Michelin Recognizes Street Food for the First Time in Its Hong Kong Guide

Afraid you can't afford to consult the Michelin Guide to the world's top restaurants? You may want to consider a trip to China with the influential red book. For its 2016 edition covering Hong Kong and nearby Macau, Michelin created a new street food category that should be gentler on diners' wallets than most of its starred restaurants. Michael Ellis, international director of the guide, said of the "milestone,"

"The MICHELIN Guide has always been a true reflection of the restaurant scene in the cities and countries that we cover. In Hong Kong, street food is part of the local way of life: the city never sleeps, the streets are constantly bustling, and Hong Kong residents love to eat out, without necessarily sitting down and spending a lot of money."

23 eateries in Hong Kong and 12 in nearby Macau made it to the new category, which includes street foods "from fried pork fat noodles to Thai rice noodles, Shanghainese pork buns, octopus marinated in soy sauce, rice rolls, burgers, ginger sweet soup, Korean fried chicken, Cantonese puddings, tofu pudding, satay, Cantonese waffle, and wonton noodles," according to the release. Will this change help mollify critics of the controversial ratings system?

Overall, 77 restaurants in the two cities earned at least one star from Michelin, with eight receiving the coveted three-star ranking that denotes "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." The latest three-star recipient is T'ang Court at Langham Hotel in Hong Kong; Ellis enthused, "Every minute spent at T'ang Court plunges you into the golden age of Chinese history, making for a unique experience that is well worth the journey." Find the full list of winners below.

The MICHELIN Guide: Hong Kong Macau 2016

Three stars:

HONG KONG
Bo Innovation
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Lung King Heen
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo - Bombana
Sushi Shikon
T'ang Court (new)

MACAU
Robuchon au Dôme
The Eight

Two stars:

HONG KONG
Amber
Caprice
Celebrity Cuisine
Duddell's
Forum (new)
Ming Court (new)
Pierre
Ryu Gin
Shang Palace
Summer Palace
Sun Tung Lok (Tsim Sha Tsui)
Tin Lung Heen
Wagyu Takumi
Yan Toh Heen

MACAU
Golden Flower
Jade Dragon (new)
The Tasting Room (new)
Zi Yat Heen

New one stars:

HONG KONG
Lei Garden (Kwun Tong)
ON
Peking Garden (Central)
Qi
Serge et le Phoque
Ta Vie

MACAU
Feng Wei Ju
Mizumi
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo
Shinji
Terrazza

Michelin Guide to Hong Kong 2016

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