The best restaurants in Asia

Locavore is more like a science lab than an award-winning restaurant group. A mainstay in Ubud’s culinary world, they’ve experimented with different menus, spaces and restaurants over the years. Nusantara is an ode to the Indonesian archipelago. A team of local chefs cook lesser-known dishes from its 17,000 islands using local ingredients. It's likely you haven’t tried many of the dishes on the menu, but that’s what makes dining here so exciting. Pair it with one of its equally interesting cocktails or Indonesian-inspired iced teas.

Stepping into Manda de Laos feels like stepping into an enchanted tropical garden. Arranged around a UNESCO-listed lotus pond with swaying palms and glowing red umbrellas, a meal here is peak romance. But it’s not just the atmosphere that makes it the most popular restaurant in town. Here, the menu is a fancy schmancy take on local favourites like steamed Mekong fish with lemongrass and kaffir lime. Not sure where to start? Go for the tasting menu.

Hong Kong has oodles of high-end Cantonese restaurants, but few are as revered as The Legacy House. Inside the Rosewood Hotel on the Kowloon side, it has excellent views of Victoria Harbour and ultra-elegant design. Book a reservation for lunch to tuck into its signature dim sum. The pork dumplings and barbecue pork buns will make you weak in the knees, but be sure to splurge on the honey-glazed barbecue pork too. It may cost you a fortune, but your stomach will thank you.

Arguably Bangkok’s most coveted reservation, Potong is Chinatown’s Michelin star masterpiece. Located inside Chef Pam’s (Pichaya Soontornyanakij) converted family shophouse dating back to 1910, the restaurant holds tradition at its heart. This nearly 20-course tasting menu blends Chef Pam’s Thai and Chinese heritage to create a culinary journey packed with addictive flavours. And you can be sure drinks, service, and presentation are also on point. Afterwards, head to the top floor for a nightcap at the sinfully sexy Opium Bar.

Singapore’s Peranakan (or Straits-Chinese) food was on its way out, but Candlenut gave it CPR. The world’s first Michelin-star Peranakan restaurant showcases time-honoured recipes with a twist. Chef Malcolm Lee prioritises local and seasonal ingredients for his dishes, like the free-range pork in his ngoh hiang (five-spice pork rolls). Order Aunt Caroline’s Babi Buah Keluak, an intense slow-cooked Iberico pork dish, or Chef’s Mum’s Chicken Curry, a delicious family heirloom made with local chicken, potato, kaffir lime and a few top-secret ingredients.

Hidden amongst the never-ending honking and hustle of Manila is a respite—Hapag. Named after the ancestral Filipino dining table, the three f’s are a constant here: family, food and more food. This ten-course tasting menu combines the three different chef’s childhood memories with the freshest local produce. The ever-changing menu includes beloved dishes like lumpia and chicken adobo, but there’s so much more. The lobster inisal with pineapple salsa and smoked butter is lick-your-plate good.

Some say Penang is the culinary capital of Malaysia (don’t come for us). There are so many must-try local dishes, but this retro-style kopitiam is arguably the best place to kill two or three with one stone. This unassuming century-old heritage shophouse is always packed to the gills with locals looking for comfort food classics. Go wild and pack the table with kaya toast, nasi lemak, Penang char kway teow, steamed bread and plenty of teh.

No need for a scuba diving license to enjoy the treasures of the sea at Koral Restaurant. This is Bali’s first aquarium restaurant, tucked away in the luxurious Apurva Kempinski Bali. Request for a table under the arched plexiglass of the aquarium to make the most of the unusual setting. It gives you front-row seats to the dance of colourful marine life while you tuck into artistic multi-course menus with Indonesian-inspired dishes like wagyu beef with Maranggi sauce and silken tofu with Kintamani tangerine.