The Moment Group’s Mecha Uma has just been named the 81st best restaurant in Asia by the global restaurant awards platform Opinionated About Dining (OAD). Helmed by Bruce Ricketts, the chef-driven Japanese fusion concept is the only restaurant from the Philippines that made it to the list. 

OAD has named China’s Ultra-Violet by Paul Pairet (a single-table restaurant offering multi-sensory dining experiences) as this year’s number one Asian restaurant. Coming in at second place is Macau’s Robuchon Au Dôme, while claiming the number three spot is Thailand’s Sühring.

What is Opinionated About Dining?

In OAD’s official website, the awards platform is described as:

“…the only dining survey that factors experience into its rating system. Our 2019 results are based on over 200,000 reviews contributed by more than 6,000 people who registered for the survey.”

The awards platform was established in 2007 by entertainment industry veteran and restaurant connoisseur Steve Plotnicki, who, at the time felt a bit disillusioned with the existing restaurant awards and rankings. “I started OAD because I thought the discussions people were having about food were not organized properly. I tried to create a voting system that corrected what I saw as the flaws in the other guides and lists. The voters are chosen one of two ways: They sign up on their own or I find them via their blogs or Instagram feeds and I invite them to participate,” he said in a 2017 interview. 

Plotnicki’s voter pool includes chefs, restaurateurs, and food writers who review between 100 to 150 meals in restaurants around the world per year to determined the top restaurants in each region of the world.