People outside China may not have heard of it, but the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide considers itself a worthy rival domestically to the influential Michelin Guide. Published by Meituan , a Chinese e-commerce services platform, the annual guide lists 736 restaurants in 26 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu as well as Paris, New York, Singapore, Bangkok and Tokyo. The 2022 edition will appear on March 31. The Black Pearl Restaurant Guide was launched in 2018, at a time when the restaurant industry had raised concerns about the credibility of the Michelin Guide’s evaluation of Chinese cuisines. It billed itself as a guide to represent the taste of Chinese consumers from the Chinese perspective. “The Black Pearl is not only a restaurant guide, but responsible for exploring and promoting the Chinese culinary culture, and propelling the development of China’s dining industry,” it has stated previously. When the Michelin Guide launched in China with its Shanghai edition in September 2016, it awarded 31 stars. Recipients included the then two-star Ultraviolet, founded by chef Paul Pairet, and the one-star Taian Table. The following year, Ultraviolet gained one more star, while many local restaurants felt discouraged and thought the list of 30 starred establishments didn’t reflect the diversity of Chinese regional cuisines and Chinese palates. Critics complained that classic Shanghainese restaurants were under-represented, despite Hao Sheng making it into the 2018 guide’s Bib Gourmand selection of restaurants that serve good food at moderate prices. The Michelin Guide takes pride in its century-old section mechanism. A group of employed inspectors drawn from catering and hospitality industries around the world, dine out anonymously and pay for meals without receiving any special treatment from restaurants. Each edition is the result of a long process of collective decision making. The Black Pearl selection committee is made up of experts in China’s dining industry, among them Chinese culinary master Limei Hu, gastronomy critic Dong Keping, master sommelier Yang Lu and Hong Kong author Ou Yang Ying Ji. The committee awards restaurants one to three diamonds: one is great for family and friends gathering, two is perfect for special occasions, while three is a once-in-a-lifetime must visit. Restaurants that have earned three diamonds in the Black Pearl guide include Fu He Hui in Shanghai, which serves vegetarian food, Peking roast duck house Da Dong in Beijing, Lung King Heen in Hong Kong and Dragon Restaurant in Macau. Chinese food critic Wenye Li says the biggest advantage of the Black Pearl guide is its association with Meituan, as the platform’s big-data-led list of restaurants reflects the preferences of customers. Li adds: “The Black Pearl Guide is a road sign for local epicureans, while the Michelin Guide is more like a universal tourist guide. “And essentially, the former highlights Chinese cuisines, but the latter was born to applaud Western gastronomy.” The Black Pearl Guide is not limited to Chinese cuisines. The previous edition listed 296 restaurants to which it gave diamond ratings. Among them were 13 with three diamonds, of which six were non-Chinese restaurants. Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau 2022 revealed: 9 new entries Data from Meituan shows the Black Pearl Guide has made positive contributions to the restaurant business. For instance, 72 restaurants newly listed in 2020 registered a 103 per cent increase in online customer flow and served up to 50 per cent more dine-in customers. None of the restaurants listed shut down despite the coronavirus pandemic. “Our business has had a maximum growth of 25 per cent,” said Zhou Ziyang, manager of one-diamond restaurant Zi Fu Hui in Shanghai. The Black Pearl Guide is gaining popularity beyond China. “Not only is the guide diversifying the gastronomy practice, but also its [Chinese perspective] is more welcomed,” says food critic Amanda Huang. She adds: “Each edition of the guide covers [restaurants both in China] and abroad, rather than just [those in] top- and second-tier Chinese cities ... In addition, its proprietary platform – the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide Chef Club – gathers chefs for training and exchanges, [something] other food guide [publishers aren’t able to do].”