10 Best Hotel Restaurants In Asia

Asia is helping to drive change in the world's hotel dining scenes.

Since Nicolas Boujéma became executive chef here in 2013, the Michelin-starred Signature has continued to serve high-class French cuisine with a contemporary twist. The dining room is situated on the 37^th floor of the hotel and overlooks the Tokyo skyline, which offers views of Ōtemachi, the Imperial Palace, and Tokyo Bay. Dining options include a 10-course, seasonally inspired menu, an eight-course vegetarian menu, and a three-course business lunch. Dishes worth mentioning include roasted scallops and abalone from Hokkaido served with beetroot with caviar and lemon paste; and roasted A5 Japanese beef tournedos, foie gras ravioli, fondant potato and sauce périgueux.

Designed by the award-winning Adam D. Tihany, Jade on 36 in the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel offers 36^th-floor views of Shanghai's iconic Bund and contemporary French dining created by chef de cuisine Franck Elie Laloum. Dishes include lamb shank served with couscous, dry fruits, and pan-seared scallops served with cauliflower curry, which you can order by the piece.

The Opposite House's new restaurant concept, Jing Yaa Tang, opened in late August 2013, with a menu celebrating Beijing roast duck and other favorite dishes from different regions across China. Internationally recognized London-based restaurateur Alan Yau is both the lead designer and concept consultant of Jing Yaa Tang; the restaurant marks his first entry into Beijing.  

The panoramic view of Victoria Harbor and the Hong Kong cityscape from the 25^th-floor dining room of Man Wah in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel is among one of the former Crown Colony's most impressive city views. Equally impressive is this Cantonese restaurant's Michelin-starred cuisine from executive chef Man-Sing Lee. Local rosewood, lacquered enamel, gold-plated birdcage ceiling lamps, and original silk paintings by artist David Wong fill the dining room. In addition to delicate dim sum, Man Wah's signature dishes include steamed spotted garoupa fillet with crispy ginger, crabmeat with egg white sauce, and wok-fried sole with black bean sauce.

Orient Express at Taj Palace Hotel pays homage to the opulent train travel its namesake afforded passengers during the Belle Époque. The dining room is modeled after the dining car on that legendary train, and the bar replicates a railway station platform. The kitchen, led by D.N. Sharma, executive chef since the restaurant opened in 1983, is European, offering a four-course menu inspired by the cuisines of the countries the train passes through. Signature dishes, such as escalope of duck foie gras, Camembert cheese soufflé, langouste Thermidor, and roast rack of New Zealand lamb, have helped Orient Express continue to chug along nicely.

A meal at this luxurious restaurant — named after Felix M. Bieger, a 60-year veteran of The Peninsula Hotels and three-time general manager of this Peninsula — is a feast for the senses. Located on the swanky hotel's 28^th floor, the restaurant offers great visuals both inside and out. When Felix first opened its doors in 1994 as part of the Peninsula's Tower extension, it was the first rooftop restaurant in Kowloon and the first restaurant in Asia designed by Philippe Starck. The space is ultra-contemporary and a bit surreal (the restaurant boasts two zinc and aluminum cylinder-shaped areas known as "snails" created around spiral staircases, one containing The Wine Bar and The Balcony, the other holding The American Bar and The Crazy Box, a discothèque). The floor-to-ceiling windows, meanwhile, offer stunning views of the city. Chef Yoshiharu Kaji's modern European à la carte and set menus change regularly, but signature dishes include grilled Japanese A5 beef tenderloin with green pepper sauce, pickled red onion, marinated lycium, and deep-fried potato; pan-seared duck liver and mousse with warm potato cream soup, potato cereal, and onion jam; and grilled red tuna with braised bell pepper and tomato, caramelized pineapple, and soy vinaigrette. 

The first Chinese restaurant anywhere to be awarded three Michelin stars, this opulent Cantonese restaurant is perched on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, overlooking Victoria Harbor (Lung King Heen means "view of the dragon"). In the 128-seat dining room, furnished with Chinese antiques and a hand-embroidered seven-foot-high silk and glass screen, executive chef Chan Yan Tak offers a tasting menu that includes appetizers of crispy suckling pig, barbecued pork with honey, and roast goose with plum sauce; mains like wok-fried Australian beef tenderloin with spring onion, garlic, and black pepper; and such desserts as sweetened red bean cream with lily bulbs. Signature dishes from the à la carte menu include baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken, and steamed star garoupa fillet with ginger and spring onions, served in a bamboo basket.

Square One offers a combination of Vietnamese and Western fare prepared by a team of chefs who put on a show for diners from open kitchens visible from five different dining areas. There is also an outdoor terrace and a floor-to-ceiling wine case displaying 1,500 bottles. Diners can order a round of Western-inspired appetizers like lobster bisque with lobster tortellini and seared scallop, or Vietnamese starters like sweet and sour seafood soup. As a main course, guests choose between different cuts of Omaha grain-fed U.S. prime beef, or the classic Vietnamese soup phở with Wagyu beef.

Huang Ting offers gourmet Cantonese cuisine and an interior that recreates a traditional hutong home, decorated with a collection of Chinese antiques that date back to the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the main dining room, there are private dining areas, a tea room, and small dining alcoves shielded by ivory silk curtains. Signature dishes on the menu include grilled sliced prime beef rib with onions in gravy; braised superior bird's nest egg white in hairy crab roe sauce; and sautéed sliced pork neck with smoked bean curd in spicy sauce. The restaurant also features an extensive dim sum menu with dishes including fried five-spice taro dumplings; baked barbecued pork puffs with sesame; and crystal shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots.

The first Hong Kong French restaurant to garner three Michelin stars, this elegant dining room in the city's Four Seasons Hotel represents the best in contemporary Gallic cooking. Chef Fabrice Vulin uses both local and imported ingredients to fashion presentations of considerable refinement, from such savory dishes as roasted Brittany lobster with crispy claws, lobster bisque, and seasonal vegetables to opulent desserts along the lines of chocolate and kumquat crèmeux with Moka-Sidamo coffee, crispy amaranth, and kumquat sorbet. The wine list, especially strong in Bordeaux and Burgundy, is one of the best in Asia, and the cheese selection contains treasures seldom found in this part of the world.