The year has started off on a high for chef Andre Chiang: His Restaurant Andre in Bukit Pasoh Road has been ranked No. 14 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.
The results were announced on Wednesday at an awards ceremony in Melbourne, Australia, where contemporary American restaurant Eleven Madison Park was crowned No. 1.
On climbing an impressive 18 spots to No. 14, a jubilant Chiang, 40, tells The Straits Times: "We're not greedy. We're very happy with the result as this is the highest so far for Singapore on the world map. I'm also proud to be the only Chinese chef on the list."
This adds to earlier accolades for the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre, which came in at No. 2 on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list in February.
On the same list, his modern Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends in Teck Lim Road ranks at No. 10, while his Raw restaurant in Taipei is No. 24. Burnt Ends is No. 53 on the World's 50 Best list of 51 to 100 restaurants.
The Taiwan-born chef has a series of upcoming "four hands" dinners, during which he will collaborate with "big shot" guest chefs from acclaimed establishments.
The programme kicks off in June with Australian Dan Hunter, chef-owner of Brae, a restaurant in Birregurra, Australia, which debuted on the World's 50 Best list at No. 44.
So can Chiang cap off the year with another Michelin star? "Let's hope I have more good news," he says, chuckling.
Eunice Quek
