Michelin today unveiled its full selection of restaurants for the MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau 2021, crowning 10 restaurants with new Stars and recognizing a total of 277 eateries and 54 lodging establishments across the two territories, at a time when the two cities’ dining sector has been heavily hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In its 13th edition, the MICHELIN Guide also debuts a new distinction, the MICHELIN Green Star, to spotlight establishments making efforts to promote sustainable gastronomy.
Among the 10 restaurants that received new Stars in the 2021 edition are 2 new Two Star restaurants and 8 new One Star restaurants. In total, the selection highlights a total of 69 starred restaurants in Hong Kong and 18 starred restaurants in Macau.
The latest Star additions amid the demanding landscape for hospitality businesses during the global Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 are a reflection of the resilience, bravery and high level of talent in Hong Kong and Macau, said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of MICHELIN Guides.
“The decision to release the annual edition of the guide is also testament to the MICHELIN Guide team’s desire to support the local chefs and their teams, encourage readers of the MICHELIN Guide, gourmets and food lovers to discover or rediscover new addresses as well as wonderful well-known establishments, and to bring a new energy to promoting Hong Kong and Macau in their position as benchmark cities in the gastronomic world,” Poullennec added.
According to a recent poll conducted by The Institution of Dining Art in Hong Kong, about 70% of restaurants face closure amid tough social-distancing measures, SCMP reported.
This year, the guide book handed out three Michelin stars to seven restaurants in the city. They are Caprice, Sushi Shikon, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, 81/2 Otto e Mezzo- Bombana, Lung King Heen, T’ang Court, and Forum.
Two Hong Kong restaurants promoted to Two Stars
Entering the Two-star ranks for the first time is Tate, a sophisticated restaurant led by female owner-chef Vicky Lau that treads the boundary between French and Chinese cooking, with service as refined as the sentiments that the food imparts. At L’Envol in the St. Regis Hong Kong, French chef Olivier Elzer’s shrewdly prepared, artfully plated dishes coupled with professional and warm service capture the essence of French fine dining.
With these new additions, Hong Kong is now home to 12 Two-star restaurants, while Macau has 6 venues in the Two Star category. All 7 restaurants in Hong Kong and 3 restaurants in Macau continue to retain their coveted Three Star ratings.
7 new One Star restaurants in Hong Kong and 1 promoted to One Star in Macau
New restaurant Andō, which launched in July 2020 at the height of the global pandemic, debuts in the Hong Kong selection with One Star. Argentina-born chef-founder Agustin Balbi honed his skills in Japan and realizes his culinary vision by taking diners on a personal journey from a unique vantage point that fuses his ancestral roots with strong Japanese influences.
After a move to its new two-storey location in the K11 Musea in 2020, the Hong Kong outpost of 20-year-old brand Yè Shanghai (Tsim Sha Tsui) clinches a MICHELIN Star for its continued effort to offer a menu of Shanghainese, Jiangsu and Zhejiang dishes executed with remarkable skills and techniques.
Japanese flavours remain popular among local diners, with three Japanese restaurants gaining One Star this year. At the Hong Kong venture of renowned sushi brand The Araki, chef Mitsuhiro Araki, who previously helmed Three Star restaurants in Tokyo and London, creatively prepares fish flown in directly from Japan by melding local culinary culture with sushi tradition.
Kappo-style restaurant Zuicho serves only one omakase menu featuring Japanese ingredients and a special dish made with the ingredient of the day, while modern Japanese izakaya and yakitori specialist Yardbird offers over 20 types of skewers, including rare cuts, made with local chicken and grilled over binchotan charcoal.
Meanwhile, Cantonese cuisine holds its own amid the offer of international flavours in both territories, with two popular establishments elevating to One Star this year. The Chairman, a Cantonese dining institution helmed by restaurateur Danny Yip, fashions organic ingredients from local farmers and fishermen into elegant and labour-intensive creations. In Macau, Wing Lei Palace led by celebrated veteran chef Tam Kwok Fung, offers skillful Cantonese dishes with floor-to-ceiling views of Wynn Palace’s Performance Lake as a backdrop.
After a brief refurbishment in 2019, Man Ho at the JW Marriott Hong Kong makes an entry into the Guide with its creative twists on a menu of homemade dim sum, seafood and Cantonese classics.
Including these new entrants and promotions, the MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau 2021 distinguishes a total of 50 One Star restaurants in Hong Kong and 9 in Macau.
Roganic in Hong Kong and the IFT Educational Restaurant in Macau are also awarded the MICHELIN Green Star, a newly launched distinction that highlights the efforts of restaurants operating at the forefront of their field with sustainable practices, as well as fulfilling a role in spreading their vision.
The 2021 selection includes:
In Hong Kong
7 Three Star restaurants
12 Two Star restaurants (include 2 promoted ones)
50 One Star restaurants (including 7 new/promoted ones)
1 restaurant awarded a MICHELIN Green Star
62 Bib Gourmand restaurants and 1 Bib Gourmand street food address (including 7 new ones)
65 MICHELIN Plate restaurants (including 11 new ones)
21 MICHELIN Plate street food addresses (including 1 new one)
In Macau
3 Three Star restaurants
6 Two Star restaurants
9 One Star restaurants (including 1 promoted one)
1 restaurant awarded a MICHELIN Green Star
7 Bib Gourmand restaurants
25 MICHELIN Plate restaurants
9 MICHELIN Plate street food addresses
