There are four Bangkok venues in total in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016.

Tonight, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants ceremony took place at W Hotel. The restaurants ranking is an offshoot of World's 50 Best Restaurants, which comes out every June and was created by Restaurant Magazine. It sees a global panel of chefs, foodies and restaurateurs vote on their favorite venues.

The #1 spot went to Gaggan for the second year in a row. The molecular restaurant headed by chef Gaggan Anand consistently pushes boundaries by replicating bursts of familiar flavors in completely new formats.

Three other Bangkok venues made the cut.

Nahm placed eighth. Chef David Thompson is famous for singlehandedly reviving Thai fine dining by being the first to serve up uncompromising flavors in a Michelin-worthy setting (he held one star in London before relocating here in 2010). He also won the Lifetime Achievement Award, which had been announced earlier. Nahm placed first in 2014 and 7th last year.

The 19th spot went to Issaya, the flagship restaurant of Ian Kittichai, who has had a busy year growing his empire to Hong Kong. Here, Issaya is known for delivering subtle tweaks on authentic Thai food in a charming house surrounded by a garden. Issaya had placed at the 39th spot last year. Well played, Ian!

Eat Me, headed by Tim Butler, saw its global cuisine with American, Mediterranean, Asian and Pacific Rim influences rewarded with a 23rd spot, a two-spot jump compared to last year.

Bo.lan, which was 37th last year, dropped off the list.

After three years in Singapore, where the awards debuted, it was exciting to see the ceremony come to Bangkok. We can't comment on the restaurants outside of Thailand that made the cut, but we can confirm the Bangkok winners are amazing places with hugely talented chefs. 

For our own panel's views on who deserves the top three spots, you'll have to wait for our own Top Tables 2016 guide, out this March. But we will say this: the Robuchon places in Macau and Singapore made the cut.

Here is the full top 10:

1. Gaggan, Bangkok
2. Narisawa, Tokyo
3. Restaurant Andre, Singapore
4. Amber, Hong Kong
5. Nihonryori Ryugin, Tokyo
6. Waku Ghin, Singapore
7. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai
8. Nahm, Bangkok
9. Indian Accent, New Delhi
10. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong

 

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