The Academy

The Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy is the mechanism used to create the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. None of the employees of any of the sponsors associated with the awards, including the main sponsor, votes or has any influence over the results.

The Academy is comprised of 318 members, each selected for their expert opinion of the Asian restaurant scene. To create the Academy, and provide a fair representation of the continent, we divide Asia into six separate voting regions.

Each region has a chairperson appointed for their knowledge of their part of the restaurant world. These chairs each select a voting panel of 53 (including themselves) – ensuring a balanced selection of chefs, restaurateurs, food/restaurant journalists and gourmets.

Learn more about the how the voting works

  • Jung-Yoon Choi

    Jung-Yoon Choi

    Academy Chair: Korea

    Jung-Yoon Choi is a chef, culinary researcher and cookbook writer with more than 26 years of experience across Spain, Australia and Korea. Trained at El Bulli and the Alicia Foundation, she now leads the Sempio Korean Fermentation & Culinary Research Center in Korea. She is also the founder of the NANRO Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting emerging culinary next generation and fostering cross-cultural exchange through food culture. As co-author of The Korean Cookbook, JY brings the depth and diversity of Korean cuisine to a global audience.
  • Takefumi Hamada

    Takefumi Hamada

    Academy Chair for: Japan

    Takefumi Hamada is a Tokyo-based gastronomy expert who has travelled to 128 countries and regions, and has visited every restaurant on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list. He explores globally acclaimed destinations and hidden regional dining gems across Japan and abroad, and regularly works with Japanese regional governments to promote gastronomy tourism. His book on gastronomy became a national bestseller in 2024, with editions in five languages, including English and Spanish, scheduled for international release. Hamada shares his dining insights through Instagram and appears regularly on Japanese television, radio, and in print and online media.

  • Siddhaarth Jalan

    Siddhaarth Jalan

    Academy Chair for: India & Subcontinent

    Siddhaarth Jalan oversees the restaurant, nightlife and hotel sectors for The Times of India and manages the multi-city Times Food & Nightlife Awards, the most prestigious national awards programme for the hospitality industry. He previously worked in the apparel sector and founded his own start-up before joining one of India’s leading experiential dining companies, Impresario. He travels extensively across the country, as well as internationally, and revels in discovering new restaurants and cuisines.
  • Susan Jung

    Susan Jung

    Academy Chair for: Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan

    Susan Jung is the food columnist for Vogue Hong Kong. For almost 25 years, she was the food and drinks editor for the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's main English-language daily newspaper. She's the author behind international cookbook Kung Pao & Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia (Quadrille, Spring 2023), and also contributed to Signature Dishes That Matter (Phaidon, 2019).

  • Litti Kewkacha

    Litti Kewkacha

    Academy Chair for: South-East Asia (North)

    Based in Bangkok, Litti is a passionate and highly regarded gastronome. Born and raised in Thailand, he has also spent time living in Singapore and the UK. He oversees a range of leisure and hospitality businesses in the fast-casual and fast-food sectors under the Kacha Brothers umbrella, and his family founded and owns the Safari World and Phuket FantaSea theme parks. He travels extensively and has visited almost every restaurant featured on the 50 Best lists, as well as numerous others, sharing his experiences on his popular Instagram account.

  • Nicola Lee

    Nicola Lee

    Nicola Lee - Academy Chair: South-East Asia (South)

    Based in Singapore, Nicola is a dedicated food and wine enthusiast and a writer for publications such as Tatler Asia and RadarList. Having studied hotel management, today she is a real estate developer by trade, while also contributing to Tatler’s Best Restaurant Guide for Singapore and various other country-wide food and wine awards. Nicola likes to track down rare Champagne bottles – her personal collection is second to none in Singapore – and has previously lectured in hospitality and tourism.

  • Crystyl Mo

    Crystyl Mo

    Academy Chair for: Mainland China

    Crystyl Mo is a freelance food writer, editor, TV host and consultant who has been charting China’s burgeoning restaurant scene for over a decade. The former food editor of Time Out Shanghai, she has contributed to international publications including Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveler, AFAR and CNNGo.

  • Yang Guang

    Yang Guang

    Academy Vice Chair for: Mainland China

    Yang Guang is a former architect who worked in the US and China but is now a full-time gourmet. Based in Beijing, Yang runs a successful cooking channel on social media, as well as visiting numerous restaurants for work and pleasure. He is an expert in Chinese and international cuisines, and will act as Academy Vice Chair in Mainland China for both The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.