Wing Lei Palace
Wynn Macau’s Wing Lei Palace has climbed up seven places to No. 39 in the ranking of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, and has been named “The Best Restaurant in Macau”. The ranking was announced at a live awards ceremony in Singapore: the first full-scale live awards event in Asia since the pandemic.
Wynn Palace’s Sichuan Moon re-enters the rankings at No. 43. Le Du in Bangkok has secured the coveted No. 1 spot in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, while Sezanne in Tokyo and Bangkok’s Nusara secured second and third place, respectively.
The 2023 list spans 19 cities and includes seven new entries. Singapore and Bangkok both have the highest number of entries on the list at nine restaurants each.
“There is quite a lot of change in the list,” William Drew, director of content at 50 Best, said in an interview, as cited in a Bloomberg report.
“The lists have been more based on local votes over the last couple of years because of the travel restrictions — and this year it’s almost a return to normal.” Though, he added, “we can’t pretend that this list is not affected by the pandemic and travel restrictions.”
For Drew, it has taken some time for chefs to embrace the movement of local sourcing in Asia. However, adjustments have been made, as is evident on this year’s list.
“It’s less about importing what might be called traditional luxury ingredients, and much more the luxury of finding the quality that is around you,” he said. “That’s something that will continue to develop, because cities like Singapore and Hong Kong have traditionally imported a lot. They’re doing so less now, as restaurants that are embracing more [local produce] are seeing greater success.”
