Beijing Fails to Score Even One Slot on the List of Asia's Best Restaurants 2019
The 2019 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list has been unveiled, and with it comes some bad news for Beijing foodies and F&B types: the list features nary a single entry from the capital.
The top spot went to Singapore's Odette restaurant (pictured above), knocking Bangkok’s Gaggan from its perch of four years. Restaurants from Japan and Thailand rounded out the rest of the top five. However, Taipei's Mume scored number seven, while number 11 went to The Chairman and 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana came in 12th, both in Hong Kong.
Founded in 2013 by William Reed Business Media, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list is published annually and is voted on by a panel of 318 food writers, critics, chefs, and restaurateurs from all over Asia. Their rankings frequently shut out China's capital, a discouraging theme that has frustrated Beijing foodies and industry types.
Nello Turco, chef at Mio in Beijing’s Four Seasons Hotel (which was named among the world's Top Italian Restaurants 2019 by esteemed Italian restaurant guide Gambero Rosso), says that most of the restaurants on this year's 50 Best list have “a strong international identity, are supported by a lot of international media, and have very alternative concepts.”
READ: Four Seasons Beijing’s Mio Named Among the Best Italian Restaurants In the World
“I feel Beijing’s restaurant scene needs to be more international, my restaurant included,” Turco adds. “And the restaurants here need to invite more chefs from outside for cross exposure so that those who vote for the list will be more interested in coming here.”
We Beijingers can at least take some consolation in strong performances by our friends in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. As Bloomberg notes: "Once again, Greater China sealed its place as Asia’s prime food destination, with 13 entries on the list, including nine in Hong Kong. Hot on its heels is Japan with 12 (with ten from Tokyo), Thailand with eight entries, and Singapore with seven."
Most notably for us in mainland China, however, is a win for Shanghai's Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, a single-table "multi-sensory" experience and holder of three Michelin stars, which placed number 6 on this year's list.
Unfortunately, Beijing will have to wait another year to see if it can finally crack what it takes to bag a spot on this coveted ranking. For now, you can browse the full list of winners here.
An earlier version of this article stated that China had not placed on the list. It has since been corrected.
READ: Beijing's Best Restaurants to Impress, Whatever the Occasion
Photo: Odette, Fine Dining Lovers
