[Photo provided to China Daily]

No Beijing restaurant made the list, now in its fourth year. Following China's 13 restaurants are Singapore and Japan with 10 each, on a list that includes representatives from 13 nations and regions.

Thailand, which hosted the awards ceremony on Monday at the W Hotel in Bangkok, is represented not only by No 1 Gaggan but by Nahm (eighth), Issaya Siamese Club (19th) and Eat Me (23rd). Nahm's founder-chef David Thompson, an Australian with a passion for Thailand's street food, was honored with the lifetime achievement award. Nahm snared the No 1 ranking for all of Asia in 2014, the first of three consecutive wins for Bangkok restaurants.

Anand opened his eponymous restaurant in 2010, eager to "reinvigorate" Indian cuisine by exploiting contemporary techniques and adding molecular twists to traditional Indian dishes.

"It is different, because it doesn't look the same, it doesn't feel the same, it doesn't smell the same," Anand told CNN after the award ceremony. "But if you are from Kolkata, and you put it in your mouth and close your eyes, it is a short flight to the street there, and you are getting the same flavor that you were raised on."

"That has been my foundation of cooking: eating in the streets and celebrating life in India."

The ranking for Asia is described by the organizers as "an annual snapshot of the opinions and experiences of over 300 restaurant industry experts in Asia". Similar jury panels compile lists for other regions of the world for the sponsors, S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna and Diners Club.