14 China Restaurants Make Asia’s 50 Best 2024
The day has finally arrived – the one that reveals the continent’s most up-and-coming, sought after, and trailblazing restaurants. Â
Last night saw the much-anticipated release of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 List during a live ceremony at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, following the announcement of restaurants ranked 51-100 on March 13.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
Leading up to the awards ceremony, Seoul has been bustling with popups, ‘meet the chefs’ gatherings, and collaborative dining events – involving renowned 50 Best chefs cooking alongside local talent for exclusive dining opportunities.Â
The culmination of all this excitement, the 12th edition of the list saw the continuing emergence of venues within Greater China, with 14 entries in the 1-50 list (in Shanghai, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan), and 12 entries in the 51-100 list (split between Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing, and Shenzhen), thus creating big waves in the Asia dining scene.Â
Fu He Hui. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
Ling Long. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’s
Shanghai lays claim to seven of these up-and-coming restaurants in the top 100 list, including Fu He Hui (No.19), Ling Long (No.36), 102 House (No.40), Meet the Bund (No.50), Xin Rong Ji (Nanyang Road) (No.78), Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (No. 96), and Fu1015 (No.99).
Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
One of the most notable wins for the Chinese mainland saw plant-based Lamdre of Beijing score the coveted One to Watch Award for their innovative, sustainable, seasonal produce-inspired Tibetan Buddhist menu that advocates for conscientious gastronomy and prioritizing environmental wellbeing.Â
This accolade is presented to restaurants that demonstrate gastronomic excellence, innovation and the culinary potential to break into the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking in future years. Lamdre simultaneously made its debut on the Asia’s 50 Best list at No.97.Â
Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
In another win for Greater China, Hong Kong chef and restaurateur Danny Yip of The Chairman won the Icon Award, an honor that celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to gastronomy worthy of global recognition, and who use their platform to drive positive change.Â
And Yip has done just that, heightening the perception of Cantonese cuisine on a global scale.
Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
Under his direction, The Chairman became the first Chinese restaurant to be crowned No.1 on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2021, while concurrently becoming the first Chinese restaurant to reach the top 10 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking – a noteworthy achievement for a family-style Cantonese establishment offering an alternative to elaborate tasting menus.
Before we reveal the full list, a little background (assuming you haven’t skipped ahead already). It’s compiled based on anonymous voting by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential gender-balanced group of over 300 food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary experts.
Now – the moment you’ve been waiting for – here’s the full Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list:
And the No.1 restaurant in Asia in 2024 is… Sézanne in Tokyo!
Image by Sophie Steiner/That’sÂ
The 51-100 list of restaurants helps to shine broader light on even more deserving establishments across Asia, inspiring budding gourmets to widen their scope of restaurants to consider for future dining plans.Â
This year’s 51-100 list spans 16 different cities across Asia, with 12 new entries.Â
Here’s the full list of 51-100 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant winners:
Other Award Winners include:Â
Asia’s Best Female Chef: Pichaya ‘Pam’ Soontornyanakij of Potong, Bangkok
Chef’s Choice Award: Sung Anh of Mosu, Seoul
Best Sommelier: Kevin Lu of Logy, Taipei
Asia’s Best Pastry Chef: Mineko Kato of Faro, Tokyo
Sustainable Restaurant Award: Haoma, Bangkok
Art of Hospitality Award: Nusara, Bangkok
Highest Climber: Wing, Hong Kong
Highest New Entry Award: Seroja, Singapore
So there you have it – time to start planning your future travel accordingly, zig-zagging across the continent to visit as many of the establishments as your stomach will allow.