The Chairman, the Hong Kong bastion of upscale, seasonal Cantonese cuisine, was named one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants during an announcement ceremony in Singapore last night.
According to the World’s 50 Best organization, the list was voted on by a “diverse Academy” comprising more than 1,000 international chefs, food writers, and “traveling gourmets.” The award ceremony was held at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, marking the first time the worldwide edition of the event has been held in Asia.
The Chairman made its debut at #41 on the list, and was the only restaurant from Hong Kong to be included. It’s also the only restaurant serving Chinese or Cantonese cuisine to crack the top 50.
According to Apple Daily, which interviewed the restaurant’s reclusive owner Danny Ip, the last time a Chinese restaurant made the list was in 2004, with the accolade going to the Flower Drum Restaurant in Australia, which was ranked at #49.
The latest ranking comes after The Chairman was came in at #11 in last month’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The high-end Cantonese restaurant is known for signature dishes such as its steamed crab with Shaoxing rice wine, and barbecued chicken liver with Chinese buns.
Restaurants from two of Coconuts HK‘s sister cities also got some love from World’s 50 Best, albeit in slightly head-scratching fashion.
Odette, housed in Singapore’s National Gallery, came in first on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list this year, knocking Bangkok’s Gaggan out of the top spot after a four-year run at #1.
In the global list announced last night, however, Odette placed at #18, after Gaggan, which was ranked at #4. Even more confusingly, announcers at yesterday’s ceremony gave Gaggan the title of “Best Restaurant in Asia” thanks to that ranking.
So which is it, 50 Best? Which of your questionable calibrations of the best restaurants supersedes the other?
Meanwhile, another Bangkok restaurant, Sühring, which specializes in German cuisine, came in at #45 on this year’s list.
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