bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Bernice Chan

I recently met chef Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco, who was in Hong Kong to collaborate with Ho Lee Fook’s Jowett Yu. Jew was only in town for a few days, but told me that he would be in Guangzhou, China in November for a Michelin event.
My ears perked up wondering what that was about, as the Michelin group didn’t give any inkling what was happening.
New Michelin New York guide awards stars to 76 restaurants
It turns out Jew, whose contemporary Chinese-American restaurant has one Michelin star, was in the southern Chinese city to help Michelin promote a new guide that pulls together the best restaurants in the world by cuisine.
First up: Cantonese cuisine, which originates in southern China.

The event to release The Michelin Guide to Fine Cantonese Food was held in Guangzhou on November 13 – without letting media in Hong Kong know.
For Singapore’s restaurants, no three-star Michelin ratings
The international dining guide has always been known to rate restaurants according to the city they are in, but now this latest one focuses more on promoting a cuisine.
“The Michelin Guide is now acclaiming, internationally, Cantonese gastronomy, which enjoys a worldwide reputation and is appreciated both in Asia, Europe, North America and in the Pacific,” Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, was quoted as saying in the Michelin blog.
A total of 291 restaurants have been featured in the Cantonese guide: 78 of which are starred restaurants; 69 of which are from Asia. The top four restaurants with three Michelin stars are Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hong Kong; T’ang Court at the Langham Hong Kong; The Eight at the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macau; and Le Palais in Taipei.

Included in the list are 62 Bib Gourmand restaurants – establishments that are recommended, but aren’t good enough for a star – and 151 restaurants that are awarded what’s called a “Michelin Plate” – a lower rating than a Bib Gourmand. If these 151 restaurants aren’t even eligible for a Bib Gourmand, let alone a Michelin star, why even mention them in a supposedly prestigious guide that’s supposed to recommend the best of the best?
It seems like Michelin is yet again desperate to capture the interest of local gourmets like it did back in 2016, when it included a list of places to eat street food in Hong Kong.
Many of the listed places ranged from very new venues to decades’ old restaurants, such as Kung Wo Tofu in Sham Shui Po and Kai Kai in Jordan, while others weren’t even “local”, like Butcher’s Club, that serves hamburgers and Kelly’s Cape Bop, that’s Korean.

So, now with The Michelin Guide to Fine Cantonese Cuisine, does this mean we’ll see guides for French, Italian, Japanese and American food?
One wonders how thick the French cuisine one will be.


Hong Kong’s hottest openings, from Toni Au’s Ébauche to the Hilton’s new Motto hotel

Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental hotel linked to latest food poisoning cases

Luckin’s 30,000th store milestone adds buzz to China’s brewing coffee battle

Unsung Eats: 5 best places to eat – and drink – in Singapore

Food and Drinks

Michelin’s new Cantonese food guide: useful or a culinary cash grab?

Cantonese cuisine originated in southern China. It is now being celebrated in a Cantonese Michelin Guide. Photo: Bloomberg

Tofu dishes Pan-fried tofu stuffed with fish paste; and Tofu Pudding by Kung Wo, at Sham Shui Po. 04SEP12

100 Top Tables - Lung King Heen at Four Seasons Hong Kong

Stir-fried fresh lobster with spring onions, red onions and shallots at T'ang Court at Langham Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is the only new HK restaurant to get three Michelin Stars. 05NOV15

Michelin confirms Hong Kong & Macau guide is sponsored, but by companies not the cities’ tourism boards

Contradicting report that quoted her as saying Hong Kong and Macau tourism boards paid for publication of Michelin Guide, publisher’s vice-president says it is sponsored by firms including Nespresso, Melco Resorts, and Evian

Hong Kong Tourism Board Chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok given speech at the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce forum on sustainable development of HK tourism industry at the Hong Kong Disneyland. 14OCT15

This picture shows Chef Saotome. from Kaiseki Den, Hong Kong. 25AUG17 [FEATURES] SCMP / Jonathan Wong

General view of Studio City Macau. 18SEP17 SCMP/Nora Tam

Claire Dorland-Clauzel, Michelin vice-president, initially confirmed the Hong Kong and Macau tourism boards sponsored the Michelin Guide to the two cities, but then clarified the sponsors were businesses. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Food & Drink


Michelin is promoting a new guide that collates restaurants by cuisine
The Cantonese guide includes restaurants that aren’t even worthy of a Bib Gourmand or a star



Michelin is promoting a new guide that collates the best restaurants in the world by cuisine. The new Cantonese guide includes restaurants that aren’t even worthy of a Bib Gourmand or a star


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Diner’s Diary

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Diner’s Diary | Michelin’s new Cantonese food guide: useful or a culinary cash grab?

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Michelin is promoting a new guide that collates restaurants by cuisine The Cantonese guide includes restaurants that aren’t even worthy of a Bib Gourmand or a star

Diner’s Diary | Michelin’s new Cantonese food guide: useful or a culinary cash grab?

Michelin is promoting a new guide that collates restaurants by cuisine

The Cantonese guide includes restaurants that aren’t even worthy of a Bib Gourmand or a star