The contemporary Indian restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok topped the S. Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2015, moving up from the No. 3 spot last year.

Tokyo’s Narisawa, which uses French technique with Japanese ingredients, kept its No. 2 position on the list, while Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet in Shanghai grabbed the No. 3 spot, moving up five notches from last year.

Gaggan was opened by 37-year-old Indian chefGaggan Anand in 2010, and it sits inside a two-level white colonial-style house on a quiet street in central Bangkok. Gaggan is often described as part of the new molecular-cuisine scene, but Mr. Anand prefers to avoid that term. “I’m not a scientist, I’m a chef,” he said.

“It’s progressive cuisine.” Mr. Anand said his inspiration comes from “reconstructed, deconstructed memories of Indian cuisine.” “I always thought that Indian cuisine was badly represented,” said Mr. Anand, who moved to Bangkok in 2007.

“It was never at a fine level like French, Italian and Japanese.” Recent dishes at the restaurant have included a bite-size foie gras mousse sandwich on a tiny onion water baguette, scallops with coriander and coconut curry, and grilled free-range lambs chops with almond saffron oil.

“It’s modern and it’s experimental,” he said. William Drew, the list’s group editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, said Gaggan’s achievement reflects the “chef’s singular imagination, energy and skill.” The list is regularly dominated by restaurants in China (which includes Hong Kong and Macau), Singapore, Japan and Bangkok, but eateries from the Philippines and Cambodia made the list for the first time this year.

Antonio’s in Tagaytay, Philippines, and Cuisine Wat Damnak in Siem Reap, Cambodia, were two of eight new restaurants that joined the rankings.

The regional list—followed closely by food lovers—was announced Monday night at a ceremony in Singapore. The list is in its third year and is derived from the global S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, which has been released annually since 2002.

The lineup seeks to “provide diners with guidance on the greatest places to eat across the continent,” Mr. Drew said.

Here is the full winners list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2015

1. Gaggan, Bangkok

2. Narisawa, Tokyo

3. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai

4. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo

5. Restaurant Andre, Singapore

6. Amber, Hong Kong

7. Nahm, Bangkok

8. 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong

9. Waku Ghin, Singapore

10. Jungsik, Seoul

11. Jaan, Singapore

12. L'Effervescence, Tokyo

13. Les Amis, Singapore

14. Hajime, Osaka

15. Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong

16. Fu1015, Shanghai

17. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

18. Iggy's, Singapore

19. Fu He Hui, Shanghai

20. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong

21. Mr & Mrs Bund, Shanghai

22. Indian Accent, New Delhi

23. Robuchon au Dome, Macau

24. Tenku Ryugin, Hong Kong

25. Eat Me, Bangkok

26. Le Mout, Taichung

27. Ryunique, Seoul

28. Bo Innovation, Hong Kong

29. Wasabi by Morimoto, Mumbai

30. Burnt Ends, Singapore

31. Nihonbashi, Colombo

32. Shinji by Kanesaka, Singapore

33. Takazawa, Tokyo

34. 28 HuBin Road, Hangzhou

35. The Chairman, Hong Kong

36. Tippling Club, Singapore

37. Bo.Lan, Bangkok

38. La Yeon, Seoul

39. Issaya Siamese Club, Bangkok

40. Sushi Saito, Tokyo

41. Bukhara, New Delhi

42. Caprice, Hong Kong

43. Ministry of Crab, Colombo

44. Sukiyabashi Jiro, Tokyo

45. Osteria Mozza, Singapore

46. Hakkasan, Shanghai

47. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Singapore

48. Antonio's, Tagaytay

49. Quintessence, Tokyo

50. Cuisine Wat Damnak, Siem Reap

credit Wall Street Journal