Cover Shanghai exchange: Asia’s finest culinary and mixology talents gathered in Shanghai for the 2026 Tatler Best Takeover
Shanghai exchange: Asia’s finest culinary and mixology talents gathered in Shanghai for the 2026 Tatler Best Takeover
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Across four days, the Tatler Best Takeover brought Asia’s finest culinary and mixology talents to Shanghai, with seven restaurants and eight bars taking part in a series of exclusive collaborations
The Tatler Best Takeover arrived in Shanghai with a clear proposition: bring the region’s most compelling chefs and bartenders into the city’s dining rooms and bars, and let them do what they do best. What unfolded over four days, from October 20 to 24, was a series of collaborations that rewarded the curious, hungry and the thirsty in equal measure. On October 22, the city turned to the Tatler Best Asia Pacific Awards ceremony, a gathering of the very talent the Takeover had brought to the city.
It began at East Wing, the signature restaurant at Andaz Shanghai ITC, where Adam Wong of Hong Kong’s Forum joined executive chef Jesse Chen for a four-hands menu placing Cantonese technique alongside the nostalgic flavours of Shanghai.
In case you missed it: Here’s what happened at Tatler Best Asia Pacific 2026, hosted in Shanghai
Above Jesse Chen of Andaz Shanghai ITC welcomes Adam Wong of Hong Kong’s Forua for a four-hands menu
Above Cantonese technique meets Shanghainese nostalgia, prepared before guests in the East Wing
Jesse Chen of Andaz Shanghai ITC welcomes Adam Wong of Hong Kong’s Forua for a four-hands menu
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Meanwhile, the bars were already in motion. At Flair, high above the Bund at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, the rooftop played host to a revolving line-up of Asia’s most celebrated mixologists. Nick Wu of Taipei’s Bar Mood brought his ingredient-driven sensibility to the skyline, joining Flair’s Erzal Stiawann. KT Lam of Bangkok’s Lennon’s arrived with his vinyl-bar rhythm and cuisine-themed cocktails. Morris Chang of Hong Kong’s Gokan applied his five-senses philosophy to every pour. And Antonio Lai of Hong Kong’s Quinary delivered the technically driven, multisensory drinks that have long defined his approach. A live DJ carried each shift, the music building as the night deepened.
Rooftop bar Flair, at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, played host to a revolving line-up of Asia’s top mixologists
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At Bar Choice, Oscar Eksiam and Arnon Hoontrakul of Bangkok’s Opium Bar translated its liquid surreality, a menu built from the memory of its 120-year-old Chinatown shophouse, into a Shanghai setting, joining Bar Choice’s Ring Zhao behind the bar. The following evening, Mason Park of Seoul’s Alice Cheongdam brought its theatrical, storybook-style drinks to the same counter. At A Bar Has No Name with host Ming Liao, Macau’s Wing Lei Bar and Penang’s Backdoor Bodega each took their turn to shake things up, the former’s Mark Lloyd with his collaboration-driven menu, and the latter’s Thanesh Joel with cocktails that treated Penang itself as the star ingredient. Over the remaining nights, the visiting bars continued to mix it up across the city, carrying the series through to its close.
Mark Lloyd of Macau’s Wing Lei Bar with the team from Penang’s Backdoor Bodega
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The restaurants returned in force on October 23. At Garden Pavilion in Alila Shanghai, Kim Hock Su of Penang’s Restaurant au Jardin brought his terroir-driven, French-Malaysian cooking to Chuck Xing’s robata counter, where the smoke of the grill met French precision with surprising ease. At Selection by Du, the six-hands collaboration with Chef Tam Kwok Fung of Macau’s Chef Tam’s Seasons and Yong Fu North Bund, moved fluidly from Cantonese technique to Ningbo seasonality to Chaozhou culinary artistry, a menu that trusted its ingredients to speak for themselves. Then, at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana Shanghai, Josh Boutwood of Manila’s Helm brought his instinct-driven approach to Nicolò Rotella’s kitchen for a four-hands menu that paired tradition with innovation.
Kim Hock Su of Restaurant au Jardin at Alila Shanghai’s Garden Pavilion
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The series closed on October 24 with a collaboration at Meet the Bund Skyline, where chef Chen Zhi-ping hosted Vicky Cheng of Hong Kong’s Wing, the Tatler Best Asia Pacific Restaurant of the Year 2026, bringing the heritage of Fujian cuisine and craftsmanship together with Cheng’s boundary-pushing vision. Over at Nabi, Taejun Eom of Solbam brought the discipline of Seoul’s fine-dining vanguard to Tom Ryu’s kitchen, where tradition met instinct, showing how well Korean cuisine travels.
See also: Hong Kong’s Wing is named Restaurant of the Year at Tatler Best Asia Pacific 2026
Chen Zhi-ping of Meet the Bund Skyline hosts Vicky Cheng of Wing, which was named Tatler Best Asia Pacific Restaurant of the Year 2026
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What distinguished the Tatler Best Takeover was the spirit of exchange that ran through every event. Chefs and bartenders arrived as guests and left as collaborators. The true measure of those four days isn’t found in a single menu, but in the relationships built along the way: connections across borders, dining rooms and bars that will continue to shape what Asia’s food and drink scene will serve for years to come.
Tatler Best Takeover Shanghai 2026 is in partnership with Mastercard
THE FULL TATLER BEST ASIA PACIFIC 2026 AWARDS
Tatler Best Restaurants Asia Pacific 2026
A storyteller by day and a first-class food devourer by night, Fontaine is the Regional Dining Editor at Tatler Asia, overseeing dining content across all regions and shaping the brand’s editorial voice on food, chefs and culinary culture.
She is also Content Lead for Tatler Best and Co-jury Head for Tatler Best Hong Kong and Macau, guiding the awards’ editorial direction and evaluation process. With over 15 years in the lifestyle and media industry spanning London and Hong Kong, she brings a cross-regional perspective to the table.
Follow her on Instagram at @fontimes.
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