Progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok was crowned the best restaurant in Asia as it rose two spots in the annual Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant awards held last night. Local establishments also snagged 10 spots, up from eight in the 2014 list.

These are: Restaurant Andre (5), Waku Ghin (7), Jaan (11), Les Amis (14), Iggy’s (18), Burnt Ends (new entry, 30), Shinji by Kanesaka (32), Tippling Club (36), Osteria Mozza (re-entry, 46) and Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (47).

The prestigious annual list, now in its third edition, is organised by UK-based Restaurant Magazine and is the Asian spin-off of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Awards are based on votes by chefs, industry leaders, restaurateurs and food critics.

“Asia’s 50 Best pushes chefs to perform,” says Gaggan Anand. “It’s motivation for every chef to be better.”

This year’s list is a marked departure from the former voting system. Instead of counting votes from a global pool, this year’s is voted by 318 experts based in Asia and who voted solely for the restaurants in Asia.

Indeed, Cambodia and The Philippines now have entries on the list while South Korea now has three, up from just one last year.

“We felt that the Asia-based voters would provide a more solid basis to create the list,” says William Drew, group editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants series and Restaurant magazine. “It was a strong list last year but we have more countries represented this year. We hope that it’s an Asian list – a reflection of restaurants in Asia.”

For the complete list, head to www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/index.html