Refer Earns Spot as First BJ Restaurant on Asia 50 Best List
It’s been a while coming, but a Beijing restaurant has finally managed to make it into Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant list. Yes, Refer in Sanlitun Taikooli has managed to nab the honor of being the first Beijing restaurant to achieve this accolade, jumping from 67 last year to secure itself the number 50 spot.
A Singapore based awards list, the Asia’s Best 50 Restaurant list was first established back in 2013. However, up until now no Beijing restaurant had managed to make it into the top 50 – most of the previous China based restaurants that made the cut have been from Shanghai.
Still a relative newcomer when it comes to Beijing’s gastronomic scene, Refer only opened up in 2020 but has been making waves ever since. Owned by Canadian expat Talib Hudda and his wife, a Beijing local, its inclusion at number 67 on the Best Restaurant list last year was already an impressive fete -- being the first ever Western restaurant in the capital to make the list -- but now making the top 50 is a huge achievement.
Owner and head chef of Refer Talib Hudda
Despite this impressive display, Refer was unfortunately snubbed by this year’s Michelin Guide. Instead of receiving any stars, the restaurant was only listed as one of the “Michelin-Selected Restaurants”. Refer did fare better in this year’s Black Pearl awards, however, earning themselves two diamonds. We have our fingers crossed that perhaps in the next Michelin Guide they’ll get the recognition they deserve.
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Another Beijing restaurant, Chinese fine dining establishment Ling Long, managed to make it in the Asia Best Restaurant list, coming in at #77 out of 100. Having first opened in 2019, Ling Long serves up distinctly Chinese dishes with French presentation. It’s seen many successes since its opening and received one Michelin star in this year’s awards and one diamond in the Black Pearl awards.
An interesting point to note about this year’s Asia’s Best Restaurant list is that Xin Rong Ji, which ranked 68 in the list last year, was nowhere to be found, despite having won three Michelin stars this year and two diamonds in the Black Pearl awards. It certainly seems that there are some differences in opinion when it comes to what's hot and what's not in Beijing’s culinary scene.
Refer
5th Floor, Building No.8, TaiKooLi North, Chaoyang
朝阳区太古里北区N8座5层
Phone: 01084381636
Ling Long
3/F, Stey, Bei Zhaolong Hotel, 2 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体北路2号兆龙饭店3层
Phone: 01086355109
READ MORE
Eating and Drinking Around the Sanlitun Embassy Area, Pt.1
Images: courtesy of Asiai's 50 Best Restaurants, Refer
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