A city of good taste

Bangkok now has six of the world's 50 best restaurants, the first Thai restaurant with three Michelin stars, and the top hotel in the world. It's a good time to take a trip

- VIR SANGHVI

Which city do you think has the largest number of the world's best restaurants? If you answered London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong or New York, you would be completely wrong.

The correct answer is Bangkok, which has six of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World according to the organisation that makes these lists every year.

The same organisation does a list of the 50 Best Restaurants in Asia, and there too, the number one restaurant was in Bangkok: Our very own Gaggan.

Bangkok now has the world's first Thai restaurant with three Michelin stars and a clutch of two-star restaurants, including the excellent Côte by Mauro Colagreco. Michelin has yet to come to India, but 50 Best does claim to cover India. Last week, when they announced the list, it was a little odd to find that not one restaurant in all of India made it to the list.

So Bangkok: 6 vs India: 0.

Not fair, is it?

The World's 50 Best also rates hotels. And on the current list, the number one, and therefore the best hotel in the world, is the Capella on the Chao Phraya River, another triumph for Bangkok.

So, has Bangkok suddenly become the food and hospitality capital of the world? Looks like it.