Last night, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants for 2017 were announced at the awards ceremony in Bangkok, with Shanghai's dining scene snagging just a couple of spots with two restaurants ranking on the list. While it's one less win than last year, they're the only Mainland restaurants represented amongst the winners.
Coming as no surprise, 50 Best veteran Paul Pairet took the number 8 spot with his multi-sensory dining concept Ultraviolet, down one spot from number 7 at last year's awards. While past years (including 2016) have also seen a place for his well-loved French restaurant Mrs & Mrs Bund, we're sad to say that this it year it fell from the list.
Coming in at number 48 was Shanghainese team Fang Yuan and Chef Tony Lu's refined vegetarian restaurant Fu He Hui, a three-storey temple to vegetarianism housing a museum-worthy display of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture and art pieces. The restaurant saw a huge drop this year, however; falling 30 spots from their 2016 place at number 18.
The night also saw renowned chef Umberto Bombana receiving The Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award. Fondly known as 'the king of white truffles', Bombana is the man behind Shanghai's 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, whose original branch in Hong Kong is the only Italian restaurant outside of Italy to have been awarded three Michelin stars. Congrats to a lifetime of culinary excellence, Chef B!
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