The end of the year is a tense time for chefs and restaurants in town, as they wait with great anticipation for the latest Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau to be launched, and to see if the stars are shining on them
Last December, the announcement of the 11th edition of the Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau, brought some good news for this city, revealing that Macau now has 19 award-winning restaurants, one more than the previous year. In total, the guide includes 82 Michelin-starred restaurants, 63 of which are in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong and Macau are very special cities within the gastronomic world. They attract many tourists and business people from around the world, and as a result these cities have been blessed with gastronomic influences that oscillate between traditional Cantonese and Macau cuisine, combined with international flavours,” Michelin International Director Gwendal Poullennec said during the presentation conference for the 2019 edition.
At the top of the new listing, the restaurants Robuchon au Dôme and The Eight, both in Grand Lisboa Hotel, maintained their three Michelin stars.
“We are thrilled to have received these highly coveted awards for 11 consecutive years. This is a testament to the exceptional quality and consistently high standards of our restaurants at Grand Lisboa Hotel,” noted Mr. Jonas A. Schuermann, Managing Director, Hospitality Services of SJM. “Delivering exceptional dining experiences has always been our goal, with Robuchon becoming the first restaurant to receive three Michelin stars in Macau more than a decade ago.”
Meanwhile, Jade Dragon restaurant at City of Dreams, which previously had two stars, gained a prestigious third star, becoming the only three Michelin Star Cantonese restaurant in town.
Also at City of Dreams, and one of the newest restaurants in town, Alain Ducasse at Morpheus, by the internationally renowned chef with more than 20 restaurants around the world, earned two Michelin stars, after only six months of operations.
“Our success has only been made possible through the successful partnerships we have with our world-renowned chefs and the great teamwork within our teams. We are always committed to delivering the most exquisite dining experiences for our guests and we aim to raise the bar even higher, in order to offer our guests the finest, most memorable and luxurious experiences possible through our properties,” commented Mr. Lawrence Ho, Chairman and CEO at Melco Resorts & Entertainment Restaurants Feng Wei Ju at StarWorld Hotel, Golden Flower and Mizumi at Wynn Macau, and The Tasting Room at City of Dreams all continue with their two-star ratings.
In keeping with last year, Macau has 11 restaurants with one Michelin star: King, Lei Heen, 8 1/2 Otto and Mezzo-Bombana, Pearl Dragon, Shinji by Kanesaka, The Golden Peacock, The Kitchen, Tim’s Kitchen, Wing Lei, Ying and Zi Yat Heen.
Zi Yat Heen, the signature Cantonese restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Macao celebrated an important milestone maintaining its one-star rating for the 10th consecutive year. Charles Cheung, Executive Chinese Chef of Zi Yat Heen, said, “I am more than thrilled to have garnered the tenth Michelin recognition for Zi Yat Heen and Four Seasons Macao. I would like to sincerely thank the teams both in the kitchen and on the floor for all the hard work we’ve put in together. Culinary is a form of art, and this award has given me even more inspiration to keep evolving in my artistic creations in the kitchen.”
Macau also continues to have a total of nine “Bib Gourmand” rated restaurants, given to restaurants that offer three-course menus for less than 400 patacas.
Hong Kong also added one new restaurant to the much sought after three-star category, with Caprice by Chef Guillaume Galliot, bringing its total to seven. Chef Guilluame previously worked in Macau and joined the restaurant two years ago. He and his team offer contemporary French cuisine that highlights the most luxurious ingredients in its refined and perfectly executed dishes.
