Philippines’ Toyo Eatery is among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2020

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino restaurant Toyo Eatery is among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2020, the second time for Chef Jordy Navarra’s brainchild to land on the prestigious list that’s curated by top international restaurant industry experts.

The only entry from the Philippines ranked 44 this year. In 2019, Toyo Eatery was in the 43rd spot.

The annual awards ceremony, organized by William Reed Business Media, was supposed to be held on Tuesday, March 24 at Saga Prefecture, Japan. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the announcement was made via live stream instead via the 50 Best Restaurants TV YouTube channel.

Toyo Eatery celebrated the accolade with an Instagram post on Wednesday, March 25, thanking everyone who has supported them. “It’s a bittersweet recognition for us, given the global crisis we’re all currently facing,” they wrote.

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A post shared by Toyo Eatery (@toyoeatery) on Mar 24, 2020 at 9:48pm PDT

Due to the enhanced community quarantine, Toyo Eatery and their partner bakery Panaderya Toyo closed on Tuesday, March 17 until futher notice. Toyo acknowledged the “big losses” incurred by big and small restaurants who remain closed, as well as the “uncertainty of how the next few months will go,” which “bears a weight that’s felt industry-wide.”

“Our hope is that, when the dust settles, you continue supporting your local restaurants,” the Toyo team wrote on Instagram.

Chef Jordy’s culinary brainchild Toyo Eatery opened in 2016 along Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. The restaurant name means both the Filipino word for soy sauce (“a simple condiment created through a complex production”) and the Filipino idiom “May toyo sa ulo,” which refers to “crazy people in the head,” according to The World’s 50 Best website.

This results in playful dishes that are “steeped in the country’s identity,” cohesively combining “familiar local flavors” with “modern presentations.”

Toyo Eatery also won the Miele One To Watch Award in 2018.

The coveted annual list, which began in 2013, is created by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of more than 300 leaders in the restaurant industry.

Here is the complete list of winners:

1. Odette, Singapore
2. The Chairman, Hong Kong
3. Den, Tokyo
4. Belon, Hong Kong
5. Burnt Ends, Singapore
6. Suhring, Bangkok
7. Florilege, Tokyo
8. Le Du, Bangkok
9. Narisawa, Tokyo
10. La Cime, Osaka
11. Les Amis, Singapore
12. Vea, Hong Kong
13. Indian Accent, New Delhi
14. Mingles, Seoul
15. Gaa, Bangkok
16. Sorn, Bangkok
17. Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, Tokyo
18. Mume, Taipei
19. Neighborhood, Hong Kong
20. Fu He Hui, Shanghai
21. Jaan by Kirk Westaway, Singapore
22. Wing Lei Palace, Macau
23. Sichuan Moon, Macau
24. Nihonryori Ryugin, Tokyo
25. Seventh Son, Hong Kong
26. JL Studio, Taichung
27. Toctoc, Seoul
28. Zen, Singapore
29. Sazenka, Tokyo
30. Ministry of Crab, Colombo
31. Amber, Hong Kong
32. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong
33. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong
34. Hansikganggan, Seoul
35. Ode, Tokyo
36. Raw, Taipei
37. Locavore, Bali
38. Paste, Bangkok
39. Bo.lan, Bangkok
40. La Maison de la Nature Goh, Fukuoka
41. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai
42. Corner House, Singapore
43. Shoun RyuGin, Taipei
44. Toyo Eatery, Manila
45. Bukhara, New Delhi
46. Sushi Saito, Tokyo
47. 80/20, Bangkok
48. L’Effervescence, Tokyo
49. Inua, Tokyo
50. Nouri, Singapore

– Rappler.com