Expat Choice | Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Announces Cancellation of 2020 Live Awards

Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Announces Cancellation of 2020 Live Awards

Published - 25 February 2020, Tuesday

Main Image : Julien Royer’s sumptuous French fine dining destination Odette

The organisers of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants announced today - February 25, 2020 - the decision to move the 2020 Awards event online following the ongoing spread of coronavirus across certains parts of the globe.

A wise move considering the opportunty before us all to move the minds of many into the video conferencing segment. Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ live event was due to be held in Saga Prefecture in Japan on March 24.

Saga Prefecture is in the northwest of Kyushu, the south western most region of Japan’s main islands. It’s known for traditional ceramics made in its northwestern towns of Arita, Imari and Karatsu.

The cancellation is the latest casualty of the ongoing coronavirus situation. Organisers made the official announcement that they would reformat the pending live awards ceremony was a premium online event.

The event was scheduled to take place over three days with a full programme including a series of cultural tours designed to introduce guests to Saga Prefecture’s multifaceted offerings, from artisanal pottery to its famed Saga Beef.

Considering the scale of the event - attracting hundreds of chefs includng Food & Beverage professionals who would have been flying in from around the region to attend - the live cancellation certainly seems like the best decision to take.

The "50 Best" Team have shared that they are in the midst of planning a premium-level streamed awards ceremony in lieu of the live event. Come March 24 2020 all will be revealed.

Take a look at last year’s list to see who may be celebrating next month?

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Comments

Christina

25 Feb 2020 , Tue

62 comments

CONTRIBUTOR

RATED 8 / 8

The 2019 Best Restaurant in Asia: After four years of brilliant Bangkok restaurant Gaggan topping the Asia’s 50 Best ranking, was finally replaced at No.1 by Julien Royer’s sumptuous French fine dining destination Odette in Singapore.

What makes it special: First and foremost: Royer’s food. The 36-year-old Frenchman sources the highest quality products from specialist artisan producers across the world – from Europe to Asia and Australia. He then makes those ingredients purr in delicate but flavourful dishes which, while French at their core, show frequent flashes of the chef’s decade based in Asia.

The dishes: The chef has assembled a stellar young team, not just in the kitchen but in the dining room too, led by GM Steven Mason and Singapore’s star sommelier Vincent Tan. Every table and every guest is treated in a bespoke, never-by-the-numbers fashion with immense attention to detail.

What about the restaurant itself? Located in the historic National Gallery Singapore, the dining room has a feminine feel not frequently found in top-end establishments, thanks to the soft pink, grey and cream colour scheme created by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng. The space also houses original artworks including abstract collages of deconstructed food photography.

Chef history: Royer’s heavyweight CV includes stints working for Michel Bras in France and Antonin Bonnet in London. On moving to Singapore, he helmed the acclaimed Jaan for several years before opening Odette – named after the grandmother who inspired Royer to taste and ultimately to cook – in late 2015.

Typical dishes: The ever-changing menu may feature the likes of: crispy scaled kinki fish with butternut squash and Thai velouté; pigeon ‘beak to tail’ with Jerusalem artichoke and kampot pepper from Cambodia; or yuzu tarte with sake and basil.