Michelin star guide on the wane

The news that the Michelin Guide for 2013 was being sold at City'super before its official release date this month was met with yawns.

When Michelin's inaugural guide to Hong Kong was published in December 2008 (with results for 2009), it made headlines around the world for giving three stars to Lung King Heen - the first Chinese restaurant ever to receive the top accolade. In Hong Kong, however, Michelin received much criticism for the number of chain restaurants that were included.

The next year, Hong Kong made headlines again for having the cheapest Michelin-star restaurants in the world, with places like Tim Ho Wan and Hung's Delicacies. Most food lovers - including this writer - considered those places appropriate for the Bib Gourmand section of the guide, serving good food at moderate prices.

With the 2011 results, Michelin courted controversy again for including the first Indian restaurant in Hong Kong, Hin Ho Curry Restaurant, whose owner has never been to India and admits to toning down his food to suit local tastes.

Each year, the Michelin "buzz" has been getting less audible. My foodie friends have stopped being irritated at what was included or left out - we just know that we won't agree with many of the assessments.

I rarely mention which restaurants in Hong Kong have Michelin stars, because if I acknowledged them for one place, I'd feel compelled to recognise them for all others, and, in some cases, that would be giving unwarranted validity to some of the ratings.