Notwithstanding the fact that our Coconuts crew held a panel discussion just a couple weeks ago to dissect the merit of “best of” lists and food guides — people are, no doubt, still fascinated with these restaurant rankings and Michelin stars.
Well, Hong Kong, the famous red guide announced this afternoon that six restaurants — Arbor, Belon, Gu Fu Lou, New Punjab Club, Octavium, and Xin Rong Ji — have joined the Michelin guide’s recommended eats for Hong Kong and Macau, 2019.
Of the restaurants that were awarded one star, three specialize in European cuisine (Arbor, Belon and Octavium), one specializes in Punjabi cuisine (New Punjab Club), and two specialize in Chinese cuisine (Guo Fu Lou and Xin Rong Ji).
Four Seasons’ French restaurant Caprice — which was given two Michelin stars — also joins the ranks of restaurants with the three-star designation (the highest), increasing the number of three-star establishments in Hong Kong to seven.
There were also three new entrants to the two-star category. They include Ecriture — which only opened in April this year — which combines French culinary techniques with Japanese ingredients; Central-based sushi restaurant Sushi Saito; and Cantonese restaurant Ying Jee Club, which had one star last year. That brings the total number of two-starred restaurants to 12.
Meanwhile, the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand Guide — which recognizes “accessible” (read: cheap) eats in Hong Kong that cost under HK$400 — added four new Hong Kong eateries to the list. They are Taiwanese restaurant What To Eat, dessert shop Kai Kai, and Le Souk, which offers Middle Eastern food.
There were some notable names from previous rankings missing in the 2019 list.
Akrame, MIC Kitchen, ON Dining, Peking Garden, Sai Kung Sing Kee, and Serge et le Phoque — which all held one Michelin star last year — were among those to lose their stars this year.
Cantonese restaurant Lei Garden walked away with one Michelin star for both their Kwun Tong and Mong Kok outposts, but their North Point restaurant, which had a star last year, didn’t get one this year.
Meanwhile Shang Palace, the Cantonese restaurant housed inside the Kowloon Shangri-La, lost its two-star ranking and got demoted to the one-star group.
Hong Kong restaurants with Michelin stars for 2019 are:
Three stars
Bo Innovation
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Lung King Heen
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo – Bombana
Sushi Shikon
T’ang Court
Two stars
Amber
Caprice
Ecriture
Forum
Kashiwaya
Pierre
Sun Tung Lok (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Ta Vie
Tenku RyuGin
Tin Lung Heen
Ying Jee Club
Yan Toh Heen
One star
Ah Yat Harbour View (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Arbor
Arcane
Beefbar
Belon
Celebrity Cuisine
Duddell’s
Épure
Fu Ho (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Guo Fu Lou
Ho Hung Kee
IM Teppanyaki & Wine
Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine
Jardin de Jade (Wan Chai)
Kaiseki Den by Saotome
Kam’s Roast Goose
Lei Garden (Kwun Tong)
Lei Garden (Mong Kok)
Loaf On
Man Wah
Mandarin Grill + Bar
Ming Court
New Punjab Club
Octavium
Pang’s Kitchen
Qi (Wan Chai)
Rech
Shang Palace
Spring Moon
Summer Palace
Sushi Tokami
Sushi Wadatsumi
Takumi by Daisuke Mori
Tate
The Ocean
Tim Ho Wan (Sham Shui Po)
Tosca
VEA
Xin Rong Ji
Yat Lok
Yat Tung Heen (Jordan)
Yè Shanghai (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Yee Tung Heen
Zhejiang Heen
Do with that information what you will. We wish you happy eating either way.
