Cathay Members’ Choice Awards 2024: World’s most delicious city

Welcome to the Cathay Members’ Choice Awards: our flagship awards which celebrate everything that makes the world so amazing – as voted for by you, our global community of members. Discover the winner that captured your hearts – and your votes – as well as the contenders that made it to the shortlist. 

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Winner: Tokyo

It’s nearly impossible to have a bad meal in Tokyo. Whether slurping up ramen at a noodle house, nibbling on yakitori at a back-alley izakaya or dressing to the nines for three-Michelin-starred omakase, the city’s food scene grows more exciting with every bite. Owing to the characteristic pride, precision and dedication of Japanese chefs coupled with a long tradition of hospitality, this fantastic food city keeps outdoing itself year after year. 

Hanoi

In the capital of Vietnam, classics like pho, banh cuon (steamed rice rolls) and cha ca (charcoal-grilled fish) are just an appetiser. From the Old Quarter to the West Lake, there’s so much more to savour, including rich egg coffee and the specialty that wowed Barack Obama, bun cha (char-grilled pork with rice noodles). With the recent arrival of the Michelin Guide, it’s clear that Hanoi now has more up its sleeve than street eats.  

Paris

The city that invented haute cuisine and gave the world Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon continues to impress with its sky-high standards for all things edible. As a testament to the breadth and depth of its food scene, the French capital collected an impressive 121 Michelin stars in the 2024 guide. Even the humblest boulangeries and family-owned bistros offer exceptional culinary experiences that travellers won’t soon forget. 

Bologna 

Bologna is often heralded as Italy’s best food city, and that’s saying something. The city’s rich, hearty cuisine relies on a few staple ingredients: fresh hand-cut pasta, meaty Bolognese sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano and paper-thin mortadella. Sample the city’s famed tagliatelle al ragu or lasagne alla Bolognese at the lively Mercato di Mezzo alongside fresh-baked focaccia and a glass of pignoletto (a white wine local to the area) – just as it’s been done since the Middle Ages.

New York City

America’s melting pot has a well-deserved reputation for the quantity and quality of its food scene. Name a country’s culinary speciality, and you’ll find it in New York: al pastor tacos, Thai papaya salad, falafel, pierogies, Salvadoran pupusas. With Chinatown’s noodle shops and Little Italy’s pizza joints, treasured delis, trendy food halls and progressive fine dining, New York offers travellers a world of flavours across the city, and often, on the same block.