A Toast to the Chefs Honored at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants

The third annual Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants has come to a close, celebrating 50 of the finest restaurants in the region. The list was topped by Gaggan in Bangkok, which opened in 2010 with the vision to reinvigorate Indian cuisine by incorporating modern cooking techniques. The list also welcomed eight new entries, with first-time entries from the Philippines (Antonio’s at No.48) and Cambodia (Cuisine Wat Damnak, No.50).

We were especially honored to celebrate the career of Chef Tetsuya Wakuda, winner of the Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award. We paid homage to him at our event space with a sake-tasting booth featuring three different kinds of sake curated by the chef himself.

The best way for us to capture the vibe of the event, and the meaning of these awards, is for you to hear about it from the chefs themselves:

After the awards ceremony on March 9, we continued our celebration of Wakuda’s accomplishments with an exclusive dinner the next night at his very own Waku Ghin, which ranked No. 9 on this year’s list, for a select group of cardmembers from our Diners Club Japan franchise and two Singaporean bloggers, Catherine Ling of Camemberu.com and Alvin Lim of Alvinology.com.

The chef greeted our guests during a cocktail reception before dinner and paid individual visits to each table to share his inspiration, philosophy and insights about the dishes that were served (picture below, clockwise from top left: Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscietra Caviar, Braised Canadian Lobster with Tarragon, Truffle Rice).

In the coming weeks, stay tuned to our blog and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for additional video footage from the awards ceremony where we’ve captured several world-class chefs’ impressions of the event, their best meal experiences and other unique insights.

Most importantly, congratulations on behalf of Diners Club International to all of the winning restaurants and chefs for their achievements and for elevating Asian cuisine through their skills, passion, and excellence!