Black Pearl Restaurant Guide 2025 awards 5 Singapore restaurants with diamond ratings for the first time

Five fine-dining restaurants from Singapore made their debut on China’s Black Pearl Restaurant Guide 2025, bringing the total number of restaurants from the Lion City on the list to 16.

 The list, which is in its eighth edition, recognises a total of 370 restaurants from 34 cities — the bulk of them are from cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong SAR. Restaurants in Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok were also included in the list. 

Of the 16 restaurants from Singapore, five of them made their inaugural appearance on the dining list with a one diamond rating. Three of them are housed in hotels — they are contemporary Chinese restaurant, Peach Blossoms in Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, Japanese restaurant Waku Ghin in Marina Bay Sands, Cassia in Capella Singapore. Rounding out the new entrants are contemporary South-east Asian restaurant Seroja and Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant. 

The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, which was founded by Chinese retail giant Meituan in 2018, showcases the best of fine-dining in Asia through the perspective of Chinese consumers. The list is often hailed as the equivalent of the Michelin Guide in China. Instead of stars, the awards rate restaurants with one, two, or three diamonds based on criteria such as dining experience and standard of cooking. The results are determined by a panel of dining experts and F&B data aggregated from the Meituan Dianping Group.

French restaurants Odette and Les Amis received the most prestigious three Diamond rating, while contemporary British restaurant Jaan by Kirk Westaway received two Diamonds. Last June, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide signed a memorandum of understanding with Marina Bay Sands to hold dining events and workshops with chefs and thought leaders in the industry.

On receiving Peach Blossoms’ debut one diamond rating, Edward Chong, the restaurant’s executive Chinese chef shares that the accolade serves as recognition that the restaurant’s culinary direction is headed the right way. It will also motivate his team further as the restaurant receives wider international exposure.

He shares: “As a Chinese chef, this award validates my continuous innovation efforts at Peach Blossoms. It will also increase the exposure of Singapore-style Chinese cuisine to younger audiences.” He adds that some diners have the perception that Chinese cuisine in cities such as Hong Kong and Shanghai is more authentic, but this award shows that Singapore-style Chinese food can hold its own.

Chong also adds that the Chinese market is an integral part of Peach Blossom’s business. About 50 percent of the restaurant’s business comes from Chinese diners — they include Singapore-based corporate staff from Chinese MNCs and tourists. This surge makes up for the slight drop in Singaporean diners. 

He believes that this can be partly attributed to the restaurant’s growing visibility on Chinese media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Meituan Dianping over the past two years, but the effect of having more Chinese consumers was more apparent since last June.