Nahm Restaurant Tops Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2014
San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna have published their list of the top 50 restaurants in Asia for 2014, with top honors going to David Thompson, the chef of Nahm in Bangkok, Thailand. Nahm's top spot, up from third place in 2013, bumped Narisawa in Tokyo to second place. Third place went to another Bangkok restaurant, Gaggan, which climbed an impressive seven spots from the previous year.
Several new restaurants made their debut in the top 50, an impressive feat that includes Seoul's Jungsik in the 20th spot — the highest ranking of all the newcomers — as well as Tippling Club in Singapore, Le Moût in Beijing, Issaya Siamese Club in Bangkok, Sarong in Bali, among others. The country with the most restaurants was China, including Hong Kong and Macau, with a total of 16 restaurants on the list. Japan came in second overall, with 10 restaurants, and Singapore placed third, with a total of eight restaurants on the list.
The point of the ranking system, according to the panel's editor, William Drew, was not to set any reputations in stone.
"Everyone's idea of what makes a great restaurant is different," Drew told The Wall Street Journal. "It's an inexact science, but we still believe it still creates a credible snapshot of great restaurants in the region."
Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.