Japanese chefs and their restaurants continued to dominate at the seventh Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards. But once again they fell short when it came to the ultimate prize, the number one position on the list.
The annual awards ceremony returned to Macao's glitzy Cotai casino district on March 26 for a second year, hosted again by the plush Wynn Palace hotel complex. With its red carpet entrance, gaggles of photographers and lavish warmup and afterparties, the event continues to live up to its own billing as the "Oscars of the regional food world."
With 12 restaurants on the 2019 list — all but two of them in Tokyo — Japan maintains its customary strength in numbers, ahead of Hong Kong (with nine), Thailand (eight) and Singapore (seven). In the 50 Best voting groups, Hong Kong and Macao are considered separately from mainland China.