Asian Restaurant Awards Winners

The winners of the first Asian Restaurant Awards were announced at a glittering awards ceremony, held at the Manchester Hilton, on Monday 5th March. The evening, attended by over 500 leading restaurateurs, chefs, food journalists and VIP guests, was hosted by TV news presenter and BBC World Service news anchor, Babita Sharma.

The shortlist was determined by voting from members of the public wh were able to nominate their favourite Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese restaurants and takeaways. The major award winners were:

Best Chinese Restaurant
Hakkasan, London
Best Malaysian Restaurant
Rasa Sayan, London
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
Asha’s, Manchester
Best Middle Eastern Restaurant
Kookoo, Surbiton
Best Turkish Restaurant
Istanbul, Manchester
Best Pan Asian Restaurant
Palm Pan Asia, Winchester
Best Chain
Aagrah Group, North of England
Best Indian Restaurant
Ziya Restaurant, Manchester
Best Bangladeshi Restaurant
The Naz, Manchester
Best Buffet Restaurant
Royal Nawaab, Manchester
Best Newcomer
Urban Kohinoor, Bristol
Gourmet Restaurant of the Year
Sigiriya, Altrincham
Best Takeaway/Delivery
Mushtaqs, Hamilton
Best Event Caterers
Sapna, Southall

The Asian Restaurant Awards were organised by the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) which represents the nation’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants. In his programme notes, Asian Restaurant Awards judge, George Shaw, commented: “Over 25 years ago culinary pioneer Madha Jaffrey told me that too many Asian restaurant owners were in a race to the bottom, undercutting each other’s prices, with enormous menus of poorly cooked dishes. Tonight, we celebrate the achievements of those in a race to the top.”