The Best Eats in the East

The Best Eats in the East

In addition to globalizing, Asian cuisine is witnessing an upswing in experimentation.

By Ron Gluckman in the Wall Street Journal

Singapore

Is modern Asian cuisine fab or fad? That was a topic at this week’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, which in its third year has become one of the top food platforms in the region. Yet one might easily have asked: Asian food—unstoppable global phenomenon?

Following in the footsteps of Italian and French fare, many Asian cuisines are becoming the playground of a wide range of chefs rather than the preserve of a select priesthood. That was clear from the prize-giving this week in Singapore at the third edition of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards (sponsored by S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna), honoring the region’s finest dining.

The gold-medal winner was Gaggan, an Indian restaurant in Bangkok that leads a small molecular gastronomic movement in Asia. Chef Gaggan Anand, who performs magic acts with foams and dry ice in his glass-enclosed kitchen, prefers terms like progressive cuisine. Among Gaggan’s signature dishes is what looks like an uncooked egg, but is really a tangy dollop of yoghurt, infused with cumin and other Indian flavors.

“Nobody is doing this, this kind of food,” he said. “This award is a great pat on the back. This will be big for Indians, and hopefully will encourage more young chefs there and everywhere to experiment, to do their own thing.”

Experimentation is clearly on the upswing across Asia, as 50 Best showcased a greater diversity of winners, including the first honorees from the Philippines and Cambodia. Wat Damnak, in Siem Reap near the Angkor temples, cracked the list at 50.

Owner-chef Joannes Riviere touts his use of local techniques and ingredients, such as fresh-water fish from Tonle Sap Lake. “Cambodians have been humble about food for a long time, living in the shadow of the French, and Vietnamese and Thai,” he noted. “But there is a genuine Cambodian cuisine, and it’s a great thing.”

The awards were dominated by host Singapore (10 winners) Hong Kong (nine), Japan (eight) and China (six). Yet the top winner was again Thailand, with a pick that again ruffled feathers. A few food snobs grumbled that Gaggan’s gastronomy is mere trickery.

Last year’s winner, Bangkok’s Nahm, was less controversial. Few quibbled with the qualifications of Australian chef David Thompson—he was the first to win a Michelin star for Thai cooking and has written well-respected books on the subject.

But some Asian foodies still question whether Asian awards should be given to non-Asians. And criticism continues over the lack of inclusion. Raucous cheers greeted the first ever Philippines listing, but Vietnam and Malaysia have yet to make the grade.

William Drew, Group Editor for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, defended the vetting process, in which hundreds of judges anonymously visited and voted for the selections. “The list always throws up surprises. That’s reflective of the diversity of the list,” he said.

The awards, announced at a gala party on Monday night at the Capella Hotel, capped several days of chef showcases and panel discussions that ranged far beyond Asia. Besides the Peruvian contingent, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara came from Eleven Madison Park in New York, and Yannick Alleno talked about reshaping French cuisine.

“We look beyond Asia, just as the European and American chefs look beyond Europe and America,” Mr. Drew said. “The Asian gastronomic community is open to international influences.” He said another plus of the growing program was bringing international chefs to Asia to experience authentic street cuisine and shop in Asian markets.

Mitsuharu Tsumura detailed how flavors flowed the other way, from Japan and China to Peru. His Maido in Lima serves a variety of dishes steeped in Japanese taste and traditions. “Not Japanese fusion,” he said, but distinctly “Nikkei cuisine.” Tiradito uses raw fish that is sliced like sashimi instead of cubed, and marinated, like ceviche.

Mr. Tsumura’s father emigrated from Osaka, among a wave of earlier emigrants from Japan and China who relocated to Peru largely for field work, bringing with them Asian recipes and cooking styles. Now many Peruvian staples feature soy or oyster sauce and are prepared in woks. A combination of Chinese and Peruvian cooking, called Chifa, has become a local mainstay. Mr. Tsumura estimated that Lima alone has 5,000 Chifa restaurants.

Amid all this evidence of globalization, it seemed fitting that the Lifetime Achievement Award from Diners Club went to Tetsuya Wakuda, a globetrotting chef who emigrated from Japan to Australia. He established his flagship Tetsuya’s in Sydney 25 years ago, and five years ago he opened Waku Ghin in Singapore.

“Food has become a destination,” said Mr. Wakuda, fresh from the airport to pick up his award. He had just jetted in from another food event in Carmel, Calif. “Nowadays, people travel to eat,” he said.

“The trend used to be Brazilian, or French, or Japanese. But now everyone uses all the techniques. Before, if you did something, someone would say it wasn’t authentic and you couldn’t call it Italian,” said the celebrated chef. “But really, it’s about whether the guests enjoy it. That’s the main thing.”

Mr. Gluckman is a Bangkok-based writer.