Must-see restaurants in Asia

  • Beancurd pudding at Kung Wo Tofu Factory

    Kung Wo Tofu Factory

    Kowloon

    Regulars come to this charming 50-year-old shop for fresh soy milk, pan-fried tofu and sweet tofu pudding (HK$12), made the traditional way from beans…

  • Duddell's

    Hong Kong

    Light Cantonese fare is served in riveting spaces enhanced by artwork at this one-Michelin-starred restaurant-gallery. There's a graceful dining room,…

  • Yè Shanghai

    Kowloon

    Dark woods and subdued lighting inspired by 1920s Shanghai impart an air of romance to this otherwise bustling restaurant serving exquisite Shanghainese…

  • Food vendor at Gwangjang market.

    Gwangjang Market

    Dongdaemun & Eastern Seoul

    This sprawling fabric market is now best known as Seoul’s busiest meokjagolmok (food alley), thanks to the 200 or so food stalls, kimchi and fresh-seafood…

  • Kaiseki dishes

    Tofuya-Ukai

    Roppongi, Akasaka & Around

    One of Tokyo’s most gracious restaurants is located in a former sake brewery (moved from northern Japan), with an exquisite traditional garden in the…

  • SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - 2014/08/23: The interiors of the Cuisine Wat Danmak, the restaurant of French chef Joann?s Rivi?re in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Rivi?re is one of a handful of chefs who is turning the tables in Cambodia by only using locally sourced ingredients bucking the trend in a country whose restaurant industry imports more than 90% of ingredients. Many of the endemic items used by Rivi?re are considered waste or second class product, or have disappeared from markets due to low demand. (Photo by Leisa Tyler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    Cuisine Wat Damnak

    Siem Reap

    Set in a traditional wooden house is this highly regarded restaurant from Siem Reap celeb chef Joannès Rivière. The menu delivers the ultimate…

  • Uzbek pilau, dish originating from the East; Shutterstock ID 31800622; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Gillmore; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online-Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: 65050/ Online Design /LaurenGillmore/POI

    Al-Razzaque

    Dhaka

    Wildly popular with the locals, and rightly so, Al-Razzaque does delicious curries, biryanis and Bangladeshi breakfasts, but the pièces de résistance here…

  • Sushi Dai

    Odaiba & Tokyo Bay

    There is no better-value sushi in Tokyo than the omakase (chef's choice) course here. The menu changes daily (and sometimes hourly), but you're guaranteed…

  • Panshi Restaurant

    Sylhet

    At this iconic and wildly popular proletarian restaurant, the grade of cooking is nothing short of culinary wizardry. Bringing every possible permutation…

  • Ultraviolet

    The Bund & People's Square

    You’ve probably paired food and wine before, but what about coupling an illuminated apple-wasabi communion wafer with purple candles and a specially…

  • Van Gogh is Bipolar

    Manila

    Every bit as interesting as it sounds, this chaotic restaurant inhabits a tiny space packed with curios and artworks. It's run by artist Jetro, who cooks…

  • Lords Restaurant

    Negombo

    By far Negombo’s most creative eating experience, with dishes that are a hybrid of Western and Eastern flavours. Martin, the British owner, is a rare…

  • Woondaal

    Sylhet

    If you’ve ever been to a Bangladeshi-run Indian restaurant on London’s Brick Lane – where many of the restaurants are in fact run by expats from Sylhet –…

  • Rebung

    Lake Gardens, Brickfields & Bangsar

    Occupying the top level of a multistorey car park overlooking the Perdana Botanical Garden, flamboyant celebrity chef Ismail's restaurant is one of KL's…

  • Waku Ghin

    Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay

    The refinement and exquisiteness of the 10-course degustation menu by acclaimed chef Tetsuya Wakuda is nothing short of breathtaking. Using only the…

  • Antonio’s

    Around Manila

    One of the finest restaurants in the country, this upscale French-Euro-Filipino eatery offers the chance to rub elbows with politicians and oligarchs over…

  • Yue Kee Roasted Goose Restaurant

    New Territories

    In an alley lined with roast-goose restaurants, 60-year-old Yue Kee is the king. Order gorgeous plates of coppery-skinned charcoal-roasted goose (half is…

  • Kawashima Tōfu

    Kyūshū

    On Kyōmachi covered arcade near the station, this renowned tofu shop has been in business since the Edo period and serves refined kaiseki, starring tofu…

  • Saawaan

    Bangkok

    Two exceptionally talented chefs run what can easily be called one of the finest Thai restaurants in the world. Its name meaning 'heaven', this chic…

  • Peshawri

    Mumbai (Bombay)

    Make this Northwest Frontier restaurant, outside the international airport, your first or last stop in Mumbai. It's a carbon copy of Delhi's famous…

  • Bukhari Restaurant

    Paro

    The sophisticated circular restaurant at the Uma Paro hotel is the best in the valley. The set dinner menu changes frequently and focuses on fresh,…

  • Odette

    Colonial District, the Quays & Marina Bay

    Cementing its place in the upper echelons of Singapore's saturated fine-dining scene, this modern French restaurant keeps people talking with its newly…

  • Ddungbo Halmae Gimbap

    Gyeongsangnam-do

    Hungry travellers with limited Korean skills come here because there’s no need to speak or read a menu: this place only serves chungmu gimbap (충무 김밥), a…

  • Le Du

    Bangkok

    A play on the Thai word for 'season', Le Du intertwines Thai dishes with Western flavours, and applies 21st-century deconstructionist cooking techniques…

  • Kashi Art Cafe

    Kochi (Cochin)

    Fort Cochin's original (and best) art cafe, this fashionable, natural-light-filled space has a Zen vibe, a creeping vertical garden and stylish wood…

  • Bedspace Kitchen

    Unawatuna

    One of the most progressive, enjoyable restaurants in the country, Bedspace Kitchen has it all right. Around 95% of their ingredients are sourced in Sri…

  • Bingsheng Mansion

    Guangzhou

    One of only eight restaurants awarded a star in the inaugural 2018 Guangzhou Michelin guide, this is the upmarket flagship of the esteemed Bingsheng chain…

  • Doi Ka Noi

    Vientiane

    It took one meal for Doi Ka Noi to become one of our favourite restaurants in Laos. With a menu that changes daily (check the restaurant's Facebook page…

  • Eight

    Macau

    The Eight is a stellar three-Michelin-starred restaurant and model of Cantonese culinary refinement inside the Grand Lisboa. You can dine on a 'simple'…

  • Commune Social

    Shanghai

    From UK celebrity chef Jason Atherton, this natty Neri & Hu–designed restaurant blends a stylish yet relaxed vibe with sensational tasting dishes,…

  • Indian Accent

    Delhi

    Inside luxury Lodhi hotel, though privately run, Indian Accent is one of the capital's top dining experiences. Chef Manish Mehrotra works his magic using…

  • Onion

    Dongdaemun & Eastern Seoul

    Seoul's hippest cafe-bakery, Onion is the epitome of industrial-chic cool, set within a semiderelict concrete building that just begs to be photographed…

  • Karim’s

    Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)

    Down a narrow alley off a lane leading south from Jama Masjid, Karim’s has been delighting carnivores since 1913. Expect meaty Mughlai treats such as…

  • Cloud 9

    Thimphu

    If you're tired of bland hotel buffets, this stylish restaurant serves the best international menu in town. Come for sourdough pizzas with authentic…

  • Jade Dragon

    Macau

    At three-Michelin-starred Jade Dragon, the genius of a Cantonese master is applied to top-notch ingredients and the results are mesmerising. We've all had…

  • Gaa

    Siam Square, Pratunam, Phloen Chit & Ratchathewi

    This uber-acclaimed restaurant is run by Michelin-starred chef Garima Arora (a protégé of former Bangkok chef Gaggan Anand) who also honed her craft at…

  • 1 Restaurant

    Yunnan

    Built into a historic courtyard house once owned by a trader of the Tea Horse Road era, the restaurant's very modern menu features Yunnanese and Naxi…

  • Sita Ram Dewan Chand

    Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)

    A family-run hole-in-the-wall serving inexpensive portions of just one dish – chhole bhature (spicy chickpeas, accompanied by delicious, freshly made,…

  • Jungsik

    Gangnam & Southern Seoul

    This place was voted number 25 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2018; neo-Korean cuisine hardly gets better than this. At the Apgujeong outpost of the New…

  • Coffee Empire

    Manila

    A chic industrial open-plan warehouse setup with hessian sacks of single-origin green beans on display in the glassed-in 'green room', plus drawers of…