It isn’t just the tire-maker-turned-gourmet-guide Michelin that’s in the restaurant rating game these days. Another organization has emerged on the scene and grown in scope the last few years. The World’s 50 Best organization has moved beyond just ranking the top restaurants around the globe, it now has regional lists as well. Last fall, the group crowned the top 50 restaurants in Latin America. Today, they declared Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand, the restaurant by chef Gaggan Anand, to be the very best restaurant in Asia for the fourth year in a row.

Den in Tokyo, run by chef Zaiyu Hasegawa, who fans of the Netflix show Ugly Delicious will recognize from the fried chicken episode, takes second place. The modern French restaurant Florilege in Tokyo is third, Thomas and Mathias Sühring’s German spot in Bangkok is fourth, and French restaurant Odette in Singapore rounds out the top five. Japan features the most entries on the top 50 with 11, with Thailand and Hong Kong trailing closely behind with nine each.

While it’s quite the laurel for a restaurant, this list is certainly not without its flaws. Unlike Michelin, which creates its ratings by actually eating at restaurants around the world, the World’s 50 Best organization takes a much different, and perhaps controversial, approach. The group convenes a panel of 300 experts across Asia “made up of food writers and critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes,’” it says. That has allowed gender bias to permeate these lists for years, rarely recognizing women-led restaurants as great.

This list is mostly the restaurant industry reflecting on itself and its own values right now. Is Gaggan truly the best restaurant in all of Asia. Perhaps, but more importantly for this list, the restaurant intelligentsia believes it is. So, have fun reading the complete list below, but realize there are some real limitations in how it’s made.

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

source: Robb Report