MACAU Bubbling with fountains of champagne and tabletop fields of sushi and caviar, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards boasted the glitz of a red-carpet Hollywood opening and the suspense of a potboiler novel. Often referred to as the Academy Awards of Asian cuisine, there was no mishap here over the wrong envelope. Instead, it was a simple case of deja vu.
The winner was charismatic Indian chef Gaggan Anand, 39, whose eponymous "progressive Indian cuisine" restaurant in Bangkok took the No. 1 ranking for an unprecedented fourth time in a row. "Beating yourself is the hardest thing," he said on receiving the prize.
