NIHONBASHI named one of asia’s best restaurants

The prestigious jury behind the ‘World's 50 Best Restaurants' have just created their 2013 list for Asia, naming the 50 top dining venues in the region at a glamorous ceremony held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on February 26. Once again, Dharshan Munidasa, the visionary behind some of Sri Lanka's best restaurants, has been recognised for his outstanding cuisine at Nihonbashi.

Nihonbashi has been awarded the best restaurant in Sri Lanka as well as being ranked as the 38th best restaurant in Asia. This is a great honour for any Sri Lankan restaurant especially since many world famous chefs have been placed on this ranking including Joel Robuchon and David Thompson to name a few. To add to the prestige, Nihonbashi is the first Sri Lankan restaurant to ever have made the list. The restaurant has been in the limelight of recent, even being voted one of the best restaurants in the country by the Miele Guide in January 2013.

The list is created from the famous Diners Club World's 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 900 international leaders in the restaurant industry, each selected for their expert opinion of the international restaurant scene. The Academy comprises 26 separate regions around the world. Each region has its own panel of 36 members including a chairperson to head it up. The panel is made up of food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘foodies'.

Dharshan Munidasa, owner and visionary of Nihonbashi, said, “I am extremely humbled by this prestigious recognition. This ranking places our island on the culinary landscape of Asia, and I am proud to be part of this movement that is creating a global Sri Lankan Brand. In addition, this award credits us with international recognition that what we do is on par with and beyond the norms of a good restaurant in the world, and it makes all the hard work we have done over the years worthwhile."

This award also places NIhonbashi as one the highly respected Japanese restaurants in Asia as the list contains many Japanese entities across Asia including Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which are traditionally strong Japanese cuisine cities. Dharshan's showcasing of our island's produce is testament to his ability to promote and maintain authentic, age-old Japanese cooking philosophies while using local produce available in Sri Lanka.

With numerous accolades being awarded to Nihonbashi, Dharshan Munidasa is taking on the culinary world and highlighting that Sri Lankan restaurants are on par with the top restaurants in the world.