Asia's Got 50 Top Restaurants but Beijing Has None

In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, Beijing placed exactly zero restaurants on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants List. In 2016, it has once again been shut out.

For the second year in a row, Bangkok's Gaggan placed first, and frankly, we're casting a suspicious eye on that choice, as a primary sponsor of the Asia restaurant list is the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the awards were presented in Bangkok.

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"The list is created by the Diners Club Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 300 leaders in the restaurant industry across Asia, each selected for their expert opinion of Asia’s restaurant scene," organizer William Reed Business Media describes on its website. We'd love to know how many of them are based in Beijing.

All this comes just as voting for the Beijinger 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards closed Sunday, and we'll be naming the winners at our awards ceremony on March 7 – some will be announced before then. 

See their full list of 50 here. The top 10 are listed below:

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

In terms of geographic dispersion, 19 Asian cities made the list ahead of a single Beijing eatery, with Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo topping the list. Fair enough, Beijing can't really lay claim to topping these cities as a culinary capital, but certainly it should be ranking up there with New Delhi, Manila, Mumbai, Siem Reap, and Taichung, no?

Here's the top 50 broken down by city:

Singapore  (10)
Hong Kong, China (9)
Tokyo, Japan (7)
Bangkok, Thailand (4)
Seoul, South Korea (3)
Shanghai, China (3)
Colombo, Sri Lanka (2)
New Delhi, India (2)
Bali, Indonesia (1)
Fukuoka, Japan (1)
Kyoto, Japan (1)
Macau, China (1)
Manila, Philippines (1)
Mumbai, India (1)
Osaka, Japan (1)
Siem Reap, Cambodia (1)
Taichung, Taiwan (1)
Taipei, Taiwan (1)

More stories by this author here.

Email: stevenschwankert@thebeijinger.com
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Photo: Temple Restaurant Beijing