Best Restaurants in Asia 2014: Unlikely Winner Voted by People

According to CNN, the Australian chef who runs 2014's best restaurant in Asia is not pleased about his win.

"I've lost money. I bet against myself," David Thompson of Bangkok, Thailand's Nahm restaurant revealed. "I had several bets and it's ranged from two bottles of sauce of Sriracha, a bottle of fish sauce, to quite a few hundred dollars. Damn."

Apparently, he didn't believe his work at the award-winning establishment would earn him this kind of accolade from S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Last year, Nahm placed third in the annual Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards.

"With dishes ranging from smoked fish, peanut and tapioca dumplings, to salted threadfin perch with ginger, chili and green mango on betel leaves, Nahm's fiery menu is hailed as a shining example of fine Thai cuisine," CNN observed.

"Bangkok, as you know, is going through a little bit of a fractious time," Thompson said. "Hopefully this (award) will help to sustain us, but also show that Thai culture still continues on despite the political disturbances that are occurring at the moment."

Perhaps the volatile political ambiance served as a fitting counterpoint to Nahm's menu?

Last year's winner, Les Creations de Narisawa in Tokyo, slid down to the second spot, the Wall Street Journal noted. That isn't much -- they still have a fighting chance of regaining the crown next year. Another Bangkok restaurant, Gaggan, took third place. Amber in Hong Kong and Nihonryori RyuGin in Tokyo came in 4^th and 5^th respectively.

"I was absolutely astonished and surprised. I think there were a lot of other restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and other parts of the region that are as good as ours if not better," Thompson enthused.

The Asian region list is a spinoff of S. Pellegrino's World's 50 Best Restaurants list. More than 900 food experts, critics, writers, and "well-travelled gourmands" act as judges, choosing their top 7 restaurants based entirely on their own preferences as there is no criteria.

"So one judge might be looking for the perfect plate of food, another judge might be more influenced by the atmosphere and the vibe and the whole experience. We don't say it has to be about anything except the overall enjoyment of the restaurant," said William Drew, UK's Restaurant magazine editor and organizer of the annual awards.