The Chairman Reclaims No.1 in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026

The Chairman, Danny Yip’s Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong, was named The Best Restaurant in Asia at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards on 26 March 2026. It is the second time the restaurant has led the ranking: it first reached No.1 in 2021, when it became the first Hong Kong address, and the first kitchen cooking Chinese food, to do so. It had been No.2 in 2025, behind Gaggan in Bangkok.

The Chairman has built its reputation on an approach that is simple to describe and hard to copy: classical Cantonese technique applied to ingredients sourced with unusual care, much of it from small local producers and fishermen, with sauces, cured meats and preserved ingredients made in-house. Its steamed flowery crab with aged Shaoxing wine and chicken oil is among the most discussed dishes in the city.

Across the list, Bangkok has the most restaurants, with nine, followed by Tokyo with seven. Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore have six each, and 17 cities are represented in all. There are eight new entries and three re-entries.

China’s mainland had a strong year. Ru Yuan, in Hangzhou, entered directly at No.10 and took the Highest New Entry Award, and Lamdre, a plant-based restaurant in Beijing, won the Highest Climber Award after rising 33 places to No.17. The Icon Award went to the restaurateur Zhang Yong.

Among the individual awards, Cho Eun-hee of Onjium in Seoul, ranked No.14, was named Asia’s Best Female Chef. Thitid ‘Ton’ Tassanakajohn of Nusara in Bangkok, No.5, received the Chefs’ Choice Award, voted by his peers. Lesley Liu of Odette in Singapore was named best sommelier and Ardika Dwitama of August in Jakarta best pastry chef. Masque in Mumbai, No.15, won the Art of Hospitality Award, Baan Tepa in Bangkok the Sustainable Restaurant Award, and San, in Seoul, was named One to Watch.

The ranking is compiled from the votes of more than 350 chefs, writers and well-travelled diners across the region, with an equal number of men and women. It measures reputation among insiders rather than a fixed standard, which is why it is best read alongside the Michelin guides and not instead of them.

For visitors to Hong Kong, the practical consequence is that a table at The Chairman, never easy to obtain, will now need to be booked even further ahead.