Malaysian-based restaurant ‘Dewakan’ established by renowned local chef Darren Teoh managed to secure the final spot at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2022.
This marks Dewakan’s second time on the list, having ranked No. 46 in 2010. To date, Dewakan is still the only restaurant in Malaysia to make it to the top 50.
“This year’s inclusion into the list means something really different to us. We are reminded to celebrate every accomplishment, big and small. So, thank you to the best team ever, the best guests ever and to the best friends ever,” said Darren, Head Chef and restaurant owner of Dewakan.
Japan’s Tokyo’s Den by Zaiyu Hasegawa was crowned The Best Restaurant in Asia, and has been named The Best Restaurant in Japan every year since 2018. It rose from No. 3 in 2021 to take the top spot this year.
“This is the greatest honour of my career so far,” said Hasegawa. “Our team has worked very hard for this and it is the reward for all of our hard work.”
Full list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022:
1) Den, Tokyo, Japan
Charismatic chef Zaiyu Hasegawa opened Den in 2007 and the restaurant has been a firm fixture of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list since its debut in 2016. His menus draw inspiration from all quarters and are firmly rooted in the framework of kaiseki, Japan’s hyper-seasonal dining tradition.
Expect foie gras in the savoury monaka appetizers, an ant or two in the classic 20-ingredient Den salad, and all kinds of surprises in his now-signature Dentucky Fried Chicken wings. The second-ever Japanese restaurant to reach the No.1 position, Den wins the title of The Best Restaurant in Asia, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna.
2) Sorn, Bangkok, Thailand
Supaksorn ‘Ice’ Jongsiri, Sorn’s patron chef, grew up in close contact with his grandmother’s cooking. He cooks Thai food but transforms the flavours into a one-of-a-kind cuisine. Through each bite, you will be inspired by Ice’s love and passion for southern Thailand.
3) Florilège, Tokyo, Japan
Chef Hiroyasu Kawate’s focus on hyper-seasonality and his passion for locally sourced ingredients give his cooking a distinctive Japanese accent. His signature ‘sustainability beef’ carpaccio is taken from the meat of mature, 13-year-old breeding cows. In 2022, Florilège comes back to its highest-ever ranking, at No.3.
4) Le Du, Bangkok, Thailand
While talented chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn changes his menu every few months, he has one signature dish that’s always present: khao kluk kapi, splayed river prawn served with shrimp paste-laced brown rice risotto. It’s refined Thai cooking with an eye towards France.
5) The Chairman, Hong Kong, Greater China
Chef Kwok Keung Tung and owner Danny Yip follow an original path to create wholly contemporary Cantonese dishes. The perennial favourite is the steamed flowery crab, served with flat rice noodles and fragrant chicken oil. This year, The Chairman is recognised as The Best Restaurant in Greater China 2022.
6) La Cime, Osaka, Japan
Chef Yusuke Takada hails from subtropical Amami Oshima, a small island in the far south of Japan, and still returns to his roots in search of inspiration and ingredients. His signature dish is Boudin Dog, a boudin noir in dough, coloured black with edible bamboo charcoal.
7) Sühring, Bangkok, Thailand
When twins Thomas and Mathias Sühring debuted their namesake restaurant in 2016, the launch was met with immediate approval. The duo offers dishes like the ethereal Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth) of mackerel, apple and black pudding.
8) Odette, Singapore
In signature dishes like Normandy brown crab with wasabi oil and Nashi pear and Kampot pepper-crusted pigeon you can find chef Julien Royer’s elegant touch. The first-class hospitality headed by Steven Mason earns the restaurant the coveted Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award 2022.
9) Neighborhood, Hong Kong, Greater China
Neighborhood is – at first glance – an unlikely gourmand’s destination, yet diners come from all over town for a taste of the simple, appealing, mostly French cooking. A humble personality in Asia’s restaurant industry, chef-restaurateur David Lai was voted by his peers to receive the Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2022.
10) Nusara, Bangkok, Thailand
The latest venture from entrepreneurial chef Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn sees the man behind Asia’s 50 Best stalwart Le Du return to his roots with a more traditional menu of authentic Thai dishes. The atmospheric dining room seats just 10 guests in an intimate setting.
11) Sazenka, Tokyo, Japan
Chef Tomoya Kawada cooks Chinese cuisine infused with a Japanese sensibility, rooted in the two countries’ shared culture of tea drinking. The restaurant offers traditional Chinese cuisine starring favourites such as barbecued pork and Qingtang noodle soup.
12) Fu He Hui, Shanghai, Greater China
Dinner at this tasting menu-only restaurant is an education in China’s diverse vegetables and fungi. Even carnivores will love chef Tony Lu’s grilled porcini smoked in a jar with a wand of grape vine, served in a shallow pool of mushroom dip.
13) Ode, Tokyo, Japan
Now in its fourth year, chef Yusuke Namai’s restaurant is polished, inventive but always accessible, just like his modern French cuisine – and this year it is rewarded with the Highest Climber Award 2022.
14) Villa Aida, Wakayama, Japan – NEW ENTRY
Vegetables are the stars at Villa Aida. Having grown up in a farming family, chef Kanji Kobayashi now grows much of the organic produce used in the restaurant. He likes to match seafood with his produce, such as squid with local fennel. The restaurant debuts on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list with the highest ranking of any first-time venues, earning the Highest New Entry Award 2022, sponsored by Aspire Lifestyles.
15) Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan
Narisawa channels the traditional satoyama farming system of premodern Japan – husbandry of the nearby forests and hunting-foraging in the mountains. Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa’s restaurant topped the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2013 and has been a constant fixture ever since.
16) Mingles, Seoul, South Korea
Since opening in April 2014 in Seoul’s buzzy Cheongdam-dong district, Mingles has impressed local and international diners with refined Korean cookery. Chef Mingoo Kang’s 10-course tasting menu is seasonally driven and leans towards local fish and vegetables.
17) Sézanne, Tokyo, Japan – NEW ENTRY
British chef Daniel Calvert operates on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo. The restaurant’s opening in 2021 was one of the most hotly anticipated of the year. Calvert’s modern French cuisine ranges from escabeche of smoked mackerel to gamecock marinated in vin jaune.
18) Joo Ok, Seoul, South Korea – NEW ENTRY
The epitome of chef Shin Chang-ho’s well-researched Korean tasting menu comes in the form of a bowl of perilla seed oil. The oil isn’t just drizzled around a quail egg and abalone slices – rather, it is the main ingredient of the dish.
19) Ensue, Shenzhen, Greater China – NEW ENTRY
Perched on the 40th floor, Ensue features one of the most incredible dinner backdrops you could imagine. American chef Christopher Kostow opened the restaurant in 2019, where head chef Miles PUndsack-Poe combines Californian farm-to-table culture with traditional Cantonese techniques.
20) Meta, Singapore – NEW ENTRY
Since moving to a new location in 2018, the restaurant has been lined with wooden floors and walls, giving the dining room a warm, welcoming feel. The menu changes seasonally, but among the permanent signatures is simmered and grilled abalone served atop a Korean risotto.
21) Masque, Mumbai, India
Chef-founder Prateek Sadhu (who left in March 2022) and director Aditi Dugar aimed to change the way Indian food is perceived around the world. Taking inspiration from childhood memories as well as regional Indian recipes, Masque spins indigenous ingredients into modern and elegant dishes.
22) Indian Accent, New Delhi, India
Indian Accent never fails to impress with its winning combination of creative modern dishes and warm hospitality. Chef Manish Mehrotra’s tasting menu is a colourful procession of small bites of flavour, including pumpkin bitterballen and squash curry with paneer and roast potato.
23) Les Amis, Singapore
The welcoming of chef Sebastien Lepinoy marked a turning point for Les Amis, which opened in 1999. The alumnus of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Hong Kong has a signature style and serves elegant classics such as Alphonso mango tagliatelle with pink peppercorn and vanilla rice pudding coulis.
24) Caprice, Hong Kong, Greater China
Caprice is destination dining that’s worth getting dressed-up for, with its glass-floored catwalk and dazzling crystal chandeliers. Guillaume Galliot provides a menu of unabashed French luxury, featuring courses such as Alaskan king crab, Gillardeau oysters and a comprehensive selection of caviar.
25) Blue by Alain Ducasse, Bangkok, Thailand – NEW ENTRY
Overlooking the Chao Phraya River, the restaurant enjoys one of the best views in Bangkok. Executive chef Wilfrid Hocquet creates disciplined and seamless dishes, such as guinea fowl pithivier, foie gras on black pepper sablé and the classic baba au rhum.
26) 7th Door, Seoul, South Korea
Chef Kim Dae-chun is well known to Asia’s 50 Best, with his first Seoul restaurant, TocToc, winning the One To Watch Award in 2017. At 7th Door, his philosophy revolves around ageing and fermentation, the cornerstones of traditional Korean gastronomy.
27) Mosu, Seoul, South Korea – NEW ENTRY
For chef Sung Anh, Mosu is all about doing things differently. He opted for a space outside of the popular Cheongdam-dong and has one of the few restaurants in Seoul that takes over a two-storey building and garden. Anh takes inspiration from everyday Korean foods but creates something that looks completely different.
28) Da Vittorio, Shanghai, Greater China – NEW ENTRY
Opened in May 2019, Da Vittorio is the first restaurant outside Europe by the Italian Cerea family. It retains the style, elegance and attention to detail that made the flagship Da Vittorio in Italy a worldwide point of reference. Chef Stefano Bacchelli’s signature dish, linguine ‘amatripesce’ with yellow fish maw, is based on the original cod belly recipe invented by the Cerea brothers.
29) Sushi Masato, Bangkok, Thailand – NEW ENTRY
Sushi Masato’s creations are a combination of Edo Mae and New York Mae styles of sushi. After his success in both Tokyo and New York, chef Masato Shimizu made a big move to Bangkok in 2015, where he serves the likes of Ankimo (slow-cooked monkfish liver) and Anago (seawater eel).
30) Onjium, Seoul, South Korea – NEW ENTRY
With a view of the royal buildings in central Seoul’s Jongno District, Onjium offers charm and glamour through both its food and interior. The kitchen, led by chefs Cho Eun-hee and Park Sung-bae, spins out traditional Korean dishes devised from research of centuries-old recipe books.
31) Samrub Samrub Thai, Bangkok, Thailand – NEW ENTRY
Husband-and-wife team Prin Polsuk and Mint Jarukittikun serve progressive Thai food that rotates with the seasons, but a few dishes have returned by popular demand, such as Regency Kapow – a quintessential stir-fry dish known for its explosive medley of sweet basil, garlic and chilli.
32) Mono, Hong Kong, Greater China
Chef Ricardo Chaneton delivers a thrilling take on the food of South America. Typical dishes include Galician octopus tostada; Andean vegetables salad; imperial morel with duck foie gras and Mexican mole; and Racan pigeon with palm hearts, kiwicha and chimichurri.
33) Gaa, Bangkok, Thailand
With years at The World’s Best Restaurant 2021, Noma, and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants legend, Gaggan, under her belt, chef Garima Arora decided to strike out on her own. At Gaa, she melds flavours from India and Thailand, using ingredients dictated by the seasons.
34) Wing, Hong Kong, Greater China – NEW ENTRY
Classically trained chef Vicky Cheng didn’t set out to run a Chinese restaurant but was inspired by the offerings of his home city of Hong Kong. His seasonal tasting menu is updated regularly depending on what Cheng finds at the local market, which he visits each morning.
35) Ministry of Crab, Colombo, Sri Lanka
As the name suggests, there is crab, crab and more crab. Chef-restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa set his restaurant in a 400-year-old Dutch hospital in Colombo. It’s a haven for crustacean fans, with myriad iterations of crab on the menu, as well as freshwater and king prawn for those who fancy a twist.
36) La Maison de la Nature Goh, Fukuoka, Japan
This quiet, stylish restaurant is hidden down a small alleyway off Fukuoka’s Nishinakasu street. Chef-owner Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama’s typical omakase menu includes five dishes, such as the signature prawn and spinach risotto, or wagyu beef with vegetables from Kyushu Island.
37) Zén, Singapore
Zén is the Singapore stablemate of the much-vaunted Stockholm restaurant Frantzén. Executive chef Tristin Farmer provides a procession of dishes including the likes of grilled turbot and razor clams served with goat’s butter, or scallop with buttermilk vinaigrette, cucumber, uni and coriander.
38) Logy, Taipei, Greater China
A spin-off from Asia’s 50 Best top-ten mainstay Florilège, Logy celebrates local Taiwanese ingredients while remaining true to the roots of its Tokyo sister. Chef Ryogo Tahara offers the likes of Chinese langoustine ravioli with 2-year-aged Comté cheese and white wine sauce.
39) Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, Greater China – RE-ENTRY
French chef Paul Pairet’s menus aren’t whipped up lightly; each takes years to conceive. Expect the extraordinary: in a secret location in Shanghai, guests are treated to around 20 theatrical courses, broken into four acts and an intermission.
40) Labyrinth, Singapore
Labyrinth’s fast-talking chef-owner Han Li Guang (known as LG) is an autodidact and former banker who traded a cushy financier’s life for the chef’s whites. The hyper-local, sustainable restaurant is eight years old, but its signature chilli crab has already been through nine iterations.
41) Burnt Ends, Singapore
Though grill-focused cookery might bring to mind animal proteins aplenty, Burnt Ends is certainly not a one-trick pony. Chef Dave Pynt employs the coals to coax out the best in all ingredients, from fish to fowl and vegetables.
42) Été, Tokyo, Japan – NEW ENTRY
Chef Natsuko Shoji’s bijou restaurant operates at the intersection of haute cuisine and haute couture. Her high-end French culinary flair and use of Japanese ingredients have led Été to become one of Tokyo’s most coveted tables, and earned Shoji the Asia’s Best Female Chef Award 2022.
43) Cenci, Kyoto, Japan – NEW ENTRY
Combining Japanese precision and Italian techniques, chef-patron Ken Sakamoto surprises diners with a 10-course tasting menu that may include dishes such as king shiitake mushrooms with tomatoes and pecan nuts, homemade burrata with prosciutto, and deep-fried ayu.
44) Cloudstreet, Singapore
Cloudstreet’s tasting menu draws on chef Rishi Naleendra’s professional coming-of-age years in Australia as well as his Sri Lankan heritage. After joining in 2020, Singaporean pastry chef Maira Yeo led the opening of a successful dessert lounge, and wins this year’s Asia’s Best Pastry Chef Award, sponsored by Valrhona.
45) JL Studio, Taichung, Greater China
JL Studio marries South-East Asian flavours with the best of fresh Taiwanese ingredients. Chef Jimmy Lim’s dishes are full of unusual combinations, such as Satay, a reimagination of the classic peanut sauce as an ice cream shaved on frozen foie gras, onion, cucumber and fried chicken skin.
46) Raan Jay Fai, Bangkok, Thailand – NEW ENTRY
Located on Maha Chai Road, Raan Jay Fai has become a culinary institution in Bangkok. The seven-table restaurant may have had humble beginnings as a hawker stall (and to this day keeps its hyper-casual format), but it has also become a Michelin-starred, unmissable destination for food lovers.
47) Wing Lei Palace, Macau, Greater China
While chef Tam Kwok Fung’s refined Cantonese menu changes daily, he still counts several signature dishes: don’t miss the steamed blue lobster, shelled and reassembled, served atop a sauce made from egg white and 20-year-aged Shaoxing wine.
48) 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong, Greater China
Hailing from a nation known for its warmth and friendliness, the Italians are naturals at providing great hospitality. But chef Umberto Bombana and his team turn it up a notch, waltzing between the tables and serving a standout tasting menu featuring warm lobster and veal tenderloin.
49) Megu, New Delhi, India – NEW ENTRY
Each of the exquisitely crafted dishes at Megu display the Japanese hallmarks of balance and precision. Opt for the miso grilled chicken with charred scallions, the sweet and tangy 24-hour braised pork belly, or the Scottish salmon steak with teriyaki sauce.
50) Dewakan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – RE-ENTRY
Dewakan is a portmanteau of the Malay words for ‘God’ and ‘food’, headlining the restaurant’s mission to honour the blessing given to the land. Chef Darren Teoh uses his dishes to express a deep connection to the people of Malaysia, while applying a modern twist.
