’s Labyrinth.
The Chairman's popular steamed sticky rice with crabmeat and dried sakura shrimp. (Photo: Asia's 50 Best Restaurants)
Hong Kong restaurant The Chairman has taken top honours at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 awards ceremony. The results were announced via a virtual ceremony today (Mar 25) and streamed to a global audience.
Launched in 2009, The Chairman is renowned for its ingredient-driven Cantonese cuisine. This big win saw it cement its place as the first Hong Kong restaurant to claim the No 1 spot, as well as earning the coveted double titles of The Best Restaurant in Asia and The Best Restaurant in China.
After holding the No 1 spot for two consecutive years, chef Julien Royer's Odette moved to No 2 while retaining the title of The Best Restaurant in Singapore. Rounding up the top three was Japan’s Den, which saw it win the title of The Best Restaurant in Japan for a fourth successive year.
Now in its ninth edition, the 2021 list boasted 11 first-time entries, including a new restaurant in Vietnam – a country last represented in the list in 2013, and two re-entries.
Hong Kong led the pack with 11 restaurants on the list, followed closely by Japan with nine and Singapore with eight.
In addition to Odette, the other Singapore restaurants that made the list were: Les Amis (No 13), Burnt Ends (No 14), Zen (No 23) and Jaan by Kirk Westaway (No 42).
Singapore also had three newcomers on the list: Cloudstreet, fronted by Sri Lankan chef Rishi Naleendra, made its entrance on the list at No 31, while chef Jason Tan’s 26-seater Euphoria was at No 41.
Chef LG Han’s Labyrinth not only made its debut at No 40, it also won the Flor de Cana Sustainable Restaurant Award, selected by 50 Best’s sustainability audit partner Food Made Good Global for its sustainable sourcing policies and work to support the community during the recent pandemic.
Adding another feather in Singapore’s cap was fusion restaurant Meta, which took home the coveted American Express One To Watch Award.
Other notable highlights included the Icon Award given to the legendary Supinya ‘Jay Fai’ Junsuta – the 75-year old Thai hawker who found fame for receiving a Michelin star two years in a row and still personally cooks every dish at her Bangkok stall.
The Highest New Entry Award went to chef Gaggan Anand, who suddenly closed his hugely popular and award-winning restaurant Gaggan two years ago in 2019. He made a dramatic return to the list with his namesake Bangkok restaurant, Gaggan Anand, securing the No 5 spot.
