It’s notoriously difficult to score a seat at RAW, an approachable fine diner inspired by French ‘bistronomy’ that has remained one of Taipei’s hottest tickets since opening four years ago. Dominated by a free-flowing sculpture made of local pine, the dining room is a striking setting for tasting menus of modern Taiwanese cuisine moulded around the island’s 24 ‘micro-seasons’ by celebrity chef André Chiang. raw.com.tw Shortlist: Mume, Shoun RyuGin, Taïrroir

Thai-born chef Duangporn Songvisava (Bo) and her Australian husband Dylan Jones (Lan) have become the faces of Thai fine dining. The couple met during a stint at David Thompson’s late Nahm in London, and went on to wow Bangkok with their meld of homestyle cooking and royal cuisine. In keeping with an overarching sustainable ethos, the restaurant is well on its way to becoming zero carbon. bolan.co.th Shortlist: Paste, Issaya Siamese Club, 80/20

Fastidiously executed Cantonese cooking has made this relatively nondescript restaurant a cult favourite. Drawing on 2000 years of gastronomic tradition and sourcing ingredients from local fishermen, producers and the restaurant’s own farm in the New Territories, chef Kwok Keung Tung turns out signature dishes such as steamed flower crab with Shaoxing wine, house-made aromatic chicken oil and rice noodles. thechairmangroup.com Shortlist: Lung King Heen, Tin Lung Heen

There’s no shortage of places in Tokyo to try Japan’s legendary multi-course kaiseki, but Den has made its name by bucking tradition in a way not many dare. In contrast to the near-sacred solemnity with which many of Japan’s best chefs operate, chef Zaiyu Hasegawa and his wife Emi on front-of-house strive to create a playful vibe for a kaiseki experience up there with the best of them. jimbochoden.com Shortlist: Sushi Saito, Narisawa, Nihonryori RyuGin

It’s all in the name – this renowned restaurant in popular mountain enclave Ubud keeps things local. Jakartan Ray Adriansyah and Dutch-born Eelke Plasmeijer work with Indonesian farmers and fisherman to source the starring ingredients in two tasting menus (including an all-veggie version) of European-inspired dishes with tropical flavour. The team’s newer sister venture Nusaantara is a must-do for upscale Indonesian fare. locavore.co.id Shortlist: Kaum (Bali), Nusa (Jakarta), BLANCO par Mandif (Bali)

A team of young guns led by chef Jordy Navarra and his wife May are helping redefine modern Filipino food. ‘Toyo’ is the Filipino word for soy sauce, and was chosen as a nod to the complexity of an apparently simple ingredient. In their casual eatery, chef Navarra mines inspiration from everything from popular street foods to Tagalog nursery rhymes to produce traditional dishes with unexpected depths. facebook.com/toyoeatery/ Shortlist: Hey Handsome, Mecha Uma, Mireio

This avant-garde (and eye-wateringly expensive) restaurant blurs the lines between performance art and dining. A maximum of 10 guests at a time are whisked by bus to a windowless private dining room where a single long table sits surrounded by floor-to-ceiling screens. For 20 courses, diners are walked through a surreal multi-sensory experience with video, audio, lighting and even scents choreographed for each dish. uvbypp.cc Shortlist: Fue He Hui, Taian Table

There’s no shame in using your hands at this restaurant – it’s worth it to eek out every succulent morsel from a Sri Lankan mud crab coated in island-grown black pepper. Restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa and cricket legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara started this shrine to seafood inside a 400-year-old Dutch hospital, where crabs come baked or in chilli, pepper, butter or curry sauce, alongside Sri Lankan king prawns and Japanese-leaning sides. ministryofcrab.com Shortlist: The Tuna and The Crab (Galle), Seafood Cove At Mount Lavinia Hotel (Colombo)

Chefs Kimsan Pol and Kimsan Sok have made it their mission to revive ancient Royal Khmer cuisine. At the head of an all-female team, the duo dubbed the ‘Kimsan Twins’ (for their shared surname) walk guests through their answer to ‘Khmer gastronomy’ – a progression of small plates that has seen the pair hailed as the future of fine dining in Cambodia. embassy-restaurant.com Shortlist: Mie Café (Siam Reap), Cuisine Wat Damnak (Siam Reap), Chinese House (Phnom Penh)

After winning over Hong Kong, chef Peter Cuong Franklin brought his ‘Cuisine Mới’ (or ‘New Vietnamese Cuisine’) home to his birth country. Flanked by stalls in Chợ Cũ Tôn Thất Đạm wet markets, Anăn turns out creative riffs on street foods such as the Bánh xèo ‘taco’ with beef brisket, or the off-menu $100 Banh Mi spiked with foie gras and black truffle. Cap it off with a house cocktail in the rooftop bar. anansaigon.com Shortlist: Cuc Gach Quan, Vietnam House

Inspired by stints heading up kitchens in the global Nobu empire, young chef Mingoo Kang returned to South Korea to contribute to his own homeland’s culinary culture. Located in a paired-back space in swank Gangnam, the restaurant ‘mingles’ European and Japanese elements to execute familiar Korean dishes with innovative twists. restaurant-mingles.com Shortlist: Toctoc, Jungsik Seoul

The only Pernankan restaurant to hold a Michelin Star, Candlenut at the Como Dempsey waves the flag for heritage Singaporean cuisine. Chef Malcolm Lee combines classical culinary training with the time- and labour-intensive Nyonya recipes learned from his mother and grandmother to produce inventive dishes laced with the flavours, smoke and spice of traditional Straits-Chinese cuisine. comodempsey.sg/restaurant/candlenut Shortlist: National Kitchen by Violet Oon, Folklore, Restaurant Labyrinth

Chef Manish Mehrotra’s self-described Indian food “with an international accent” spins up some unexpected combinations – think bacon-ensconced tandoori prawns with a creamy wasabi-laced malai sauce – but the results got people talking. His winning blend of traditional ingredients and fine-dining innovation has seen Indian Accent frequently espoused as India’s top restaurant, with outposts in London and New York. indianaccent.com Shortlist: Lakhor, The Bombay Canteen (Mumbai), Gunpowder (Goa)

Get schooled in lesser-known Malaysian ingredients at this venue inside KDU University College. Malaysia’s small fine-dining scene has remained largely focused on the cuisine of other countries, but the Dewakan team led by Darren Teoh – a molecular gastronomy lecturer at KDU – has built its beautifully plated set menus around the often underappreciated indigenous foods that flourish across the tropical nation. dewakan.my Shortlist: Antara Restaurant (currently relocating), Isabel, Sitka

Within the Grand Lisboa Hotel is found no less than seven Michelin Stars. The heroes of the brood are Macau’s only three-starred restaurants – Joël Robuchon’s famed French venue Robuchon au Dôme in the soaring hotel dome, and lavish Cantonese restaurant The Eight – with a further star held by luxe steakhouse The Kitchen. To understand the flashy haute-dining scene of the ‘Vegas of China’, there’s no better place to start. grandlisboahotels.com Shortlist: Jade Dragon, The Tasting Room, Golden Flower