At the gastronomic event 'Asia's 50 Best Restaurants (A50B)' awards, which selects the top 50 restaurants in Asia, the domestic fine dining restaurants Mingles, Onjium, Seven's Door, and Itanic Garden made the list. Mingles and Onjium were also included in the top 50 last year, but this year their rankings surged significantly. Itanic Garden entered the top 50 for the first time this year.
At the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards held on the afternoon of the 25th at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, Mingles recorded the highest ranking among domestic restaurants at 5th place. Onjium placed 10th, Seven's Door 23rd, and Itanic Garden 25th.
Last year, no domestic restaurant made the top 10, but this year, Mingles and Onjium were included. Mingles rose from 13th last year to 5th this year, while Onjium climbed from 21st to 10th. Itanic Garden made a significant jump from 64th last year to 25th this year. However, Seven's Door dropped slightly from 18th to 23rd.
This year's top spot in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants went to 'Gaggan' in Bangkok. Gaggan is not a Thai restaurant but an Indian eatery that held the top position in the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants from 2015 to 2018. The 2nd place went to 'The Chairman' in Hong Kong, 3rd to 'Wing' in Hong Kong, and 4th to 'Sezanne' in Tokyo. The top 10 included two restaurants each from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Bangkok, as well as one each from Singapore and Macau.
The Asia region restaurants ranked from 51st to 100th, announced prior to the awards ceremony, included six domestic restaurants: Bon & Bread (51st), Solbam (55th), Swaniye (57th), Alaf prima (61st), Kwon Sook Soo (62nd), and Jungsik (90th).
Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, started in 2013, is an event that holds the World 50 Best Restaurants (W50B) competition limited to Asia. Judging is based on preferences submitted by a voting panel of chefs, restaurant managers (34%), food critics (33%), and gourmets (33%), who have visited the restaurants within 18 months, ranking their top 10, after which the global consulting firm Deloitte tallies the votes.
This year's event was sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Seoul Metropolitan Government. About 800 stakeholders, including renowned chefs, gourmets, critics, and journalists from Asia, attended the event.