Michelin bestows 31 stars on HK

Lung King Heen chef first Chinese with 3 stars

A Hong Kong chef has become the world's first Chinese Michelin three-star chef. Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons hotel, whose kitchen is presided over by 40-year veteran Chan Yan-tak, was the city's only restaurant awarded the top three-star accolade by Michelin in its first guide to Hong Kong and Macau, launched yesterday - its first venture into China in 108 years.

French restaurant Robuchon a Galera in Macau won the only other three-star ranking, which denotes 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey'. There are only 75 three-star restaurants in the world.

The rankings delighted the chosen restaurants but the guide came under criticism from some food critics after it was disclosed that just two of the 20 inspectors who assessed the restaurants were Chinese.

Guide Jean-Luc Naret said inspectors had visited the Lung King Heen 12 times and found its quality was consistently high.

Seven Hong Kong restaurants were awarded the second-ranked two stars, including Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and T'ang Court. Fourteen received one star, including Fook Lam Moon, Forum and Yung Kee.

Twenty-four restaurants that didn't make it to the star list were recommended in the Bib Gourmand section, which highlights quality restaurants offering a full three-course meal for HK$300 or less. Also mentioned were less pricey choices, such as Mak's Noodle and Tsim Chai Kee.