SINGAPORE - Seven Singapore restaurants are on the the 10th edition of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list, announced on Tuesday (March 29).
A pre-recorded awards ceremony was broadcast online and at live celebration events in Bangkok, Macau and Tokyo.
French restaurant Odette at the National Gallery Singapore dropped out of the top five, sliding six spots to No. 8.
It retained its Best Restaurant in Singapore title, and also received the Art of Hospitality Award.
Tokyo restaurant Den, ranked No. 3 last year, took the top spot on the list. It is the second time a Japanese restaurant takes top honours, since the awards started in 2013.
Last year's No. 1 - The Chairman in Hong Kong - slid to No.5.
Bangkok's Sorn and Le Du took second and fourth place respectively. In third place was Florilege in Tokyo, which climbed up four spots to from last year.
The strongest rally for Singapore came from Meta Restaurant in Keong Saik Road which catapulted into the top 50 this year at No. 20. Last year, it ranked No. 60 and was the recipient of the One To Watch Award.
Modern-Singaporean restaurant Labyrinth at the Esplanade Mall maintained its No. 40 rank, while other restaurants mostly took a tumble.
These comprise Les Amis (which fell from No.13 last year to 23 this year), Zen (from No. 23 to 37), Burnt Ends (from No.14 to 41) and Cloudstreet (From No. 31 to 44).
Cloudstreet's chef Maira Yeo picked up the Asia's Best Pastry Chef accolade.
Other accolades went to Japanese chef Natsuko Shoji of Ete (No. 42) in Tokyo, who won the Asia's Best Female Chef Award; as well as Eat and Cook (No. 81) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - which received the One To Watch Award.
Some new names to the list included Villa Aida from Wakayama, Japan, which received the Highest New Entry Award for debuting at No. 14, as well as a familiar name for foodies - Raan Jay Fai (No. 46) in Bangkok, best known for its crab omelette.
Missing from the top 50 list are Restaurant Euphoria in Tras Street and Jaan by Kirk Westaway at Swissotel The Stamford.
Both fell from the top 50 rankings into the list of 51 to 100 restaurants announced last week (March 22). Restaurant Euphoria dropped 15 spots to 56, while Jaan by Kirk Westaway slipped 13 spots to No. 55.
Two Singapore restaurants debuted on the 51 to 100 list - Lolla in Ann Siang Road at No. 75 and Thevar in Keong Saik Road at No. 92.
Japanese restaurant Esora in Mohamed Sultan Road remained on the list, moving up from No. 77 to No. 58 this year.
Nouri in Amoy Street and Candlenut in Dempsey Road - previously in the bottom 50 list - dropped off completely.
The list is created from votes of more than 300 people including food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary experts.
Prior to last year, each Academy member voted for 10 restaurants, with at least four of these from outside their home country.
Since the global pandemic restricted international travel, voting rules have been revised to reflect this change. This year, voters could nominate a total of eight restaurants, including up to six from their home country, but with no obligation to vote for restaurants outside of their home country.
