A fine-dining Indian restaurant in Bangkok has been voted the third best restaurant in Asia, according to an annual survey sponsored by S Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. The ?Asia?s 50 Best Restaurants? awards, announced last week, was based on the views of over 900 global food experts including chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, food critics and other gourmands, each choosing their top seven restaurants. ?Asia?s 50 Best Restaurants? is an off-shoot of the prestigious ?World?s 50 Best Restaurants? awards, one of the highest accolades in the industry. Six restaurants in India featured in the 50, all the usual suspects led by Bukhara (at 27).
For travellers with a love for great cuisine, here are the top five…
Nahm, Bangkok
Grabs the top spot after being ranked third last year and has taken the city?s Thai food scene by storm, even though the chef behind its success is an Australian. Nahm is located on the ground floor of Bangkok?s Metropolitan Hotel in Sathorn, the city?s central business district and is acquiring legendary status for its twist on ancient and traditional Thai cuisine. Australian-born David Thompson, the author of two best-selling cookbooks, has researched century-old Thai recipes and, in the process, unearthed obscure dishes and revived them for diners by adding modern touches. Some dishes have not been seen for decades, such as southern-style grilled mussels smoked with coconut husks and cooked with curry-infused coconut cream. His signature dish is Chiang Mai-style relish with quail eggs and pork crackling. Thompson revels in dishes with big flavours, using market-fresh produce as well as rare ingredients from all regions of Thailand, including a jungle curry with pla chorn, a Thai freshwater fish.
Narisawa, Tokyo
Better known as Les Cr?ations de Narisawa, named after its celebrity chef-owner, this restaurant has become a Tokyo landmark, thanks to the creativity and love for drama from chef Yoshihiro Narisawa. Consistently voted among the best restaurants in the world, the chef blends classical French cooking techniques with strong aesthetics for a sublime presentation of the country?s natural produce. Sophisticated and theatrical, the dining experience remains rooted in environmental awareness?it has also won a Sustainable Restaurant Award. Chef Narisawa trained in Switzerland at Girardet?s, in France at Robuchon?s, and in Italy at Antica Osteria del Ponte. His signature dish is Wagyu rump roast marinated in leek, basted in olive oil, and carbonised.
Gaggan, Bangkok
For Bangkok chef Gaggan Anand, 35, the accolades just keep pouring in. Last February, his eponymous Indian restaurant was ranked 10th in Restaurant magazine?s inaugural list of Asia?s best restaurants and also made it to its ?best in the world? list. Anand?s high-end restaurant was a gamble, serving Indian dishes reinvented by molecular technology, four years ago. The Kolkata-born chef calls his cuisine ?progressive Indian?. As he said: ?Basically, it?s about putting old school and new school together. This is progressive cuisine. There?s an element of a surprise.? Gaggan has achieved rock-star status and his restaurant attracts celebrities and gourmands alike. Actor Abhishek Bachchan tweeted about his ?magical? visit, recommending anyone visiting Bangkok to check out Gaggan. The chef has more than three million Twitter followers, and despite the strange items in his kitchen, water baths, tanks of liquid nitrogen and condensers, his restaurant is packed every night. ?People come here with higher expectations now, so it has become more challenging,? he says of his recent awards. Anand has trained with the research team in Spain at Ferran Adria?s three Michelin-star elBulli restaurant, where he learned all about molecular cooking. Gaggan was the first Indian and just the second Asian to train there. Most of the dishes are modern takes on classics, some quite futuristic, like oysters with lemon foam, angel flowers and spiced Indian Ocean sea salt.
Amber, Hong Kong
Hong Kong prides itself on its Michelin starred restaurants, and Amber tops that list. Located in the landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Amber was awarded two Michelin stars in 2012 and followed up with another two in 2013. It?s all thanks to its Dutch chef Richard Ekkebus, who describes his menu as French classic with inventive twists in keeping with Hong Kong?s global positioning. As he says: ?I keep a light touch to my cooking. You should get up from the table and still be able to dance or at least get back to business.? He came to the city after stints in the celebrated Paris kitchens of Alain Passard, Guy Savoy and Pierre Gagnaire. In Honk Kong, Ekkebus has discovered an appreciation for the quickness in preparing Chinese cuisine. Ekkebus refreshes the Amber menu every three months and keeps it fresh. Every single day, a shipment of fresh fish arrives straight from Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo where it is prepared in the French tradition but with a lighter touch, to suit local taste. The emphasis is on seafood, such as scallop ceviche with avocado cream, kyuri cucumber and smoky bay oysters, which comes from the chef?s upbringing by the seaside. His unmissable creations include duck foie gras ravioli simmered with black truffles over a creamy violet artichoke in poultry velout? and the Valrhona Albinao 85% chocolate souffl?.
Nihonryori Ryugin, Tokyo
Like Gaggan in Bangkok, chef Seiji Yamamoto also specialises in giving his local cuisine a modern twist. Located in Tokyo?s Roppongi area, Yamamoto?s restaurant is famous for its attention to detail and its constant search for perfectionism. Even more innovative is his love for kitchen gadgets and appliances that adds to the flavour of the food and is labour intensive. His restaurant has been awarded three Michelin stars and is known for showcasing a cuisine that respects tradition while using the latest in kitchen gadgetry. Yamamoto is an exponent of modern Japanese cooking while staying true to its roots. What ends up on the table is dictated by what ingredients are found at the morning markets. So particular is Yamamoto about his food that guests who call for a reservation are told not to wear strong perfumes, which may compromise the food experience, which includes look, taste and smell, apart from presentation.
