The late Filipino chef Margarita Fores was also honoured posthumously with the Woodford Reserve Icon Award, which was accepted by her son Amado to a standing ovation from the audience. A well-respected industry mentor, Fores had passed away suddenly in February. In a touching speech, Amado shared: “Some of my best memories are from travelling with her, visiting your wonderful restaurants and delivering those jars of Philippines crab fat, talangka, and the pastries that she loved sharing with you”.
Prior to the awards ceremony, Manila’s Toyo Eatery (No 48) was announced as the winner of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award while Bengaluru’s farm-to-table Farmlore clinched the American Express One to Watch Award, given to a restaurant deemed most likely to break into Asia’s top 50 list in the years to come.
Thai chef Chudaree ‘Tam’ Debhakam of Bangkok’s Baan Tepa was named Best Female Chef for her continuous work in showcasing local produce and biodiversity in her family-home-turned-urban-food-space restaurant.
A total of 16 cities are represented on this year’ Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, whose establishments were voted by a gender-balanced panel of 350 experts comprising food writers, critics, chefs, restaurateurs and regional culinary leaders.
Here is the 2025 list of winners:
*new entry
**re-entry
1. Gaggan (Bangkok)
2. The Chairman (Hong Kong)
3. Wing (Hong Kong)
4. Sezanne (Tokyo)
5. Mingles (Seoul)
