plankton, ants, blood sausage and more

The highly-anticipated Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants is out. Ever wondered what dishes impressed the judges so much, the restaurants made the cut? It could be one with truffles, caviar, everyday herbs… yawn. We are not discounting the ingenuity of the winners of this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants; nor are we turning up our noses at the world’s finest produce. It’s just that we’ve heard it all before.

But here’s a twist: We’ve decided to rank our own winners based on the shock value of their ingredients.

The entire list of restaurant rankings can be found at the end of this feature.

Eat Me, Bangkok

Ranking: 33
Foodies are guaranteed a whale of a time at Eat Me, chef Tim Butler’s restaurant serving modern international cuisine, and it’s because of one item on the menu: Grilled Abalone with Plankton Rice. Yes, it’s rice flavoured with plankton, the same microscopic stuff that baleen whales filter through their mouths when they feed. While the tiny marine organisms are the most curious thing on the menu, they are not the only ones worth a mention. The less adventurous-sounding but equally delicious Tom Yum Maine Lobster and Bouillabaisse served with carabinero prawn are also must-trys.

Eat Me
Convent Road
Soi Pipat 2
Silom
Bangkok
Thailand
Tel: +66 2238 0931

Den, Tokyo

Ranking: 2
Upon being served Den’s signature garden salad, many a guests have probably exclaimed: “There’s an ant in my greens!” Albeit artfully placed, this ant, in most diners’ eyes, is hardly an improvement on the famous fly that found its way into a soup. While the customer works himself up to a complaint, his eyes will likely drift to the carrot slice carved with a smiley face that is seemingly making light of the situation and asking him: “Why so serious?” At this kaiseki restaurant in Tokyo, chef Zaiyu Hasegawa is known for lightening what is usually a rather serious dining style with humour. Another case in point is his Dentucky Fried Chicken, filled with stuffing that changes with the seasons (or perhaps his moods), which pokes fun at the odd Japanese obsession with eating KFC for Christmas dinner. It’s even served in a paper box that resembles those used by the fast food chain.

Den
Architect house hall JIA
2-3-18 Jingumae
Shibuya Ku
Tokyo
Japan
Tel: +81 3 6455 5433

Amber, Hong Kong

Ranking: 7
At the risk of sounding racist, there’s probably no ethnic group more open-minded to eating odd animal parts than the Chinese. This may be why Dutch-born chef Richard Ekkebus, despite having designed a wholly Western menu for Amber, has included amadai served with scales still on. After crunching on fish scales, try the restaurant’s standout dish: Miyazaki wagyu beef strip loin served with red pearl onions and black currant in a shiraz reduction, then top with dried red onion skin dust. The dish is a feast for the eyes as much as it is for the palate; with so many saturated purple and pink hues, it resembles a painting on the plate.

Amber
Level 7
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
15 Queen’s Road
Central
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2132 0066

Florilege, Tokyo

Ranking: 3
You’d find yourself lusting after an old cow in this modern French restaurant. In the name of sustainability, chef Hiroyasu Kawate uses beef from 13-year-old Miyazaki cows in his signature beef carpaccio named – you guess it – Sustainable. In comparison, cows farmed for food are conventionally slaughtered before the age of three. The carpaccio is served with two types of purees: beetroot and smoked potato, as well as red apple sorbet.

Florilege
B1 Seizan
Gaien2-5-4 Jingumae
Shibuya
Tokyo
Japan
Tel: +81 3 6440 0878

Gaggan, Bangkok

Ranking: 1
Savoury ice creams may no longer be as much of a novelty today as they were five years ago, but the mention of uni ice cream on the menu of this progressive Indian restaurant still made us pause a little. Chef Gaggan Anand is just as creative with serving as he is with cooking food. The 25-course tasting menu, for example, is written purely in emojis. Only the millennials may ever come close to making sense of it, so most diners are likely to be surprised by the slew of small snacks and Indian sushi that follow. Those who can’t eat without knowing what they are dining on, fret not; a written version of the menu will be presented at the end of the course.

Gaggan
68/1 Soi Langsuan
Ploenchit Road Lumpini
Bangkok 10330
Thailand
Tel: +66 2 652 1700

La Cime, Osaka

Ranking: 17
Would you pay fine dining prices to eat a hot dog? What if it’s bloody and coated in coal? Chef Yusuke Takada’s signature Boudin Dog is a boudin noir blood sausage wrapped in a dough and coloured black by bamboo charcoal. It’s meant to resemble a hot dog. The cuisine at this restaurant may be contemporary French, but Takada hasn’t shied away from his roots. His favourite things to draw inspiration from include citrus fruits from his birthplace of Amami Oshima island, and simple homecooked fare by his mother and grandmother.

La Cime
1st floor
Honmachi Kawano Building
3-2-15 Kawaramachi
Chuo-ku
Osaka 541 0048
Japan
Tel: +81 6 6222 2010

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants:

1. Gaggan, Bangkok
2. Den, Tokyo
3. Florilege, Tokyo
4. Suhring, Bangkok
5. Odette, Singapore
6. Narisawa, Tokyo
7. Amber, Hong Kong
8. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai
9. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo
10. Nahm, Bangkok
11. Mingles, Seoul
12. Burnt Ends, Singapore
13. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong
14. Le Du, Bangkok
15. Raw, Taipei
16. Ta Vie, Hong Kong
17. La Cime, Osaka
18. Mume, Taipei
19. Indian Accent, New Delhi
20. L’Effervescence, Tokyo
21. Locavore, Bali
22. The Chairman, Hong Kong
23. Waku Ghin, Singapore
24. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong
25. Ministry of Crab, Colombo
26. Jungsik, Seoul
27. Sushi Saito, Tokyo,
28. Il Ristorante – Luca Fantin, Tokyo
29. Les Amis, Singapore
30. Fu He Hui, Shanghai
31. Paste, Bangkok
32. Neighborhood, Hong Kong
33. Eat Me, Bangkok
34. Hajime, Osaka
35. Jade Dragon, Macau
36. Corner House, Singapore
37. Bo.Lan, Bangkok
38. Quintessence, Tokyo
39. Issaya Siamese Club, Bangkok
40. Belon, Hong Kong
41. Ronin, Hong Kong
42. TocToc, Seoul
43. The Dining Room, Bangkok
44. Jaan, Singapore
45. Nihonbashi, Colombo
46. Caprice, Hong Kong
47. Shoun RyuGin, Taipei
48. La Maison de la Nature Goh, Fukuoka
49. Wasabi By Morimoto, Mumbai
50. Whitegrass, Singapore

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants