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Ashlyn Chak

For the first time, a mainland Chinese bar has taken top spot at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards.
Guangzhou’s Hope & Sesame was the big winner at the 11th edition of the awards, held at the Wynn Palace resort in Macau on July 28, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone. It also scooped the Best Bar in Mainland China Award.
Its co-founder, Hongkonger Andrew Ho, won the Bartenders’ Bartender Award last year.
“We started with four people, now we’re [a team of] over 100,” said Ho, who opened a Shenzhen branch of Hope & Sesame in 2022, as he accepted the award on stage with his team, who were visibly emotional.
Hope & Sesame’s win coincides with the bar’s 10th year of operation and, when Ho was later asked how he felt, he quipped: “I think the only question is, why not earlier?”
Ho added that he and his team “have been working very hard” as they are currently serving the 17th iteration of their menu.

Coming in second place again this year and winning the Best Bar in Korea was Seoul’s Zest.
Bar Leone was once again named the Best Bar in Hong Kong, but had to accept third place on the Asia list this year. Its sister venue, Montana, a Cuba-inspired bar, debuted at No 47.
In 2024, Bar Leone made history when it debuted at the top of the list in its first year of operation. In 2025, the simple-but-elegant Italian bar took home both the No 1 spot in Asia and became the first Hong Kong bar to top the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
This marked the fourth time the Asia’s 50 Best Bars award ceremony had taken place in Greater China.
The Rosewood Hong Kong hotel hosted the event in 2023 and 2024, while this year’s host, Wynn Resorts Macau, took over in 2025.
While unofficial festivities began mid-July in Hong Kong, Wynn kick-started its official programme on July 24 with parties, roundtables, guest shifts, dinners and bar takeovers that brought more than 50 leading bartenders and chefs from around the world to Wynn Palace and its sister property, Wynn Macau.
The ceremony itself kicked off in high spirits at Wynn Palace’s Grand Theatre, with over 15 drinks partners slinging and pouring cocktails for the gathered bartenders, chefs and industry professionals for two hours before the awards were announced.
No matter how nervous the bar teams are, the wonderful thing you’ll see is everyone celebrating together
Emma Sleight, director of content and creative for 50 Best
Emma Sleight, director of content and creative for 50 Best, told the South China Morning Post at the reception ahead of the awards ceremony: “It’s amazing to be back in Macau, and it’s super exciting to be able to work with the cocktail community in this part of the world again.
“50 Best, for us, is all about connecting the community and celebrating the very best of hospitality.
“No matter how nervous the bar teams are, the wonderful thing you’ll see is everyone celebrating together.
“It’s also super exciting for us to see smaller cocktail destinations from the likes of Tainan and Beijing getting that spotlight from 50 to 100.”
In total, seven bars from Hong Kong were named in the top 50, but the city won big in other domains and took home four of the 11 special awards, including Best Cocktail Menu for Cantonese spirits bar Kinsman.
In June, Hong Kong’s Shelley Tai was named the winner of the Bartenders’ Bartender Award, the only peer-voted honour in Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
The recognition came after Tai opened her first bar, Mius, in 2025, which quickly gained widespread popularity.
Mius made a strong debut at No 36 in the Asia awards this year and also snagged the Best Bar Design Award. Tai’s follow-up venue, Fello, will open next month in Central.

Before 2025, Tai worked for nearly five years as operations director at Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove, which placed No 24 on the Asia 2025 list and moved up to No 12 this year.
Hong Kong’s Coa was awarded the No 1 spot from 2021 to 2023, making it the first bar in the region to secure three consecutive wins. This year, it placed at No 24 and was also named the winner of the Legend of the List Award.
Mainland China had one of its best years yet, with two more bars entering the top 10: MO Bar and Obsidian Bar from Shenzhen.
The extended 51-100 list, announced earlier in July, featured three Hong Kong bars: The Opposites (No 54), The Savory Project (No 60) and Tell Camellia (No 81).
Taiwan was also well represented with Tainan’s Moonrock (No 67), Kaohsiung’s Maltail (No 68), and Taipei’s Bar Mood (No 82) and The Public House (No 92).
From mainland China, Hangzhou’s Chimney, Shanghai’s Coa and Beijing’s Bar Long Fong placed at No 91, No 95 and No 96, respectively.
Special awards
One to Watch: Hats Bar, Jakarta
Art of Hospitality: Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya
Sustainable Bar: Bar Us, Bangkok
Best Bar Design: Mius, Hong Kong
Best Cocktail Menu: Kinsman, Hong Kong
Industry Icon: Indra Kantono, Jigger & Pony Group, Singapore
Bartenders’ Bartender: Shelley Tai, Hong Kong
Best New Opening: Workshop 14, Hanoi
Highest Climber: Bar Sathorn, Bangkok
Highest New Entry: Lennon’s, Bangkok (No 7)
Legend of the List: Coa, Hong Kong

Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 full list
An asterisk denotes a new entry and a hash is for a re-entry
100. Sora, Phnom Penh
99. Lab, Taipei
98. The Spirits Library, Makati *
97. Stay Gold Flamingo, Singapore #
96. Bar Long Fong, Beijing *
95. Coa (Shanghai), Shanghai
94. Lamp Bar, Nara
93. Ropewalk, Galle *
92. The Public House, Taipei
91. Chimney, Hangzhou *
90. Bar Bon Funk, Singapore *
89. Soko, Seoul
88. Le Chamber, Seoul
87. Charles H, Seoul
86. Cat Bite Club, Singapore
85. Aabbcc, New Delhi *
84. Stir, Ho Chi Minh City
83. Coley, Kuala Lumpur
82. Bar Mood, Taipei
81. Tell Camellia, Hong Kong #
80. Native, Singapore
79. The Bellwood, Tokyo
78. Firefly, Bangkok
77. Hats Bar, Jakarta *
76. Mahaniyom Cocktail Bar, Bangkok
75. The Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, Tokyo *
74. Gong Gan, Seoul
73. Between the Sips, Jakarta *
72. Craftroom, Osaka
71. Raa, Hiriketiya
70. Bar Nayuta, Osaka
69. Messenger Service, Bangkok
68. Maltail, Kaohsiung
67. Moonrock, Tainan
66. Backdoor Bodega, Penang
65. Cabinet 8, Kuala Lumpur *
64. Penrose, Kuala Lumpur
63. Reka, Kuala Lumpur
62. Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo
61. Barc, Kathmandu
60. The Savory Project, Hong Kong
59. Yakoboku, Kumamoto
58. The Elephant Room, Singapore #
57. Side Door, Singapore
56. Vesper, Bangkok
55. The Enigma Mansion, Ho Chi Minh City
54. The Opposites, Hong Kong
53. Bar Trench, Tokyo #
52. BOP, Singapore *
51. Bar Outrigger, Goa
50. Tiao, Beijing
49. Penicillin, Hong Kong
48. Aqua Bar, Bangkok *
47. Montana, Hong Kong *
46. The Hudson Rooms, Hanoi
45. The St. Regis Bar, Macau (Best Bar in Macau)
44. Problem Child, Manila (Best Bar in the Philippines)
43. Origin Bar, Singapore
42. M+Ms Bar, Seoul *
41. The Han-Jia, Tainan *
40. The Golden Tooth, Jakarta *
39. Bar Libre, Tokyo
38. Bar Trigona, Kuala Lumpur
37. Argo, Hong Kong
36. Mius, Hong Kong * (Best Bar Design)
35. To Infinity & Beyond, Taipei
34. Workshop 14, Hanoi * (Best New Opening and Best Bar in Vietnam)
33. Bar Cham, Seoul
32. Three X Co, Kuala Lumpur (Best Bar in Malaysia)
31. G.O.D, Bangkok
30. Bar Spirit Forward, Begaluru
29. Smoke & Bitters, Hiriketiya (Art of Hospitality Award and Best Bar in Sri Lanka)
28. Ralph’s Bar, Chengdu *
27. CMYK, Changsha
26. Vertu, Tokyo
25. Opium, Bangkok
24. Coa, Hong Kong (Legend of the List Award)
23. Punch Room Tokyo, Tokyo (Best Bar in Japan)
22. Gokan, Hong Kong
21. Carrots Bar, Jakarta
20. BKK Social Club, Bangkok
19. Pony Up, Shanghai
18. Soka, Bengaluru
17. Bar Sathorn, Bangkok (Highest Climber Award)
16. Offtrack, Singapore
15. Cosmo Pony, Jakarta
14. Vender, Taichung (Best Bar in Taiwan)
13. Alice, Seoul
12. Nutmeg & Clove, Singapore
11. Modernhaus, Jakarta (Best Bar in Indonesia)
10. Obsidian Bar, Shenzhen *
9. Jigger & Pony, Singapore (Best Bar in Singapore)
8. Boilermaker, Goa (Best Bar in India)
7. Lennon’s, Bangkok * (Highest New Entry)
6. Bar Us, Bangkok (Sustainable Bar Award)
5. MO Bar, Shenzhen
4. Dry Wave Cocktail Studio, Bangkok (Best Bar in Thailand)
3. Bar Leone, Hong Kong (Best Bar in Hong Kong)
2. Zest, Seoul (Best Bar in South Korea)
1. Hope & Sesame, Guangzhou (Best Bar in Mainland China)


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Food and Drinks

Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026: Hope & Sesame in China’s Guangzhou takes top spot

The Hope & Sesame team receive their award for Best Bar in Asia 2026 at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau, on July 28. Photo: Asia’s 50 Best Bars

Hong Kong native Andrew Ho started as a hospitality professional and bartender before co-founding Hope & Sesame in Guangzhou in 2016 and Shenzhen in 2022. Photo: Hope & Sesame

Mius’ Shelley Tai was named the winner of the Bartenders’ Bartender Award in June. Photo: Mius

Bartenders and industry professionals from winning bars gather on stage for the 11th edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars at Wynn Palace in Macau. Photo: Asia’s 50 Best Bars

How a Hong Kong artisan ice cream maker is winning over the city’s indie food scene

Fun Kee Scoops founder Ernest Fung picks up a scoop of his premium, hand-crafted, French-custard-style ice cream at his studio in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse

Fun Kee Scoops’ blueberry cheesecake ice cream. Founder Ernest Fung sources all the ingredients and makes the ice creams himself. Photo: Ernest Fung

Fung makes a batch of honeycomb ice cream at his studio in Wong Chuk Hang. Photo: May Tse

Fung regularly hosts flavour-development workshops in his studio. Photo: Ernest Fung

Cookies and cream in a cone by Fun Kee Scoops. Photo: Ernest Fung

Fung now moves hundreds of tubs a month through fleeting weekly online ordering windows. Photo: May Tse

This chef turns down-to-earth Cantonese recipes into luxury diasporic gastronomy

Based in Prague and Berlin, Eva Che is a self-taught chef who worked for over six years in fashion before switching to her private catering brand full-time. Photo: CheHub

Eva Che worked for six years in luxury retail fashion before starting CheHub, a private catering brand, in the Czech Republic in 2020. Photo: CheHub

Che grew up around kitchens thanks to her father, who was a Chinese restaurant chef. Photo: CheHub

Che as a child with her parents, who she says were both very good cooks. Photo: Eva Che

Che’s food is a blend of her experiences, and she considers Cantonese dishes, Czech cuisine and European food culture as her inspiration. Photo: CheHub

The meticulous curation behind Eva Che’s private catering consists of matching food details and table set-ups to the brand’s motifs and colours, and creating multi-course meals that match the prestige of the brand. Photos: CheHub

Best things to do in Wuhan, China’s breakfast capital - revealed in a new light

Wuhan’s skyline with the Yellow Crane Tower in the foreground with the Yangtze River behind it. Hubei province’s sprawling capital is known for its breakfast dishes, its natural water features and for being the historical heartland of China’s Chu people. Photo: Shutterstock

Yuhufen, a Wuhan breakfast dish consisting of thick peppery fish broth poured over thin rice noodles served with youtiao fried dough sticks, at speciality restaurant Wang Ji. Photo: Xiong Yang

Crowds gather outside Bagong House, a 19th century apartment building originally developed by Russian tea merchants. Photo: Xiong Yang

Wuchang bream coated in seasoned rice flour at Tuyoutu in Wuhan’s Jianghan district. Photo: Xiong Yang

A chef prepares doupi, a quintessential Wuhan breakfast snack consisting of three layers. Photo: Xiong Yang

Hot bun pockets at Mao Shi. Photo: Xiong Yang

Crayfish served on buttery brioche toast at Xingzi Shitang. Photo: Xiong Yang

Hubin Keshe serves breakfast classics reinvented using premium ingredients. Photo: Xiong Yang

Celebrity chef Hugo Leung, aka To To, on the road to becoming a ‘Gourmet God’

Hugo Leung (left) at his Tai Wing Wah Restaurant in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, in 2007. He shares his journey from chef apprentice to celebrity. Photo: Dickson Lee

Leung with Jayson Tang Ka-ho (left), executive Chinese chef of the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, at the Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in Admiralty in June 2026. Photo: Dickson Lee

(Clockwise from top left) Stir-fried vermicelli with egg, beansprouts and crabmeat; barbecue pork; and minced pork steamed with pumpkin at Tai Wing Wah Restaurant in Yuen Long. Photo: Martin Chan

Chicken in five flavours at Tai Wing Wah Restaurant. Photo: Rebecca Tsui

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone


The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone.


Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026: Hope & Sesame in China’s Guangzhou takes top spot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone

The victory marks the first time a mainland Chinese bar has placed at No 1, ending the two-year reign of Hong Kong’s Bar Leone