Macau to host ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ for the next two years

From left: William Drew, group editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Tim Brooke-Web, Helena de Senna Fernandes, Richard Ekkebus, culinary director of Amber, listed as No. 3 in 50 best

Macau is expected to host both the 2018 and 2019 editions of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards and the associated event programs.

Some of the region’s most respected chefs and influential restaurateurs will gather at Wynn Palace Cotai on March 27, 2018, for the announcement of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018 list and special awards.

The organizers of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants have chosen to bring this gourmet platform to the city in a bid to showcase Macau’s growing gastronomic portfolio, as well as celebrate talent from across Asia.

In 2017, the annual list saw 12 different countries represented, including ten new entries in total. The festivities came to a crescendo with Bangkok restaurant, Gaggan named The Best Restaurant in Asia for a successive record-breaking third time.

The 2018 program will include a new edition of #50BestTalks, a one-day forum to be held on March 26, that will bring together Asia’s most influential chefs and culinary leaders to discuss regional gastronomy and emerging food trends.

Tim Brook-Web, managing director of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants recalled that the group’s initial aim was to create a device that gave more prominence to the region and this was achieved through the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

“I think we were inspired by a need to show the world what’s going on in Asia and for the rest of the world to understand more about Asian gastronomy,” Brook-Web told the press on the sidelines of the press conference held yesterday at Wynn Palace.

Currently two local restaurants namely Jade Dragon and The Tasting Room by Galliot are listed in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants as number 32 and number 39 respectively.

Brook-Web is confident that the number of local restaurants to be included in the list will increase in the future.

“I don’t think we’d be here if we didn’t think Macau has a very good chance. But it’s top quality restaurants with some top quality chefs; and I think it’s incumbent to us all to show the world what’s going on here,” Brook-Web said in a statement.

Visiting Macau for the third time, the managing director noted that the quality of food and chefs in the city is a “well kept secret,” adding, “Macau deserves more than that.”

Attending the event was the director of Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, who mentioned the city’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy – which was announced last week.

The director also revealed that MGTO invested MOP4 million in the event.

Fernandes noted that the event will be an excellent occasion to celebrate Macau’s inclusion in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the field of gastronomy.

Apart from aiming to attract a growing number of tourists to Macau, she noted that they are also aiming to provide the local gastronomy sector with the chance to meet international professionals.

“Our [aim] is to [also] give the restaurant scene and the entire gastronomy landscape different opportunities to have an interchange with different people around the world, to learn from them, and to raise the international profile of the city,” said Fernandes.

She also expressed that they are looking at enhancing creativity in the city’s gastronomy sector and in the continuation and conservation of the old traditions of Macau.

Meanwhile, the director hoped that long distance travelers would also be attracted to the event, adding the advantages of the upcoming Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

“This will also allow us to be able to tap into long-haul visitors flying into Hong Kong and that will be another possibility for us to open the long-haul market,” the MGTO head expressed.

The 2017 list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants featured ten new entries and included special awards such as Asia’s Best Pastry Chef, Chefs’ Choice Award, the Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award and Asia’s Best Female Chef.