Singapore restaurateur Ignatius Chan has scooped first place in the new Miele Guide of Asia's Top 20 restaurants.

Chan, who had previously been named Singapore's Best Sommelier, is an acclaimed wine expert, former winner of a Vueve Clicquot Champagne scholarship and a member of the world's oldest wine fraternity, the Jurade de Saint Emilion.

Iggy's beat off competition from other high end restaurants, including L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Hong Kong and Les Amis in Singapore.

As well as its food described as 'innovative cuisine with discreet, yet attentive service,' Iggy's has an extensive wine list, built on the owner's superb collection 'with a focus on Champagne, Riesling and Burgundy wine.'

Accepting the award, Chan - who is also a Decanter World Wine Awards judge - said that his biggest fear had been that Iggy's wouldn't make the cut at all.

The judging process consisted of 84 food writers selecting a shortlist of 320 restaurants. A panel of 1,500 food experts, combined with 75,000 public votes, named Iggy's the winner.

Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano team up with Jeffrey Jah and Ronnie Madra and strike again. ?One of a Kind? suggested by name backed somewhat by top design. Wood-paneled exterior exudes masculine charm, matched by ostrich-leather seating and fireplace inside. Horseshoe banquettes parked on zigzagging black and white floor. Babel-like assemblage of letters for wall art, plus paired psychosexual paintings. Smoking patio for your cancer-courting convenience. Don?t expect much uniqueness by way of the moneyed crowd, however.

In order to produce a truly sublime Balsamic vinegar, you need passion, devotion and respect for the traditions which envelope this black gold with a veil of mystery. Leonardi has taken this approach to making its vinegar for nearly four generations.

The rules which control the production of Balsamic vinegar dictate that wooden barrels are used for every stage: acidification, maturation and aging. 2000 barrels, amongst them barrels made of chestnut, cherry, ash, and juniper, wait patiently in 19th century lofts and barns, waiting to reach the moment when their contents are ready for you to taste. Each barrel gives its own flavour and aroma to the vinegar it holds, resulting in a unique product, richly perfumed, harmonious, and perfectly balanced.

Balsamico Riserva Argento 50 Travasi (Aged for 50 years in wooden barrels)

As precious as a jewel and packaged as such, this vinegar has been aged for 50 years in wooden barrels. Try it with smoked salmon, risottos, roast, grilled or stewed meat, caviar, foie gras, cheese, ice cream, strawberries, or dripped onto squares of dark chocolate at the end of a meal.

Grant Achatz
Chef, Owner

Born in Michigan in 1974, Grant Achatz grew up in the restaurant industry, literally, his parents and grandparents being restaurateurs. Naturally curious and always driven, he could be found in the kitchen by his twelfth birthday and over the coming years spent most of his free time there, learning the basics and developing the skills that would allow him to become one of the foremost innovators in the field. Early on he realized he wanted to be a chef, and upon graduating from high school immediately enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America.

Excelling at the C.I.A., Achatz graduated and ascended the culinary ladder at several prestigious restaurants, including the acclaimed French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Working closely with Thomas Keller, Achatz thrived in this highly creative and dedicated environment, and after two years became sous chef to Keller. After four years at the French Laundry, Achatz chose to broaden his knowledge and worked as an assistant winemaker at La Jota Vineyards. In 2001, he accepted the Executive Chef position at the four-star Trio (Evanston, Il.).

Achatz flourished at Trio, garnering accolades including being named the ?Rising Star Chef in America,? James Beard Foundation, 2003 and one of ten ?Best New Chefs in America,? Food & Wine, 2002. Under Achatz? lead, Trio received four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine and garnered five stars from the celebrated Mobil Travel Guide in 2004. Known worldwide in culinary circles as one of the leaders in the forward-thinking movement, Achatz realized a lifelong dream by opening Alinea in Chicago in May 2005. The restaurant received extraordinary attention from day one, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America that same year.

Under Chef Achatz? leadership, Alinea has received worldwide attention for its hypermodern, emotional approach to dining. Alinea has received four stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine, Achatz was named the ?next great American chef? by The New York Times (September 2005) and in October, 2006 Alinea received Five Diamonds from AAA and Ruth Reichl of Gourmet magazine declared Alinea the ?Best Restaurant in America? in its twice-per-decade list of America?s Top 50 Restaurants. Chef Achatz has appeared on the Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, The Food Network, The Discovery Channel and PBS, and has been featured in dozens of periodicals around the US and from as far away as Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, the Philippines, and France.

Cindy Wolf?s Charleston is Baltimore ?s signature restaurant. Together with her husband Tony Foreman, Chef Cindy Wolf offers an exquisite dining experience in newly redesigned surroundings at Baltimore ?s burgeoning Harbor East.

Described by Zagat as ?culinary heaven?, Cindy Wolf?s Charleston puts the emphasis on personal choice and personal service. Chef Wolf has evolved her own style of cooking reflecting the influence of her travels and culinary experiences. Most recently Chef has been nominated as the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region for 2006.

Improvisational dining is the concept at the heart of the menu format which balances heavy and light preparations and allows each guest to dine according to their own preferences. Charleston offers a list of more than 600 bottles ? which can be enjoyed in accompaniment to dinner or savored in the lounge, where there is a large selection served by the glass. Charleston's décor reflects Cindy?s own taste taking simple natural tones and echoes of the jazz era mixed with Southern grace.

Lush Hotel which protects the past and the future traditions, saves all life moments and connects the style in a city... is waiting for you to enjoy life everytime... 35 different breath which are designed seperately, Lush Hotel; which is serving with 35 different rooms, life begins with city aparment concept in Beyolu... Each room have their own concepts with their own identity. Beyolu apartments which has got modern history and classic style have to be meaningfull with the city's identity...

Named after the freewheeling gypsy, Gitane is a modern, funky, and artistically bold restaurant located

in downtown San Francisco between the financial district and Union Square. Chef Lisa Eyherabide creates simple, approachable bistro fare emblematic of the Basque region, drawing inspiration from neighboring Spain, France, and Portugal. An elevated bar program pairs these exotic tastes and sensations with
unique and interesting sherries, cavas, madeiras, Spanish brandies, and innovative hand-crafted
cocktails and small-estate wines. The interior decor from Mr. Important Design unabashedly integrates
vibes from three separate decades ? the Euro-themed 50's, Hippie-Driven 60's and Big Bling 70's giving
the space a traditional yet modern, eclectic feel. Artwork from Turkey and the U.K. flank the walls, including the Goya-esque photography of Nazif Topçuoglu and the vintage fantasies of Deborah Bowness's hand printed wallpapers. Riffs on French mid-century design elements come by way of two huge vintage chandeliers based on 50's French design as well as mid-century lighting that has been collected from
various sources throughout Europe. Specialty fabrics designed by Nina Campbell paired with furnishings
from Anthropolgie and Tom Dixon round out the rooms.

THE ROUGH LUXE HOTEL LONDON

So this is Rough Luxe. Half rough, half luxury. A little bit of luxury in a rough part of London. A little bit of rough in a luxurious London. Our philosophy is simple; you are staying with us in our home, so just ask. Our Grade II listed home was transformed by internationally acclaimed designer Rabih Hage and is connected to on Art Gallery in the courtyard behind, where you will also find the Coffee Bar which is open to the public by reservation only during the week. Guests at a Rough Luxe hotel might share a bathroom or have a small room, but the luxury is in the choice of the wine, the bed linen, the art on the walls and the people looking after you.

Plainly put, The French Laundry is unlike any other dining experience. Part of its appeal has to do with intricate preparations, often finished tableside and always presented with uncommon artistry and detail, from the food itself to the surface it's delivered on. Other strengths are the service (superfluous, formal, and attentive) and the sheer length of time it takes to ride chef Thomas Keller's culinary magic carpet. The atmosphere is as serious as the diners who quietly swoon over the parade of bite-size delights. Seating ranges from downstairs to upstairs to seasonal garden tables. Technically, the prix-fixe menu offers a choice of nine courses (including a vegetarian menu), but after several presentations from the kitchen, everyone starts to lose count. Signature dishes include Keller's "tongue in cheek" (a marinated and braised round of sliced lamb tongue and tender beef cheeks) and "macaroni and cheese" (sweet butter-poached Maine lobster with creamy lobster broth and orzo with mascarpone cheese). The experience defies description, so if you absolutely love food, you'll simply have to try it for yourself. Portions are small, but only because Keller wants his guests to taste as many things as possible. Trust me, nobody leaves hungry.

The staff is well acquainted with the wide selection of regional wines; there's a $50 corkage fee if you bring your own bottle, which is only welcome if it's not on the list. Hint: If you can't get a reservation, try walking in -- no-shows are rare but possible, especially during lunch on rainy days. Reservations are accepted 2 months in advance of the date, starting at 10am. Anticipate hitting redial many times for the best chance. Also, insiders tell me that fewer people call on weekends, so you have a better chance at getting beyond the busy signal. You can also try www.opentable.com, though online reservations are still taken 2 months in advance.

Even the kitchen is artful: A view of El Bulli?s kitchen, where glass walls permit outdoor views, and sculpture emerges from the kitchen counters. (Photos by C-M.)

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people do just about anything they can think of?including pleading, prayer and strong-arming?to get a table at El Bulli, the three-Michelin star restaurant headed up by Ferran Adrià on a remote patch of Spain?s Costa Brava. Every year, only 8,000 people make it in. And this year, because I?m an extraordinarily lucky person (bastard, some might say), I was one of them.

The meal was all high ceremony, kinda like those scenes in the period films about British monarchy where some petulant royal stands in the middle of a room and is bathed and dressed by a gaggle of terrified servants. There is no music at El Bulli and each table is tended to by a battalion of black-clad waiters who whisper regular instructions on how to eat the food: ?One bite.? ?Eat it quickly.? ?The green one first, then the red.? Over the course of the evening, these somber advisers guide you through an endless, multi-colored parade of bite-sized morsels that defy the definition of food. Dishes are deconstructed and then reconstructed and then deconstructed again. The act of chewing is largely irrelevant. Around the room, hushed diners nod and scrutinize with a high degree of reverence (a library-like atmosphere that our table promptly polluted).

If you?re a daring eater, it?s damn delicious?and seriously decadent. The menu tends towards the luxuriant (foie gras soup, anyone?) and explosive (shiso candies that burst the moment they hit the tongue). But it?s the presentation that had me rapt: each dish is agonizingly produced (by one of more than 40 cooks in the kitchen) to take full visual advantage of texture, color and composition. It is cooking at its most sculptural. No wonder Adrià was invited to participate in last year?s Documenta (to the dismay of some cranky art types).

Because I?m crazy lucky (and because I have well-connected friends), Adrià gave us a tour of the kitchen and then joined us for some chit-chat when the meal was over. We talked food, wine and art. He told me that art media power couple Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith had just been by, samplin? the pickins as part of some art round table. And when our discussion drifted to the merits of cacao fruit, Adrià bolted into the kitchen and had the staff produce a dish of cacao fruit ice cream on the spot. (Heavenly.) It was one of the most insane culinary experiences I?ve ever had. I?m still mentally digesting it.

Naturally, I photographed every little thing I ate. And you can find every last shot in this post, along with links to some artsy fartsy comparisons. Bon appétit.