He restaurant Le Du, in Bangkok, has been the winner of the tenth edition of the list of the 50 Best Restaurants in Asia of 2023, according to the Restaurant magazine contest, held this Tuesday at a gala in Singapore.
Le Du, a modern Thai restaurant that opened in 2013 and came in fourth last year, rose to first this time, a “honor” for its chef, Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn, who assured when receiving the award that “it is more than a dream come true”.
“It means a lot to me and my team, as well as to my suppliers, because we only use local ingredients (…) When I started Le Du ten years ago with local products, people thought I was crazy because they wouldn’t have enough quality”assured Tassanakajohn in a press conference after receiving the award.
The chef, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and worked in American restaurants before opening Le Du, which earned a Michellin star in 2019, said he hopes the award will also help overcome inferiority complexes about Thai food. “and show that it is among the best in the world.”
It was followed by the Tokyo French restaurant Sézanne, the work of British chef Daniel Calvert, which ranks second on the list after opening at the Four Seasons hotel in the Japanese capital in July 2021.
Third place went to another Bangkok establishment, Nusara, the latest opening by the Le Du chef, but with a more traditional and intimate cut than number one and whose name evokes the owner’s grandmother, the star of the contest.
“For me it was a surprise… I wanted to do something very different, and both are completely opposite restaurants. I wanted to take a risk as a chef and as a tribute to Thai food (…) It was also a tribute to my grandmother”declared Tassanakajohn about taking two of the main prizes.
Rounding out the top ten are Den, in Tokyo, which fell from number one last year to fourth this time; Gaggan Anand, another Bangkok restaurant that returns to the list in fifth place after a season away; Odette, located in the host city-state and a classic among award-winners (it has been number one twice), considered the best in Singapore and the sixth best in Asia.
Two restaurants in Japan, Florilège in Tokyo and La Cime in Osaka, came in seventh and eighth place respectively, while Sorn in Bangkok plunged from second place in 2022 to ninth this year to close out the top ten. First with another Tokyoite, Narisawa, who has been on the list for a decade.
Other special prizes of the day went to the Philippine Johanne Siy, awarded as the best female chef in Asia at the controls of the Lolla restaurant, in Singapore; It was He Hui, in Shanghai, considered the best restaurant in mainland China, which in turn was ranked 18th on the list; and Masque, in Bombay, the most prominent in India and the sixteenth on the list.
The Chairman was named the best in Hong Kong, and Mosu, in Seoul, the most outstanding in South Korea. Sézanne, in second place on the podium, became the most recommended restaurant in Japan.
The awards are chosen by an exclusive group of 300 chefs, food critics and culinary experts from across the region, and its first edition was also held in Singapore in 2013.
The city of Valencia will host in June 2023 the gala of the 50 best restaurants in the world, prepared and organized by the company William Reed Business Media from the United Kingdom, and which last year recognized the Danish Geranium.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
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