Dining at top-notch restaurants just got more meaningful with a charity drive that hopes to turn gourmet meals across Asia into food for children in one of the world's poorest nations, East Timor.

More than 50 restaurants across Asia will donate 15 per cent of their proceeds from special menus or promotions during August to the UN World Food Programme in East Timor as part of an initiative with regional food guide, the Miele Guide.

"I feel that in Asia, it's very easy to forget the fact that there are about 600 million people going to bed hungry each night," the WFP's Cynthia Jones said.

East Timor, which was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, has suffered from widespread food shortages and civil unrest since gaining full independence in 2002. According to UN figures, it faces one of the highest malnutrition and mortality rates among children aged below five years in Asia.

Participating restaurants include Iggy's in Singapore, ranked one of the world's top 50 restaurants, Japan's Hanasanshou and Hong Kong's Nobu. Ms Jones said the WFP aimed to raise $200,000 (€140,680) during the month, which could feed around 11,000 children in East Timor for three months.

"This programme will hopefully work well because it gives people the excuse to go back to great restaurants, to feel less guilty about spending freely and eating well," said Aun Koh, director of Ate Media, the Singapore-based firm which publishes the Miele Guide.