At Shanghai's Cheng Long Hang, diners with blond hair and blue eyes adeptly used chopsticks to savor crab powder soup dumplings. The roast duck at Restaurant Potong in Bangkok garnered rave reviews on Dianping. On Singapore's Orchard Road, the "Black Pearl Three Diamonds" plaque in front of Les Amis sparked excitement among the Chinese community. With China and the global tourism market growing ever closer, a cross-border culinary frenzy is taking shape.

The 2025 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide Award Ceremony for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Overseas Regions recently took place in Singapore. The highly anticipated list was revealed, showcasing 114 exceptional restaurants spanning 30 diverse flavors. Meituan revealed its plan to use "AI + rankings" to empower restaurant brands to expand globally and help Chinese worldwide discover global gourmet delights.

"AI + rankings" helps Chinese world discover world delicacies and boosts the intelligence of global restaurants

"I spent like three and a half hours at Born Restaurant in Singapore. Every little detail was just perfect. I just can't wait to go back for more!" "Singapore is tiny, but it's got so many amazing eats. Les Amis totally blew me away." On Meituan, global travelers eagerly explore local cuisines and share their dining adventures. To build a stronger connection with Chinese diners, overseas restaurants are now updating their information, rolling out packages, and offering reservation services on Meituan and Dianping.

At present, Meituan and Dianping have extended their reach to merchants in more than 170 countries and close to 1,000 cities around the world. Their comprehensive guide system covering food, lodging, transport, and travel has become a powerful tool. It aids consumers in making swift and informed choices while also giving top-notch businesses a prime platform to thrive. In the realm of dining, the Black Pearl and Must-Eat lists, used annually by tens of millions of people, have emerged as the go-to food guides for Chinese travelers. For instance, JUMBO Seafood (Dempsey Hill) in Singapore saw its daily active user count soar by over 7 times after landing on the Must-Eat List 2024. Similarly, Tokyo's Lature French restaurant enjoyed a more than twofold increase in daily views after being featured on the Black Pearl List.

According to Wei Wei, Vice President of Meituan and Head of its In-Store Catering Division, the company is set to introduce an AI Agent tailored for local life services. This move aims to use AI to bridge the gap between global consumers and businesses, offering services like customized cross-border travel plans and smart restaurant bookings. As Meituan's global footprint expands and more restaurants seek to go international, its ranking systems are also speeding up their global reach. This will not only foster a greater blending and innovation of culinary cultures worldwide but also boost the overall intelligence and efficiency of the foodservice industry in both domestic and international markets.

Overseas "Black Pearl" restaurants see five-year consecutive growth, over half of Chinese tourists opt for fine dining

As Chinese travelers increasingly explore the world and global tourism flourishes, the exchange of culinary cultures is booming. This trend not only bridges the gap between Chinese and international travel but also paves the way for Chinese food standards to gain a foothold in the global market.

Meituan's data reveals that in 2024, over half of Chinese tourists opted for fine dining when traveling abroad. "Black Pearl" restaurants have emerged as a new symbol of overseas dining. For instance, during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, more than 85% of Chinese travelers checked out information on overseas Black Pearl restaurants before setting off.

Thanks to the vibrant two-way exchange and strong market demand, the number of overseas restaurants meeting the Black Pearl criteria is on the rise. In 2025, the number of Black Pearl-listed overseas restaurants has seen five consecutive years of growth, hitting a total of 55.

Chinese local delicacies are gradually carving out a niche in the global fine dining scene. In the 2025 Black Pearl rankings, the variety of Chinese flavors represented by overseas-listed restaurants has expanded significantly. The journey started with the early international popularity of Cantonese cuisine and has now expanded to include Sichuan, Shanghai, and Jiangsu/Zhejiang dishes, as well as hot pot. This shift mirrors the evolution of Chinese restaurant businesses as they expand globally. An increasing number of top-notch Chinese eateries are now venturing abroad and joining the global culinary competition. Beyond the familiar flavors of French, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisine, the list now includes Nyonya and Chinese-inflected Thai dishes, reflecting the unique tastes of overseas Chinese communities.

Black Pearl's overseas selection process still relies on the Chinese criteria, blending Chinese taste preferences with a global perspective to select the world's finest foods. The selection process has also been enhanced with AI, which supplements the nominations from the review committee. By combining data analysis with expert insights, a fair, transparent, and authoritative evaluation system has been established.

Bridging China and the world: Empowering restaurant brands to go global

Overseas restaurant chains have been eager to tap into the Chinese market, while Chinese culinary brands are increasingly venturing abroad. However, when it comes to cross-border business, adapting to local tastes and overcoming cultural differences can be major hurdles.

Restaurant ranking lists are more than just guides for diners - they are platforms where culinary cultures meet and blend. Take the 2025 Black Pearl List: Wolfgang's Steakhouse, an American steak brand, has maintained its spot on the list for seven years running at its Beijing Sanlitun location. Thanks to the list's endorsement, the store saw a customer increase of over 10% in 2024 and has now expanded to nine cities across China. Shanghai's Cheng Long Hang (Tokyo), launched in 2020, not only turned profitable last year but also secured a one-diamond spot on the 2025 Black Pearl overseas list. Brand founder and Chairman Ke Wei noted, "Having our domestic stores on the 'Black Pearl' list is not just boosting our brand's name overseas, it's also making Chinese culture more popular. Our Tokyo place has seen a lot of great customers because of it. This is a huge thumbs-up for our team and our brand. We're gonna keep pushing to show the world how amazing Chinese food can be!"

In the last eight years, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide has become a beloved culinary reference for the Chinese, with a remarkable reach of around 130 million diners. Now, propelled by technological innovation and globalization through the Meituan platform, it is speeding up its international journey. Beyond just publishing the list, Black Pearl will tap into Meituan's resources to give cross-border restaurants a boost in traffic, credibility through list endorsement, and smart operational strategies to help them navigate cultural differences. It will also provide valuable case studies for restaurants looking to go global, using a blend of standardization and localization to drive their international growth.